10 Movies About Journalism To Watch On The Criterion Channel

Journalism films have existed since Hollywood’s beginnings. The Criterion Channel has press classics like His Girl Friday and Woman of the Year.

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In recent years, films focused on the world of journalism and the variety of writers within it have been big hits. Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch is a love letter to journalism and showcases stories written by the fictitious newspaper’s eclectic staff. The Post and Spotlight both received Best Picture nominations at the Academy Awards, the latter winning the statue in 2016.

The collection of journalism films available to stream on the Criterion Channel includes classic screwball comedies, romantic dramas, and ensemble dramedies. From The Front Page to It Happened One Night, some of the best films centered around journalists are available on the streaming platform.

The Front Page (1931)

Based on the 1928 play of the same name, Lewis Milestone’s The Front Page is a pre-Hays Code comedy film that follows investigative reporter Hildebrand “Hildy” Johnson, played by Pat O’Brien, as he covers one last story before leaving the paper.

When Earl Williams, an accused murderer, escapes, Hildy and his editor, Walter Burns (played by Adolphe Menjou) hide the criminal in a rolltop desk and try to be the first to break the story of his possible innocence. Throughout the film, they help Earl evade law enforcement and their fellow reporters.

Blessed Event (1932)

Roy Del Ruth’s 1932 film Blessed Event stars Lee Tracy as a talkative gossip columnist named Alvin Roberts. Alvin reports on the “blessed events,” or pregnancies, befalling the New York elite and will stop at nothing to maintain his fame as a tabloid superstar. This ends up getting him in trouble with both a local gangster and a popular singer.

Tracy was well-known for his wisecracking reporter roles, and the cocky Alvin is just one of many on his resume. Alvin’s feud with singer Bunny Harmon, played by Dick Powell, parodies the real-life hostility between gossip columnist Walter Winchell and bandleader Ben Bernie.

It Happened One Night (1934)

Starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable, Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night was the first film, and only comedy, to win all 5 major Academy Awards. The movie, one of the best romantic comedies ever, follows Ellie Andrews, a spoiled socialite who runs away from her family after eloping with a conman.

While on the run, she meets Peter Warne, a reporter who was recently fired. Peter offers to help her reunite with her husband if she gives him an exclusive on the news story. While their relationship starts off prickly, the two slowly fall in love on their journey to New York City.

His Girl Friday (1940)

Based on the same play as The Front Page, Howard Hawks’s His Girl Friday has become one of Hollywood’s most beloved screwball comedies. The film, known for its quick, overlapping dialogue, was one of the first successful “battle of the sexes” movies and one of Cary Grant’s best performances.

In this version, ace reporter Hildy Johnson, played by Rosalind Russell, is the newly engaged ex-wife of Grant’s Walter Burns. The two work on one last story together—the case of accused murdered Earl Williams—and Walter tries to win Hildy back as the two find themselves entangled in the drama.

Meet John Doe (1941)

Starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck, Meet John Doe is another Frank Capra film featuring a journalist at the center of the story. Stanwyck plays the recently dismissed journalist Ann Mitchell who tries to save her job by writing about a fake John Doe in her column. Ann’s scheme boosts the paper’s popularity and helps her get rehired.

Cooper’s John Willoughby is the former baseball player hired to play the John Doe from Ann’s column. The journalist ends up creating a political movement that situates her John Doe figure at the center, and it ends up having its share of disastrous outcomes. Meet John Doe is heralded as one of Cooper’s top 10 films.

Woman of the Year (1942)

George Stevens’s Woman of the Year marks the first of 9 films starring real-life couple Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The romantic comedy’s plot centers around the relationship between Tess Harding, an international affairs correspondent, and Sam Craig, a sportswriter.

The film explores the problems their marriage faces due to Tess’s unwavering commitment to her work, as well as their class differences. The sophisticated Tess is eventually named “America’s Outstanding Woman of the Year.” Hepburn, who won four Best Actress Academy Awards across multiple decades, received a nomination for her work as the career-focused Tess.

Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)

Elia Kazan’s Gentleman’s Agreement examines anti-Semitism as it follows Gregory Peck’s Philip Schuyler Green, a reporter who poses as a Jewish man to write articles about anti-Jewish discrimination in New York City. The drama is based on Laura Z. Hobson’s novel of the same name.

The film was controversial when it was released in 1947 but still managed to receive critical acclaim. Gentleman’s Agreement was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress at the 1948 ceremony.

Ace in the Hole (1951)

Kirk Douglas plays a disgraced reporter named Chuck Tatum in Billy Wilder’s film noir Ace in the Hole. When a local man gets trapped after a cliff dwelling collapses, Chuck realizes he can manipulate the rescue efforts to make his work relevant again. The situation slowly becomes a figurative, later literal, media carnival.

The film explores the relationship between journalists and the stories they cover—as well as how they report them—as Chuck will do anything for his scoop, even if it means others must suffer.

Between the Lines (1977)

Joan Micklin Silver’s 1977 seriocomedy Between the Lines follows the day-to-day existence of the staff of an alternative newspaper in Boston. The Back Bay Mainline is about to be bought by a major publishing company, which causes big changes the staff must navigate. The film features the likes of John Heard and Jeff Goldblum on the cusp of their future stardom, and it is one of the latter’s top films.

Silver and screenwriter Fred Barron used their own experiences writing for alternative publications like The Village Voice and The Real Paper to shape Between the Lines into a realistic portrayal of the lives young journalists lead as they try to make it in the real world.

The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)

Adapted from the novel of the same name, the 1965-set The Year of Living Dangerously follows foreign correspondents in Jakarta on the cusp of an attempted coup. At the center of the film is the romance between Guy Hamilton, an Australian reporter, and Jill Bryant, an English diplomat.

The romantic drama is heralded as one of director Peter Weir’s best films. Linda Hunt won the 1983 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Billy Kwan, becoming the first performer to win for a role portraying the opposite sex.

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