Hollywood: Don't Stop the Presses!

Newspaper yarns of all stripes have been a movie staple throughout film history – dating back to the wild-and-raucous days of “The Front Page” to the grand megalomania of “Citizen Kane,” and on through the buttoned-down investigative procedures of “All the President’s Men.”

Beginning April 9, New York’s Film Forum will host a four-week festival called “The Newspaper Picture,” celebrating the good, the bad and the ugly of daily journalism. In a 43-film extravaganza highlighting some of the best films ever made about newspapering, the fest will present daily screenings along with panel discussions with several notables of the profession.

High on the roster of scheduled movies – all in 35mm prints – is: Billy Wilder’s “Ace in the Hole” with Kirk Douglas; Mervyn LeRoy’s “Five Star Final,” with Edward G. Robinson; Michael Curtiz’s “Front Page Woman,” with Bette Davis; “Deadline U.S.A.,” with Humphrey Bogart; Sam Fuller’s “Shock Corridor”; Alexander Mackendrick’s “Sweet Smell of Success,” with Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis; Frank Capra’s “Meet John Doe,” with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck; Howard Hawks’ “His Girl Friday,” with Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, based on Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur’s “The Front Page,” and Lewis Milestone’s rare, original 1931 version starring Adolphe Menjou and Pat O’Brien.