William C. Thomas

The initial entry in the Pine-Thomas series based on the “Big Town” radio series finds Steve Wilson as a newly-hired managing editor brought on board to liven up “The Illustrated Press” newspaper. He runs into problems with two of the paper’s star reporters, Lorelei Kilbourne and Pete Ryan, when his aggressive demands that they employ a yellow journalism type of reporting to build circulation, and they both resign to work for another newspaper. Wilson begins to realize that while his type of journalism does build circulation, it has also brought ruin and disgrace to some innocent victims. Lorelei and Pete are brought back by Wilson with his promise that “The Illustrated Press” will become a crusader against evil.Read More »

All Movie Guide Review:
This Pine-Thomas Production was scripted by Geoffrey Homes (aka Daniel Mainwaring), best known as the author of the novel upon which the “film noir” classic Out of the Past was based. Robert Lowery plays victim-of-circumstance Tom Durling, in the wrong place at the wrong time when a bank robbery occurs. As the only witness to the crime, Durling is sought after by June Reynolds (Barbara Britton), who wants to prove that her brother, killed in the holdup, was innocent of complicity. Trouble is, the police have fingered Durling as their primary suspect, so he naturally wants to remain scarce. By film’s end, however, Durling and June have taken it upon themselves to track down the villains. Unusual for its time was the film’s depiction of its policeman characters, who are shown to be reasonable and intelligent rather than conclusion-jumping and dull-witted.Read More »

After replacing ace police reporter Lorelei Kilbourne (Hillary Brooke) at her uncle’s newspaper, a young gambling addict named Susan (Ann Gillis) is kidnapped and held for ransom. When Lorelei investigates the girl’s disappearance, she stumbles upon a web of dark secrets. Full of mystery, intrigue and romance, William C. Thomas’s classic crime drama co-stars Phillip Reed, Richard Travis and Vince Barnett.Read More »