Park Row poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Gene Evans, Mary Welch, Bela Kovacs, Herbert Heyes, Tina Rome ... see more see more... , George O'Hanlon , Forrest Taylor , Don Orlando , Neyle Morrow , Dick Elliott , Stuart Randall , Dee Pollock , Hal K. Dawson , Charles Horvath , J.M. Kerrigan

In 1880s New York City, newspapers were engaged in a free-for-all competition, with the respectable practitioners such as Joseph Pulitzer leading a horde of sheets that included every kind of yellow r... read more read more...ag imaginable. Newspaperman Phineas Mitchell (Gene Evans) is so appalled by the brand of journalism practiced by The Star, the newspaper where he works, and its publisher, Charity Hackett (Mary Welch), that he gets himself fired. But instead of looking for another job, he decides to start up his own newspaper, The Globe, which will adhere to principals he has developed across his career. This immediately puts him on a head-to-head collision with The Star and Hackett, who scoffs at Mitchell's ideals but is frightened of his resourcefulness and ideas -- all of which combine to make the feisty little under-financed newspaper a more honest and exciting read than her own publication. And Mitchell's embrace of cutting-edge technology, such as the Linotype machine, and innovations such as by-lines and newsstands only heighten her mixed feelings of admiration and fear. When Mitchell seizes upon the Statue of Liberty, newly-delivered from France but without a base to stand on (or an appropriation from Congress for the money to build one), The Globe takes on this cause. A circulation war -- and then an all-out war -- breaks out between the two newspapers, with fraud, violence, bombings, and other mayhem visited on Mitchell's enterprise. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Flixster Users

86% liked it

405 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

5 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 23 min.

Directed by: Samuel Fuller

Release Date: August 12, 1952

Invite friends to see

Stats: 38 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Park Row Park Row Gene Evans and Mary Welch
Upload a Photo | View All Park Row Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (38)

  • brooklynspo
    January 22, 2008
    brooklynspo
    Wow. What an entertaining little film. Kind of a poor man's Citizen Kane without the mystery or the multiple viewpoints. Some wild camera moves (and hack dialogue) by director Sam Fuller. Thanks TCM!
  • kenstachnik
    August 10, 2011
    kenstachnik
    If Citizen Kane had a scrappy, not as well shot, but still frickin AWESOME, cousin, It would be Park Row. The film by it's own admission is a love letter to journalism and is well worth seeking out. Sam Fuller rules!
  • benjaminguilbert2
    January 29, 2008
    benjaminguilbert2
    A rather pointless film about 19th century press industry in New York City. I don't know what made it worst, the cheesy love story or the fact that the man who is fighting for freedom of speech is the editor of a news paper compared to which The Sun is an authority of investigati... read moreon journalism.
  • CJClark28
    January 22, 2008
    CJClark28
    Incredible Sam Fuller movie about rival newspapers pushing it far beyond the edge. Amazing use of camera angles and a great story that brings nonstop action from scene one. This is really a movie that not only gets in your face, but slaps you around a little too.

View All Park Row Reviews

Critic Reviews

Leonard Maltin
July 7, 2011
Leonard Maltin, Leonard Maltin's Picks

I decided to revisit an old favorite I hadn't seen in decades, Samuel Fuller's Park Row, and I'm delighted to report that it holds up 100%. If you're unfamiliar with Fuller's work I don't know how to ... Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
June 17, 2011
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

It of course lost money but remained the director's personal favorite and one of his masterpieces. Full Review

Gabe Leibowitz
April 5, 2011
Gabe Leibowitz, Film and Felt

Another strong, if lesser-known, depiction of the ruthless, cutthroat newspaper industry. Full Review

Tim Brayton
October 4, 2009
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

The Citizen Kane of B-movies, an absolute masterpiece born fully-formed from one very singular mind. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 17, 2006
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Gritty drama about a newspaper war in NYC in 1886. Full Review

October 31, 2006
New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
January 21, 2006
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Click to read the article Full Review

Derek Adams
June 24, 2006
Derek Adams, Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

January 21, 2006
Film4

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

This list looks lonely.
Add a suggestion!

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Park Row : Watch Free on TV

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for Park Row. Want to create one?

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Park Row to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?