(1958; b/w) George Seaton directed this original screenplay from Fay and Michael Kanin about an old-fashioned newspaperman, who sees his business as a trade learned from bottom up, encountering a young college teacher, who believes in education as a means to professionalizing journalism.

Who? Clark Gable is in the role of city editor James Gannon of the Evening Chronicle; he's a sexist, hard-boiled, hard-bitten newspaperman from the school of hard knocks, lacking a high-school education. Doris Day portrays Erica Stone, a journalism instructor who teaches a night class at the university. Gig Young plays the part of Dr Hugo Pine, a handsome, brilliant, multi-talented (knowledgeable about baseball with military service on the USS Enterprise, who dances the mambo, speaks Watusi, and plays bongos) professor (with "more degrees than a thermometer") of psychology (according to Gannon, "A guy who gives advice about things he knows nothing about") with a score of books he's authored, who eventually earns Gannon's respect: "Quite a guy, good at everything." In the role of Barney Kovac, Nick Adams (before he became TV's Johnny Yuma, the rebel) is a young man aspiring to become a newspaper reporter. Contrasted with Barney is Harold Miller (Peter Baldwin), a college-educated reporter, formerly one of Miss Stone's students. Mamie Van Doren performs the part of Gannon's girlfriend Peggy Defore, a nightclub performer who sings and dances "I'm the girl who invented rock 'n' roll." In a bit part at the outset of the film, Jack Albertson leads a tour of young students into the news room. Gable at 56, looking a decade older (three years before his death), is too old for the part as a love interest for 33-year-old Day.

Where and when? A big US city (probably in California) during the '50s.

What? Following his having written a sarcastic letter declining a request for a lecture, Gannon is commanded by his managing editor to visit a college journalism class to speak to the students. At the same time Barney's mother has come to see Gannon, asking that he fire her son and encourage Barney to get a real education. As a traditionalist who's earned his way up on his own from the bottom, he's loath to do either. When he arrives at the classroom, Miss Stone, who has never before seen Gannon, assumes he's not coming and reads the letter he'd written to her introductory journalism class. She also describes Gannon in stereotypical terms as a man who enjoys his poker, hard liquor, swearing, and women: "That dying race, unpressed gentlemen of the press." After listening to this, Gannon regards Miss Stone and her ilk as "amateurs teaching amateurs how to be amateurs," but then decides to show her up as a phony by enrolling in her class as Mr Gallagher.

How? After some initial antagonisms in class, Erica quickly recognizes the natural ability of her new student, praising his performance in class. Gannon takes a shining to his teacher but discovers he has a rival in Dr Pine.

Why? As Gallagher, Gannon asks Erica: "How could you give up a real newspaper job for teaching?" The daughter of a newspaperman, she compares teaching journalism to having been a musician who decides to become the conductor of an orchestra. When she refers to the lurid headlines of blood and sex used to sell newspapers (e.g. "Hatchet Murderer Slain in Love Nest"), her duplicitous student asks: "How do you feel about sex?" "Well, I'm all for it," she replies before realizing Gallagher's ulterior motive. Erica argues that TV and radio now cover the "what?" of current events, leaving newspapers the responsibility of explaining "why?" Gannon goes to Dr Pine for advice about someone he calls Max with his own problem of having deceived Erica; Hugo recommends being honest with an expectation of receiving forgiveness (seemingly capable of reading both Gannon's mind and Erica's heart) if he acts quickly before she finds out on her own, in which case "Max gets the axe."

At the conclusion Gannon passes along the wisdom he's learned to Barney: "Experience is the jockey, education is the horse."

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Copyright © 2008 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
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