Is My Face Red? (1932)

Poster writes a gossip column for the Morning Gazette. He will write about anyone and everyone as long as he gets the credit. He gets most of his information from his gal, Peggy who is a ... See full summary »

Director:

William A. Seiter

Writers:

Ben Markson (play), Allen Rivkin (play),

Stars:

Helen Twelvetrees, Ricardo Cortez, Jill Esmond

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Helen Twelvetrees	...	Peggy Bannon
Ricardo Cortez	...	William Poster
Jill Esmond	...	Mildred Huntington
Robert Armstrong	...	Ed Maloney
Arline Judge	...	Bee - Poster's Secretary
Zasu Pitts	...	Morning Gazette Telephone Operator
Clarence Muse	...	Horatio
Sidney Toler	...	Tony Mugatti
Fletcher Norton	...	Angelo Spinello

Storyline

Poster writes a gossip column for the Morning Gazette. He will write about anyone and everyone as long as he gets the credit. He gets most of his information from his gal, Peggy who is a showgirl. When Bill sees Tony stab Angelo Spinelli to death in a speak easy, he puts it front page of the Gazette. But on the night that he goes out with heiress Mildred, he slips the diamond that came from Peggy's finger on Mildred's finger and announces his engagement - while tattling about her friends in his column. This gets him in dutch with Mildred and Peggy. At the same time, the cops cannot find Tony, but Tony is looking for Poster to thank him for the publicity.

---

Plot Keywords:

heiress | showgirl | publicity | gossip | cigarette smoking | 

---

Taglines:

You'll love and hate Mrs. Poster's little boy Will'yum...and walk out of the theater chirping (original ad)

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 June 1932 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

66 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

If he could get a front page spread out of his own obituary, he'd go for it!

And he is mad when another reporter scoops him over the "almost" obituary! Ricardo Cortes is the aggressively friendly reporter who goes for scandal wherever he can get it. Like Warner Brothers' brilliant "Five Star Final", this is a gossip rag (movies with newspaper surroundings of this time usually were, with the possible exception of "The Front Page" were all National Inquirer type papers), and all of the reporters go for the jugular. Yes, Cortez can be sentimental (the pitch for support for a beloved elderly musical comedy star is quite touching), but for the most part, he's a betrayer, dropping his long-time mistress (Helen Twelvetrees) for a society girl (Jill Esmond) who simply uses him for her own amusement before dropping him. When Cortez gets wind of a mob-style hit, he risks his own life for the story. Future Charlie Chan Sidney Toler is the Italian mobster he goes after which leads into a dramatic conclusion.

This is basically a plethora of little stories under one big tent, and the dialog is fast, furious and filled with wonderful pre-code conversation. There are some great exchanged between Cortez and his world-weary secretary, and a great punishment for the smug Cortez by socialite Esmond. Zasu Pitts gets some great moments as a switchboard operator, but she only talks to her machine rather than interacting with the other characters. The title is uses effectively throughout to describe the anger and embarrassment of Cortez's victims, showing how they feel when they are mentioned in his column, and in the wonderful denouncement, tables are turned.