THE SELLOUT (1952)

Haven Allridge (Walter Pidgeon) is the well-liked, well-respected editor of the St. Howard News-Intelligencer. Just outside of town, across the county line, lives his daughter Peggy and her husband Randy, the county prosecutor. Burke, the county sheriff, is known for his corrupt ways and his iron hand in dealing with lawbreakers. One night after visiting Randy and Peggy, Allridge gives Jackson, a casual acquaintance, a ride home and is stopped for speeding. Allridge doesn't have his license on him so he's hauled into jail, as is Jackson, on the trumped-up charge of soliciting a ride. They're not allowed to make phone calls and both are thrown into a cell full of men who constitute a "kangaroo court" who extort money. When Jackson says he doesn't have any cash, they beat him up. The next morning, when Burke finds out who Allridge is, he is released but Jackson is kept in jail. Allridge makes a crusade out of the situation, writing about his experience and putting the reports of others similarly abused on the front page. Chick Johnson (John Hodiak), a lawyer from the state attorney general, arrives to investigate. Suddenly, however, the stories stop and Allridge vanishes. When he returns a few days later, he claims to have been out of town making arrangements to take another job, and he refuses to help Johnson. Has Allridge been bullied into silence, or has he sold out to Burke?

This film has a rather convoluted set-up—more plot points are developed along the way—though it remains easy to follow. But it's slow going and frankly, the stakes don't seem all that big; the person we feel the worst for is poor Jackson (Whit Bissell) who languishes in jail until a re-appearance in the climactic courtroom scene. I run hot and cold on John Hodiak (usually cold) but he's fine here as the heroic lawyer who has to figure out how to get Allridge to come clean. Pidgeon is his usual stuffy self, and Karl Malden is good as a cop who assists Hodiak. Thomas Gomez is nicely slimy as Burke, Everett Sloane shines as Burke's crooked lawyer, and Cameron Mitchell has the small but crucial role of the son-in-law; mostly he just stands around looking anxious. I watched this movie because Audrey Totter (pictured with Hodiak) is third-billed; she's very good but her part is surprisingly small and not essential to the plot. Watchable, but not particularly memorable. [TCM]