Hell of a Reporter: Billy Wilder’s Berlin Beginnings

If you have about an hour to kill and you want to see where one of the greatest directors ever got his start, this is actually worth your time. It’s for the people who like dusty history and the weird energy of silent action movies.

If you hate reading title cards or get bored by movies where people wave their arms around to show they are upset, you’ll probably find this one pretty annoying. 🎥

It is called Hell of a Reporter (or Reporter aus der Hölle if you want to be fancy about the German title) and it was written by a very young Billy Wilder. You can almost feel him trying to cram as much personality into the script as the budget would allow.

The story is pretty simple, almost like a comic strip. This aspiring reporter is basically a nobody until he sees some rich American girls being messed with by a group of crooks in Berlin.

He doesn't just call the cops. No, he decides this is his big break and he’s going to rescue them himself while probably taking notes for his headline.

The main guy is played by Eddie Polo. He has this very specific way of moving, like he's constantly ready to jump over a fence or punch someone in the chin.

There is a scene in a hotel lobby where he’s trying to look inconspicuous, but he’s so energetic that he stands out like a sore thumb. It’s hilarious because the villains are supposed to be smart, but they don't notice this guy hovering three feet away.

The girls who get kidnapped are mostly there to look worried. They wear these incredibly large hats that I honestly don't know how they kept on their heads during the struggle scenes.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Hell of a Reporter (1929) through its definitive frames.

One of the girls has this reaction shot when she’s first grabbed where she looks more inconvenienced than terrified. Like she just realized she left the stove on back in Chicago.

I noticed that the cinematography is kind of all over the place. Sometimes the camera is perfectly still, and then suddenly it’s shaking like the cameraman had too much coffee that morning.

The rescue itself is a bit of a mess, but in a way that feels real. People trip over things. The pacing gets really fast at the end, almost like they were running out of film and had to wrap it up in five minutes.

It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in The Reporter, though that one feels a bit more polished in the way it handles the newsroom stuff. Here, the "reporter" part is mostly an excuse for Eddie Polo to do stunts.

There’s a small moment where the reporter is trying to write something down and his pencil breaks. He looks so genuinely annoyed for a split second that I wondered if it was a real mistake they just kept in the movie.

The villains are sort of generic, wearing the typical dark coats and looking shifty. One of them has a mustache that looks like it might fall off if he sneezes too hard. 🥸

I liked seeing the old Berlin streets. It looks like a city that never really sleeps, even back then, with all the flickering lights and the busy cars that look like toys now.

It isn’t a deep movie. It doesn't try to tell you anything about the human condition or whatever.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Hell of a Reporter (1929) through its definitive frames.

It’s just a guy trying to get a job and save some people. It’s kind of refreshing how simple it is compared to the heavy stuff Wilder wrote later in his career.

The middle of the movie drags a little bit when they are just sitting in the hideout. I found myself looking at the wallpaper in the background more than the actors.

But when the action kicks back in, it’s fun. It has that same kind of scrappy feeling you find in Phantom Justice where you can tell the crew was just making it work with what they had.

There is a weird cut near the end where the hero is in one spot and then suddenly ten feet away in the next frame. It’s a bit jarring but it adds to the charm, I guess.

The ending is exactly what you expect. Everyone is happy, the guy gets his story, and the Americans probably go home with a crazy souvenir story.

I think Maria Forescu is underused here. She has such a great face for silent film, but the script doesn't give her much to do other than look concerned in the background.

Is it a masterpiece? No way. But it’s a cool little artifact.

It’s the kind of movie you watch because you’re curious about how movies used to be made when they were still figuring out the rules. And for a silent film about a journalist, it’s a lot more exciting than reading the actual newspaper from 1926.

I'd say give it a look if you stumble across a decent copy. Just don't expect it to change your life or anything. 📽️