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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
If you've got an hour to kill and you love those old-school newsroom vibes, The Office Scandal is totally worth a look. It is perfect for people who like seeing a woman lead the way in a man's world, even if the logic is a bit fuzzy. 🕵️♀️
If you're the type of person who gets annoyed when movies ignore how real laws work, you're gonna hate this one. It’s definitely not a serious legal thriller.
Phyllis Haver plays Jerry, and honestly, she is the whole movie. She has this way of walking into a room like she already knows where the bodies are buried.
The plot starts with a murder at a racetrack. It's a classic setup, very similar to some of the stuff you'd see in The Reed Case, but with more personality.
Jerry decides the guy they arrested is innocent. Why? Because she has a feeling, I guess.
There is this one scene where she talks to a judge that just cracked me up. She basically flirts and fast-talks him into releasing a murder suspect into her custody.
The judge just sits there looking confused. I think he was just tired of arguing with her.
The office sets are great, though. They look like actual places where people work and drink too much coffee.
Papers are everywhere. I noticed a pile of newspapers on a desk in the background that looked like it hadn't been moved in three years. 📰
It feels a lot more lived-in than some of the more polished movies from this era, like maybe A Rogue's Romance which feels a bit more staged.
Raymond Hatton is in this too. He plays a character named 'Babe' and he’s mostly there for flavor.
He has this weirdly intense way of looking at his typewriter. Like he’s trying to scare the words out of it.
The movie doesn't really explain how the racetrack owner actually died for a long time. It just sort of wanders around Jerry’s social life for a bit.
I didn't mind, though. Haver is just so fun to watch when she's being bossy.
There is a moment where a character enters a room and the lighting just completely changes for no reason. It’s like the lighting guy forgot where the sun was supposed to be. ☀️
Small mistakes like that make me like these old films more. It feels like real people were just trying their best on a Tuesday.
The pacing gets a little slow in the middle. They spend way too much time talking about things we already saw happen.
I found myself looking at the background actors instead. One guy in the newsroom is just staring at the camera for like three seconds.
It’s a bit like Set Free in that it tries to mix comedy with some darker themes, but doesn't always land the jump. It’s still charming, in a clunky sort of way.
The ending is rushed, which is standard for 1929. One minute everything is a mess, and the next, everything is solved because Jerry is awesome.
I wish we saw more of the actual reporting work. Most of the 'reporting' is just her being charming at people until they tell her secrets.
If you enjoy the aesthetic of the late silent era turning into the early sound era, you'll see some of that awkward transition here. Some scenes feel like they were meant to be silent but had sound shoved into them later.
It reminds me a bit of the energy in High and Dry, just with more ink stains and cigarette smoke.
Anyway, it’s a solid 7/10 for me just because Phyllis Haver is a boss. She makes the whole thing feel much bigger than it actually is. 🥂
Don't expect a masterpiece. Just expect a good time with a woman who probably drinks the men under the table.
IMDb —
1915
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