The Sellout

1952
PG
1h 23m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

699

YOUR RATING

John Hodiak, Paula Raymond, Walter Pidgeon, and Audrey Totter in The Sellout (1952)

Play trailer2:17

1 Video

25 Photos

Film Noir Crime Drama

During the 1950s, a small-town newspaper editor and a state assistant attorney-general fight corrupt local officials from one rotten county.During the 1950s, a small-town newspaper editor and a state assistant attorney-general fight corrupt local officials from one rotten county.During the 1950s, a small-town newspaper editor and a state assistant attorney-general fight corrupt local officials from one rotten county.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

699

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

User reviews20

Featured review

5/10

Talky and Slow

A slow, talky, noirish drama that's pretty light on the noir and pretty heavy on everything that makes movies not very interesting. I was drawn to this by the promise of seeing Audrey Totter, one of my favorite noir actresses, but unfortunately she plays a good girl in this one, which is nowhere nearly as fun as when she's playing a femme fatale, and she's sadly underused. With all due respect to Walter Pidgeon and John Hodiak, if Totter is in the film, it's her face I want to see, not theirs.

Grade: C-

Videos1

Trailer 2:17

Trailer

Photos25

+ 19

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Final film of Richard Cramer, whose career started back in the days of silent films.

Goofs
At about the 06:30 mark the shadow of the boom mic can be seen on the wall to the left just as Allridge and Jackson are being put into the cell.

Quotes
Chick Johnson: Buck is everybody around here chicken?
Capt. Buck Maxwell: You ever been scared of losing your job? Having your little store maybe burned out? or your truck wrecked? or getting beat up? Maybe crippled or lying around on a Phony Rap? Or maybe having your wife bothered or even your kids?
Chick Johnson: Scared or Bought?
Capt. Buck Maxwell: Bought guys talk slick. These guys talk sore. Here. You ever noticed this thing? These guys have all been called in for the Treatment.

Crazy credits
The opening credits all appear on newspapers which have just been dumped from a truck and are ready for delivery. The title appears as if it were a newspaper headline.

Connections
Referenced in Crime Wave (1985)

Soundtracks
You Can't Do Wrong Doing Right
(uncredited)
Written by Al Rinker and Floyd Huddleston
Performed by Ruth Martin
[Sung by the character Cleo Bethel portrayed by Audrey Totter]