This Man Is News

Produced byAnthony Havelock-AllanStarringCinematographyHenry HarrisEdited byReginald BeckDistributed byParamount British Pictures77 minutesCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishBudget£6,000 or £14,000^[1]

This Man is News is a 1938 British comedy mystery film directed by David MacDonald and starring Barry K. Barnes, Valerie Hobson, Alastair Sim and Edward Lexy. The screenplay concerns a journalist who solves a crime of which he himself is suspected .^[2] A "quota quickie", it was made for a mere £6,000, but "was among the highest grossing films of 1938".^[3]

It was loosely modelled on the American Thin Man series of films. A sequel, This Man in Paris, was made in 1939.

Simon Drake (Barnes) has predicted the death of a prominent man in advance, which makes him Scotland yard's top suspect for his murder; the only one who believes in his innocence is his loyal wife Pat (Hobson). Meanwhile, Macgregor (Sim) is Drake's beleaguered city editor, who hires and fires him multiple times depending on how guilty or innocent he looks at the moment.

• Barry K. Barnes as Simon Drake
• Valerie Hobson as Pat Drake
• Alastair Sim as Lochlan Macgregor
• Edward Lexy as Inspector Hollis
• Garry Marsh as Sergeant Bright
• John Warwick as Johnnie Clayton
• Philip Leaver as "Harelip" Murphy
• James Birrie as Doyle
• David Keir as Brown

TV Guide gave the film three out of five stars and wrote, "Though Barnes and Hobson may not quite be another William Powell and Myrna Loy, they handle the assignment with humor and great style. The film is directed with energy and the dialogue helps carry the brisk pace along. This is the first screenwriting credit for Basil Dearden, who would go on to do many stories, both serious and topical, in association with noted British producer and art director Michael Relph."^[4]

• This Man Is News at IMDb