This Academy Award nominated comedy follows ambitious investigative reporter Hildy Johnson (Pat O'Brien) as he works to get the scoop on an escaped murderer (George E. Stone). Thinking this is the story of a lifetime, Hildy tracks down the killer. However, he soon finds that the accused may not be guilty after all. Hildy enlists the help of his editor (Adolphe Menjou) to set the record straight on the killer and attain the journalistic glory he craves.. Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Adolphe Menjou), and Best Director at the Academy Awards. Selected as one of the Top Ten Films of 1931 by the National Board of Review. Selected for preservation by the National Film Preservation Board.. "[This] seminal newspaper drama launched a whole cycle of films and set the patterns for sagas about behind-the-scenes operations of tabloids." - Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com. "By far the highest honors in this go to Mr. Menjou, who gives as polished a performance of a gruff and unscrupulous editor as he used to give of a man about town." - Alexander Bakshy, The Nation