Does journalism have to be dirty? Does it have to be all deception, smokescreens, cooked books, make-up, phoney mirages and artificial manipulations to avoid the truth? There are many films of journalism like this one, the most notorious being Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane", which W.R.Hearst never could forgive Orson Welles for trying to be so frank about, and this is another digging up cesspools in quest for the truth, with most unexpected results, as the great man they are trying to build a monument for proves like a black hole of nothing, if not garbage. Stll José Ferrer as the investigating journalist with the task of eulogizing the deceased idol tackles the issue, finds out everything and doesn't mind the smell but goes through with it, for good and for worse, and everybody listens. It's not a very inspiring film, but it is interesting, and the argument is important: is it really worth to bother about the truth, when there is really nothing in it? The truth for truth's sake is the motto here, and you have to admit that journalists have to make a living, and when they have no choice but to make it by standing for the truth, they just have to face it, and so must the audience. Whatever aftertaste it might leave, that's not the journalist's business any more.
Review of The Great Man
