As the 1937 film, They Won't Forget, opened with shots of the Lincoln Memorial and a quote from Robert E. Lee, I wasn't really what the movie was even going to be about. I was even more confused as I saw these old men in what looked to be military uniforms marching.
The pieces began to fall into place as it is established that it is the Memorial Day celebration and the film begins to introduce the main characters like the newcomer young teacher Mr. Hale, the beautifully innocent pupil Mary Clay, and the district attorney Andy Griffin.
Although it was an older movie, I was entertained by the plot the entire time. I can honestly say I did not see the story taking a turn when the young girl, Mary Clay, is found murdered in the school building, turning the small southern town on its head.
And so begins the witch hunt for the perpetrator who killed the poor teen. The finger is first pointed at the African American janitor, which is somewhat now cliche due to the time period the movie takes place. The blame is then transferred to the victim's boyfriend, Joseph Turner, but the boy has an alibi as he wasn’t allowed in the school where the murder took place because it was closed.
The district attorney then lands on the dreamy professor from the north, Robert Hale with the help of one of the reporters, William Brock. We begin to see the repercussions of a trial by media and the negative way this film chose to portray journalists and the press in general.
After Hale is locked up for further questioning due to the orders of the district attorney, the press barges their way into Hale's home, where they find a frazzled and distraught Mrs. Hale.
The reporters begin to bombard the woman with questions about her husband and his past. One of them even goes as far as to steal one of the photos kept in their home. The journalists are the ones to break the news to her that her husband is in jail. She faints and instead of seeing if she is alright, they take photographs of her knocked out.
There is one female reporter in the group who seems to have Hale’s best interest in mind. She tries to relate to the upset woman once she has regained conscientiousness, but in reality, she is just trying to get the dirt on their relationship. She assures Mrs. Hale that the reporters won’t run any of the personal information shared with them, but the next day, it’s all over the front page of the newspapers.
Almost one hundred years ago, journalists were already portrayed in a negative light, and to be fair that negativity is somewhat deserved. Journalists and reporters today will do whatever it takes to get the story. While it is their job it seems that all ethical ways of obtaining information have been thrown out the window. Unfortunately, trial by media hasn’t changed that much since the film was released.
The recently famous trial that was completely overtaken by the media was Depp v. Heard featuring the star-studded former couple Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. The case became somewhat controversial as the trial was streamed and used for audience entertainment but it was discussing the serious topics of domestic abuse and defamation. This case weighed heavily on my mind while watching the film as it was sad to see how both the press and the media distort trials involving serious topics such as murder or abuse for views, subscribers, or money.
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