Slander

A ruthless publisher uses his scandal sheet to profit at the expense of others in this searing expose of tabloid journalism starring Van Johnson, Ann Blyth and Steve Cochran. After years of struggle, puppeteer Scott Martin (Johnson) becomes an overnight sensation as the hero of a children's TV show. So when tabloid publisher H.R. Manley (Cochran) threatens to expose Martin's criminal past in Real Truth magazine, he offers to kill the story in exchange for dirt on Mary Sawyer, an old childhood friend, now a famous movie star. Pushed by his distraught wife (Blyth) to make the deal, a conscious-stricken Martin is forced to choose whose career to destroy just to boost Manley's flagging circulation. Based on a teleplay broadcast on the 19505 TV anthology series Studio One, Slander is a still-relevant look at the personal damage and heartbreak caused by the tabloid industry's relentless pursuit of "the truth."