Wet Asphalt (1958)

When a made-up story crafted to meet a rapidly approaching deadline spirals out of control, a young reporter takes it upon himself to warn the public and his journalistic peers of the dangers of sensationalism in this long-lost film noir directed by Frank Wisbar and starring Horst Buchholz. Aspiring journalist Greg Bachmann (Buchholz) has just been released from prison and is looking for some honest work. Soon hired as assistant to influential yellow journalist Cesar Boyd (Martin Held), Bachmann is shocked to discover that his new employer has concocted the story of a blind Nazi soldier discovered in a bunker years after the end of World War II in order to meet a looming deadline. When other reporters latch on to the story and run a phony picture of the long-lost soldier, a peaceful protest aimed at pressuring authorities to release the man quickly elevate into a full-scale riot. Now, with all of Europe in chaos, Bachmann must race to expose the fraudulent scoop and spread the word about the dangers of tabloid reporting. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi