Break the News

Two small time song and dance men hatch a publicity scheme meant to burnish their names in the press. They plan to stage a disappearance that looks like a murder and have one partner stand accused, confident that a heightened spotlight will follow. The setup promises screen worthy chaos and a chance to turn their luck around. But the plan starts to unravel as the public mood proves hard to read and the missing man attracts more trouble than fame. Meanwhile the scheme stumbles into external forces that complicate matters and raise the stakes for everyone involved. What began as a neat stunt veers into a farce of misunderstandings and racing egos.

Directed by René Clair and released in 1938, Break the News is built from a concept by Geoffrey Kerr. The film stars Jack Buchanan as Teddy Enton and Maurice Chevalier as François Verrier with June Knight in the female lead.

At its core the film uses song and brisk humor to poke fun at publicity and the hunger for headlines. It plays with performance, illusion, and the consequences when fame outruns reality. The tone blends musical numbers with witty dialogue as characters chase a story that grows beyond their control, exposing how easy it is to become a spectacle.

Box office data for Break the News is not widely documented and reliable figures are hard to come by. The film did not leave a clear, enduring imprint in contemporary financial or studio records, suggesting it was a modest release rather than a major commercial milestone.

There are no major awards on record for Break the News. While the collaboration of Clair and a zippy cast earned fans at the time, the film did not secure prominent nominations at the major award events. Its reputation today rests primarily on its era's style and its playful take on publicity.