A 1952 film noir murder yarn seemingly “ripped from the headlines” of the 21st century is scheduled to show at downtown Peoria’s Apollo Theater on Saturday, Sept. 10: “Scandal Sheet.”

Starring John Derek and Broderick Crawford, the 82-minute drama features an editor who resorts to unscrupulous methods that might fit comfortably with Rupert Murdoch’s phone-hacking staffer, and who murders an estranged wife whose body is placed in a bathtub, like Chicagoan Kathleen Savio unresolved 2004 death.

Crawford stars as an overbearing editor brought in to a struggling paper, where he boosts circulation through sensationalistic coverage and stunts to appease stockholders. An aggressive young newsman (Derek) becomes his protégé, but when the editor kills his wife, the reporter and the news-gathering at the paper turns against the murderer.

Based on future filmmaker Samuel Fuller’s award-winning novel, “The Dark Page,” “Scandal Sheet’s” screening is on the anniversary of several journalistic dates, including the approval of the First Amendment (220 years ago), the founding of the New York Times (160 years ago), the publication of New Yorker writer A.J. Liebling’s book “The Press” (50 years ago), and the publication of the Pentagon Papers by the Washington Post and New York Times (40 years ago).

Co-starring are Donna Reed as a feature writer and Rosemary DeCamp as the editor’s wife.

Show times at the Apollo are at 7:00 p.m. Donations are $5 and $4 for kids, students and seniors. For details call (309) 673-4343.