The reviews lean favourable, with praise clustering around the sharp dialogue, Lancaster and Curtis’s performances, and the evocation of New York after dark. Admirers find the film’s account of media power both thrilling and sharply observed, with the acting giving its vicious exchanges conviction. James Wong Howe’s black-and-white photography draws particular attention, while the jazz score also earns praise for its contribution to the nocturnal atmosphere.
The spread is wide, though the available reservations are less numerous than the scores alone suggest: three entries lack enough review text to establish a specific position. Variety finds the drama compelling but questions the clarity of the columnist’s devotion to his sister. The New York Times supplies the strongest dissent, objecting to the cynical, sordid outlook and the portrayal of power and ambition as relentlessly corrupting. The central divide concerns the darkness that admirers find bracing and the dissenting review finds objectionable.