User reviews

Henry Aldrich, boy editor of his high school newspaper wants to double the circulation. A warehouse fire gives him his chance. He did not even see the fire but gets the "facts" and "advice" from a professional newspaperman at the fire. This expert convinces Henry that papers sell because of how the reporter uses the facts in the story. So Henry decides to hint that a "sinister plot" was involved in this fire. The story catches fire within the town. When Henry was at the fire, unknown to him he actually meets the arsonist. A strange little man carrying a violin case by the name of Nero Smith. Henry later learns the name of this man. The arsonist actually believes that Henry is a "like-minded" lover of fires and proceeds to inform Henry of the future sites of fires. After informing the fire department of likely fire sites Henry goes on trial as the arsonist. Henry sets out to prove his innocence.

A fine story that teaches the moral of "telling the truth." The boy Henry uses catch phrases such as "Golly Moses" and "Gee Whiz" which is refreshing in the light of current high schoolers propensity for swearing. If your family likes goodhearted comedy then this film is what you ordered.

Jimmy Lydon is made the editor of the high-school newspaper. After he spends two minutes of screen time in the real local newspaper, he returns to berate his staff. He also decides to include local news, not just items about the faculty and student body. When he turns up late to a fire, he comes up with the idea that it was arson. When the man whose store was burned out is refused payment by his insurance company, he starts suing everyone. Henry gets fired from the paper.... and then the real arson shows up.

Paramount's Henry Aldrich series was their response to MGM's Andy Hardy series; Fox also had the Jones family. Neither was as popular, and episodes like this, with its far-fetched plots and hysterical overacting were the reasons why. Still, this was popular enough to run through 1944, when Lydon began to age out of the role. He never had as great a success again, even though he worked well into the 1980s. He died in 2022, aged 98. With John Litel, Charles Smith, Olive Blakeney and Rita Quigley.

This is one of the better Henry Aldrich's in the series. Henry is selected as Editor and everything happens from this point.

Wanting to be the best, Henry decides to change the paper - his first project is to cover a nearby fire and ditches class. Dizzy covers for him and comes up with a great excuse, as a good friend would. Unbeknownst to Henry, this fire starts a blaze of trouble when he "sensationalizes" the details. He covers a couple of more fires, then everyone thinks he is the arsonist. Henry gets arrested and the best part comes when his friend Dizzy testifies at the trial. As Henry is about to plead and get sentenced (his father's idea), his friends help him escape. Now that Henry knows whom the arsonist is, he must hurry to stop the fire, before his goose gets cooked for good.

This is my personal favorite in the series - it has comedy, drama and the best characters of all the movies in it. This is a must see for everyone!