Home Town Story (1951)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Arthur Pierson

Writer:

Arthur Pierson (writer)

Release Date:

18 May 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Blake Washburn blames manufacturer MacFarland for his defeat in the race for re-election to the state legislature...

Plot Keywords:

Newspaper | Senator | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Jeffrey Lynn	...	Blake Washburn
Donald Crisp	...	John MacFarland
Marjorie Reynolds	...	Janice Hunt
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Slim Haskins
Marilyn Monroe	...	Iris Martin
Barbara Brown	...	Mrs. Washburn
Melinda Plowman	...	Katie Washburn
Renny McEvoy	...	Leo, the Taxi Driver
Glenn Tryon	...	Ken Kenlock
Byron Foulger	...	Berny Miles
Griff Barnett	...	Uncle Cliff Washburn
Virginia Campbell	...	Phoebe Hartman
Harry Harvey	...	Andy Butterworth
Nelson Leigh	...	Dr. Johnson
Speck Noblitt	...	Motorcycle officer

Also Known As:

Hometown Story (USA) (alternative spelling)
The Headline Story (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

61 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #14583) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | West Germany:o.Al. | UK:U | Finland:K-7 (2004)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

This is one of a handful of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer productions of the 1950-1951 period whose original copyrights were never renewed and are now apparently in Public Domain; for this reason this title is now offered, often in very inferior copies, at bargain prices, by numerous VHS and DVD distributors who do not normally handle copyrighted or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer material.

Quotes:

Iris Martin: I always treat men with respect so they do the same to me.
Slim Haskins: Let me know when that works!

How it might have been

Strange little film, this...

I can almost imagine how they planned it (à la the conference in The Majestic): "For more emotional appeal, we need a kiddie and a doggie"... "Show how the bad guy becomes bad, then repents, in the face of high drama"... "The good guy must be introduced subtly, but then showing that all good comes from him and his company... a corporate doctor, a private plane that he pilots himself... Up to the life-saving motor (?) in the emergency room"... "And state (proof not needed) that his company treats poison waste well, and would never dump it into a river"... "To make the message sink better, let that gorgeous Miss Monroe say she wouldn't date the journalist, but marry the boss of a four-truck company"...

What probably wasn't planned is that when the taxi drives through the vast "MacFarland" plant, the main building is labeled General Motors.

Still, I found this film quite interesting, as a historic exhibit. I really enjoyed the bulldozer scenes.

On another hand, the message that company profits let the customer profit sounds a little faint in these days of Lehman Bros., Madoff, and what else is in the news :^)