Home Town Story

Yes I bought the DVD because of the Marilyn Monroe connection, but found a 1951 movie that was quite compelling as typical of the era: Yes, McCarthyism was raging, and the film had an "america is great" message. But that's all right. It was a good "morality story". Well written. Enjoyable (and this from a big liberal).

Allen Hale Jr. is great as the reporter and former WWII Sea-Bee. And I love the character actress who plays the Society Reporter at the newspaper. And, of course, Marjery Reynolds had a great career on early television, shortly after this film.

But the best performance - great despite the fact that it is the vehicle to please the "anti Communist" / Black-list fear of 1951, is that of Donald Crisp: an incredible actor!!

It was fun watching Alan Hale Jr. try to make time with no nonsense secretary Marilyn Monroe. But I couldn't get past the ridiculous casting of a man in his mid to late 30 with a 10 year old sister. He looked closer to his mom's age!

Hometown Story, a rather cheaply made film, even for a B picture and especially since it comes from MGM, is stalwart Republican Louis B. Mayer's defense of the free enterprise system. Not that he hadn't done it before, one of the most rightwing films ever made came out of his studio a decade earlier with Boom Town. But that film was a big production with some heavy duty name players in it. This one was made with frugality in mind.

Jeffrey Lynn is our star who has returned to his hometown in Hometown Story a defeated State Senator, defeated by Hugh Beaumont grandson of Donald Crisp who is the biggest employer in the area. Lynn takes over the newspaper and decides to use it to gain support for a comeback bid. And who to go after but the biggest target around.

And if you can't find an issue, create one. Lynn attacks what he labels the obscene profits of Crisp's firm and others like it. That sends Crisp into Lynn's office with a theory of capitalism and a defense of his business practices.

At first people might dismiss this film because in this day and age we now see what corporations like Enron and investment banks like Goldman-Sachs have done. But I would quote no less than Martin Sheen from Wall Street who says there is a great deal of difference between speculators like Michael Douglas and businessmen like Crisp who started the business and put their work and sweat into it.

Of course it would be interesting 60 years later to see if that Hometown Story now includes said firm moving to a foreign country or to some state with right to work laws and no environmental regulations. It's a complicated business with no easy answers.

Hometown Story would be gathering dust in a tin can at MGM's vaults if it weren't for the fact that Marilyn Monroe has a small role as a secretary at Lynn's newspaper. She's not Lynn's love interest, that's reserved for Marjorie Reynolds. But she does send Lynn's best friend and star reporter Alan Hale into a tizzy. The future skipper of the USS Minow has his hormones in overdrive.

Economics is not an easy subject for films and Hometown Story will not provide any answers. But it's pleasant enough viewing.

Average programmer to fill the bottom of a double bill with Jeffrey Lynn his usual dull blank slate in the lead. He actually gives the film's worst performance not helping the meager story in the least.

Somehow they managed to wrangle Oscar winner Donald Crisp into a brief appearance, his last on screen work for three years-of course if this was the quality of stuff being offered no wonder he took a break, he's far better than this run of the mill junk deserves.

The real interest and the only reason the film is sought out today is for the presence in the cast of Marilyn Monroe and to a much lesser extent Gilligan's Island's Skipper, Alan Hale Jr.

Marilyn very much on the way up, her billing is far more prominent than the small part she plays would rate for anyone else, would play a few more minor roles like this throughout 1951. Within the year though she would be a minor star and within two a superstar permanently moving beyond this kind of routine assignment. She looks beautiful and handles the minimal demands of her secretary role well enough but she has a total of no more than five minutes screen time.

Strictly for those who are interested in seeing all of Marilyn's work, no matter how minor.

An ex-politician called Blake Washburn (Jeffrey Lynn) and now an ambitious journalist blames a manager and Senator McFarland (Donald Crisp) for election as a senator but he was defeated . Then he denounces the big business in a newspaper called ¨The Herald¨ . He confronts his enemy by means of news , complaining about the profits melon and excessive richness of stockholders . At the newspaper works a gorgeous secretary called Iris (Marilyn Monroe) . When an unfortunate fact happens , his small sister is trapped into a mine , Washburn ought to examine his point of views and consider the profits to the customer .

The film contains social critical , drama and a little bit of comedy . The picture is short time , one hour approximately , for that reason is quickly seen and isn't boring . 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 . It appears notorious secondary actors as Donald Crisp (How green was my valley), he makes an intelligent speech about profits . And , of course , Marilyn Monroe , before becoming famous with Niagara (1953) she acted in various roles as a blonde sexpot secretary . Marilyn Monroe was often expected to provide her own wardrobe , in fact , the sweater with the grey body and black sleeves that she wears worn previously in Fireball (1950) and in the final scene in All about Eva (1950). The motion picture was regularly directed by Arthur Pierson . Rating : passable and entertaining.