Home Town Story [1951]

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Editorial reviews

Synopsis
Marilyn Monroe makes an early appearance in this story of a failed political candidate who uses his job as a newspaper editor to attack big business and the man who defeated him.

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2004-11-26 rating:
Where's Marilyn?
This is a hilariously awful pro-big business propaganda film from the early Fifties. It was funded and produced by General Motors and apparently started life as a commercial (and it shows!) The main character is played by a 42 year old, his sister by a six year old, and their mother by a 49 year old (!).

The film is only of interest as a historical curiosity and because it features a young Marilyn Monroe. Beware though, Marilyn does not play a major role and is on screen for barely two minutes in total!

This 'Dynamic Entertainment' DVD edition is poor with a ropey print (frames missing and other print damage) and no extra features at all. It only has a generic menu screen. The original music from the opening and closing credits has been replaced and the MGM 'lions roar' is silent (presumably for copywright reasons?).

I'd only recommend this to die-hard Monroe fans and those with an interest in dodgy corporate propaganda films - and even then I'd probably hesitate and advise them to wait for a better print to emerge.


review by: darkgenius date: 2003-09-05 rating:
A great film that also happens to feature a young Marilyn
Hometown Story (1951) features Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest roles, and while Marilyn probably fuels most of the sells for this item, the movie itself is actually quite good in its own right. Jeffrey Lynn plays Blake Washburn, a newly un-elected state senator who returns home with quite an electoral chip on his shoulder. He's not above punching a guy for joking about the election, and even his old friends are likely to be met with a cold shoulder. Washburn takes over his uncle's newspaper, but all he cares about is starting an editorial crusade that will help him win his Senate seat back. Slim Haskins (a young Alan Hale, Jr. of Gilligan's Island fame), his best friend and lead reporter, grows increasingly frustrated at Washburn's politicized agenda, and even Washburn's long-suffering fiancé Janice (Marjorie Reynolds) cannot get through to him, even when she threatens to call the whole thing off. Undaunted, Washburn rakes big business up and down the coals of his editorial pages, even after one local businessman, John McFarland (Donald Crisp), gives him an Economics 101 lecture on the importance of big business and its products in everyday life.

Then Washburn's little sister Katie (Melinda Plowman) enters an old mine to retrieve her new puppy and becomes the victim of a terrible cave-in. The wealthy Mr. McFarland comes to Katie's aid in a very big way, as does big business itself through a number of its mechanical and life-saving products. Hometown Story carries an important message, and it delivers this message in a quite moving and certainly entertaining manner. As for Marilyn Monroe, she plays Washburn's secretary Iris; it is by no means a large part, but she does appear in several scenes. Her acting skills are not very polished at this stage of her career, but she certainly accomplishes her main task of making tight sweaters look absolutely amazing. Alan Hale's character has the hots for Iris, and I cannot help but get a kick out of watching "the Skipper" trying to put the moves on Marilyn Monroe.

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Similar categories

Video . Video . Categories . Classic Films . Drama . 1950s
Video . Video . Categories . Classic Films . Actresses . Monroe, Marylin
Video . Video . Categories . Drama . General
Video . Video . Refinements . Condition (condition-type)
Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Drama
Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Classics . Drama
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . BBFC Rating (intended_use_browse-bin) . U
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Release Date (feature_three_browse-bin) . 1950 - 1959
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Editions (feature_two_browse-bin) . Standard Edition
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . VHS

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