The Hucksters (1947) – Vic Norman tries to slide back into the advertising trade after the war, only to discover that he may have to sacrifice his personal integrity, and a beautiful woman, along the way.
Directed by Jack Conway Starring: Clark Gable, Deborah Kerr, Ava Gardner,
Sidney Greenstreet, Adolph Menjou
Why I Liked It: The cast is top notch with a script that balances its romance, snappy dialogue and moral conscience nicely.
Gable gets surrounded by beauty in this one. Both Kerr (in her American film debut) and Gardner are beautiful additions, playing strong, intelligent women. As the singer Jean Ogilvie, Gardner knows what she likes, but isn’t interested in playing second fiddle. Meanwhile, Kerr’s Kay Dorrance (the widow of an Army general) has no intention of having her loss be an opening for a dishonest suitor. It keeps Vic (Gable) on his toes and examining who he wants to be.
The cast is everything you could ask for here. Gable’s presence meant that it was a top tier release and that attracts plenty of solid supporting actors. Today’s viewers may not know the names of Adolph Menjou, Keenan Wynn, or Frank Albertson but they were familiar faces in 1947. Albertson would be most likely known today as Sam Wainwright in “It’s A Wonderful Life”, and Keenan Wynn as Colonel “Bat” Guano in “Dr. Strangelove”. All three had busy, noteworthy careers. I will admit that I think Greenstreet is wasted here. Playing the egotistical sponsor, Mr. Evans, so many of his trademarks get lost. Evans is a nutjob surrounded by agreeable toadies. Greenstreet does a fine job in the role, but it feels wrong to me, somehow. He often played vulgar men with a veneer of civility. Here Evans has adopted his vulgarity as a bludgeon to bully everyone around him. It felt disappointing to me. Maybe that’s me letting my expectations get in the way.
The director was new to me as well. Much to my surprise Jack Conway’s career had 114 credits as a director PLUS 104 acting credits. His acting work was in the silents for the most part. He was a competent, reliable director who was content to make the movie the studio wanted made. All of tha work gives him the dubious distinction of being one of two directors who had three of their films nominated for “Best Film” while never being nominated for “Best Director”. Nothing to complain about here, he tells the story and let’s the actors do their thing.
Good cast, decent story, feels dated though.
Rating – *** Worth A Look
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