Home Town Story

Starring: Donald Crisp, Jeffrey Lynn Director: Arthur Pierson Original UK Premiere: 1951 Dvd Release: 12th January, 2004 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: Black & White, PAL, Region 0 Encoding

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Hometown Story features Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest roles, & 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. Hes not above punching a guy for joking about the election, & even his old friends are likely to be met with a cold shoulder. Washburn takes over his uncles newspaper, but all he cares about is starting an editorial crusade that will help him win his Senate seat back. Slim Haskins , his best friend & lead reporter, grows increasingly frustrated at Washburns politicized agenda, & even Washburns long-suffering fiancé Janice cannot get through to him, even when she threatens to call the whole thing off. Undaunted, Washburn rakes big business up & down the coals of his editorial pages, even after one local businessman, John McFarland , gives him an Economics 101 lecture on the importance of big business & its products in everyday life.

Then Washburns little sister Katie enters an old mine to retrieve her new puppy & becomes the victim of a terrible cave-in. The wealthy Mr. McFarland comes to Katies aid in a very big way, as does big business itself through a number of its mechanical & life-saving products. Hometown Story carries an important message, & it delivers this message in a quite moving & certainly entertaining manner. As for Marilyn Monroe, she plays Washburns 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 Hales character has the hots for Iris, & I cannot help but get a kick out of watching the Skipper trying to put the moves on Marilyn Monroe.

Donald Crisp was a film actor & director. Born George William Crisp in London, England, he began his film acting career in 1908 & appeared in D W Griffith s The Birth of a Nation in 1915. During the silent film era, he also directed comedy films & dramas such as the 1916 version of Ramona. Although he directed his last film in 1930, the Directors Guild of America voted him a Life Member Award in 1957. With the advent of talking pictures, Crisp established a career as a versatile character actor & won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the Welsh father in How Green Was My Valley. His more than 150 films include Broken Blossoms, The Black Pirate, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Life of Emile Zola, Jezebel, Wuthering Heights, The Private Lives of Elizabeth & Essex, Knute Rockne, All American, Lassie Come Home, The Uninvited, National Velvet The Valley of Decision Pollyanna & Greyfriars Bobby. He was married to the screenwriter Jane Murfin from 1932 until 1944. Posters Of The Navigator

Editors Choice: The Battle Of Midway, Greyfriars Bobby, Home Town Story, The Navigator, Hometown Story, Marilyn Monroe, World War Ii, View DVDology

Jeffrey Lynn was an American actor. Born Ragnar Lind in Auburn, Massachusetts, Lynn was a school teacher before he began his acting career. He came to Hollywood & made his film debut in Out Where the Stars Begin. He achieved a notable success in 1938 appearing with the Lane Sisters in Four Daughters & the popularity of the movie was so great that it was followed by three sequels, Daughters Courageous, Four Wives & Four Mothers with Lynn reprising his role in each of them. After the success of Four Daughters, Lynn was screen tested for the role of Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind. He was considered to be the front runner for the role based on the quality of his test & his physical resemblance to the character as written. Lynn was used extensively during the Search for Scarlett playing Ashley in the screen tests for many of the actresses who tried out for the part. Posters Of Marilyn Monroe

Editors Choice: Home Town Story, Hometown Story, Underground, Marilyn Monroe, View DVDology

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