Thursday, April 20, 2006

The Hucksters

I'm continuing on my mini-Clark Gable kick. Finished watching 1947's The Hucksters. It hits the nail on the head in regard to ad agency life. In my past job, I was an account executive at an interactive agency. Saw the same patterns - the panicking account people, the clients who thought they knew everything, the account people who kissed up to the client.

Gable does a good job as coming across as a smooth ad guy. There's one scene where the agency big wigs go to see the owner of the Beautee Soap Company, their big $10 million account. The meeting starts with the owner (the massive Sydney Greenstreet) spitting on the board room table to make a point. Point made.

Gable's love interest, Deborah Kerr, comes off as nails on a chalkboard to me. Her character appears so weak and vulnerable that it gets downright annoying. I buzzed through the opening credits & totally missed that Edward Arnold was in the pic. Though Arnold has a small part, he does add some variety to the story.

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