The Hucksters (1947)

★ 6.9 1h 55m IMDb

A World War II veteran wants to return to advertising on his own terms, but finds it difficult to be successful and maintain his integrity.

The Hucksters

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Cast

Clark Gable
Clark Gable as Victor Albee Norman Died 1960 · Cadiz, Ohio, USA William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960) was an American actor. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Gable the seventh-greatest male star of all-time. His most famous role was...
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr as Kay Dorrance Died 2007 · Helensburgh, Scotland, UK Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 1921 – 16 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr, was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During...
Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Greenstreet as Evan Llewellyn Evans Died 1954 · Eastry, Kent, England, UK Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (27 December 1879 – 18 January 1954) was an English actor. He is best known for his Warner Bros. films with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, which include The Maltese Falcon...
Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Menjou as Mr. Kimberly Died 1963 · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies. He appeared in such films as Charlie Chaplin's A Woman of Paris, whe...
Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner as Jean Ogilvie Died 1990 · Grabtown, North Carolina, USA Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Considered one of the most iconic stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, she was ranke...
Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn as Buddy Hare Died 1986 · New York City, New York, USA Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead...

Audience Reviews

CinemaSerf 7/10 Jul 07, 2022
Clark Gable ("Victor Norman") returns from WWII to rekindle his career in advertising. His cunning plan involves the glamorous war widow Deborah Kerr ("Kay"), nervous old ad agency boss "Mr. Kimberly" (Adoplhe Menjou), some considerable perspicacity and a whole load of soap. The latter element is provided by the wonderfully odious "Evan Llewellyn Evans" (Sydney Greenstreet,) the shrewd, but ghastly, owner of the most popular brand of beauty soap for whom Gable engages Kerr to star in an advertisement. Much to everyone's surprise, the entrepreneur rather likes the end product and "Norman" looks like his new, highly paid, career is set fair. Meantime, he has completely fallen for "Kay", but his methods of courtship lack, shall we say, finesse or style! Will he get the big job and/or the girl? Does he even want the big job an/or the girl? Wakeman's novel sets up the shallowness of the advertising industry for a good kicking: it's manipulation of those it considers the "sheep" (i.e us) to buy whatever rehashed nonsense they choose to offer us, is presented in a frequently quite comical - certainly quite cynical - fashion, with Greenstreet superb as the thoroughly unpleasant boss surrounded by his band of acolytes calling out "check" when he seeks their nominal agreement for his decisions. Jack Conway let's the star own the film - the dialogue is quickly delivered; and there is the merest hint of chemistry between him and his new to Hollywood co-star, who could have been doing with a little more substance to her part. Edward Arnold chips in well too, and there is an early outing for keenan Wynn as "Buddy Hare"- the kind of comic that has me reaching for my shotgun! It's a bit on the long side, the story runs out of steam a bit - but its still well worth watching.

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