Search - Home Town Story on DVD

A great film that also happens to feature a young Marilyn

Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 09/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Hometown sore loser

Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 03/06/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Niche market mfrs. such as this one offer no commentary, deleted scenes or other bonus features. Dubs are "best available source" and can vary from very good to only fair.


Before HOME TOWN STORY, Marilyn Monroe had minor parts in a dozen pictures, most notably THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950) and ALL ABOUT EVE (1950). With her Triton Oil TV spot straight-haired coif, Marilyn's role is peripheral here, as well. "Home Town Story" is a ''B" grade MGM programmer.

SYNOPSIS--
Newly out-of-office Blake Washburn (Lynn) believes the son of a wealthy businessman tricked the electorate into voting for him. Blake uses his editor's position on the family newspaper to search for dirt on his victorious opponent. His columns attack the new senator and companies owned by the man's dad.

Blake's hostilities soon extend to local corporations. Star reporter Slim Haskins (Hale) doesn't like it and gets punished for saying so with menial story assignments. When Blake admits to fiancée Janice Hunt (Reynolds) that he's broken a promise to work for the people and is using the paper only to get re-elected, she threatens to leave him. Slim and Blake argue and start throwing punches. Their personal business is interrupted by a visitor, plus news of a school outing tragedy involving Blake's kid sister.


Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 imdb viewer poll rating.

(5.3) Home Town Story (1951) - Jeffrey Lynn/Donald Crisp/Marjorie Reynolds/Alan Hale Jr./Marlyn Monroe (uncredited: Hugh Beaumont/John Archer/Hal Taggart/Tom Keene)"