Tonight's Movie: The Hucksters (1947) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

THE HUCKSTERS (1947), an MGM advertising drama with a terrific cast, was just released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive Collection.

I first reviewed THE HUCKSTERS nearly 20 years ago, in 2007, after watching it on VHS. The movie was later released by the Warner Archive on a DVD-R in 2011. 

We've certainly come a long way from the VHS recording I watched years ago to the Warner Archive Collection's sparkling Blu-ray! We're really living in the best of times in terms of high-quality prints available for home viewing.

Clark Gable stars in THE HUCKSTERS as Vic Norman, newly returned from wartime service and looking to jumpstart his old career in the advertising business.

Vic goes to work for an ad agency run by Mr. Kimberly (Adophe Menjou) and is tasked with dealing with Evan Llewellyn Evans (Sydney Greenstreet), the odd and very difficult owner of Beautee Soap.

Through his work on a Beautee Soap ad campaignVic meets war widow Kay Dorrance (Deborah Kerr), a mother of two young children (Eugene Lay and Dianne Perrine).

Vic and Kay quickly fall for one another and Vic begins to imagine life as a family man, but before they can have their happy ending Vic has some postwar maturing to do. He needs to change his old standby game plans in terms of both how he treats the woman he loves and what he really wants from his career.

True happiness, in both love and business, will require Vic dropping the most expedient paths to romance and financial success, and instead he'll need to find and live up to stronger values.

This 115-minute movie was directed by Jack Conway from a screenplay by Luther Davis which was based on an adaptation of Frederic Wakeman's novel. It's entertaining and makes good points without dwelling on them so long that the film becomes preachy.

As I noted in 2007, many of the movie's themes remain relevant today, including examinations of business ethics and the roles of advertising and media. It also works simply an enjoyable romantic drama.

The sterling cast gives the film a lot of entertainment value. Gable is always tops with me, and he's great here as the charismatic adman who slowly starts to question his morals.

One might not think Gable would pair well with proper British actress Deborah Kerr -- especially when Ava Gardner is on hand as a nightclub singer carrying a torch for him -- but Gable and Kerr are quite charming together. They hit it off from their first scenes and have genuine chemistry, each providing things missing from the other character's life.

Gardner is also quite appealing, and one wishes for her character's sake that she was given her own happy ending.

Greenstreet's part is frankly way over the top, but it's hard not to be entertained by the actor, and I especially appreciated Edward Arnold as a man who has business dealings with Vic. Vic's mild attempt at blackmail late in the film, as an attempt to pressure Arnold's character, ends up causing Vic to seriously reexamine his personal ethics.

The supporting cast also includes Keenan Wynn, Douglas Fowley, Clinton Sundberg, Connie Gilchrist, Gloria Holden, Frank Albertson, and Richard Gaines.

As I noted in 2007, there are some interesting people in minor roles, including the great Marie Windsor in a brief scene on a train.

A great bit of trivia: A hallway which is seen behind Gable and Menjou late in the film, as they wait to enter Greenstreet's office, was also used by MGM as a Pentagon hallway in THE BEGINNING OR THE END (1947). It's actually a painted backdrop, which five years later was memorably used as a prop in Donald O'Connor's "Make 'Em Laugh" number in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952). The hallway backdrop can be glimpsed in a still seen here.

THE HUCKSTERS was filmed by Harold Rosson in beautiful black and white. The typical MGM gloss is shown off to great effect on this Blu-ray print, which comes from a 1080p HD master from 4K scans of the "best preservation elements."

Disc extras consist of the trailer (which points out that "Kerr rhymes with Star"); the cartoon SALT WATER TABBY (1947); a 22-minute short, GIVE US THE EARTH! (1947); and short audio-only tracks of the Beautee Soap jingles heard in the film.

As is the norm for Warner Archive Blu-rays, optional English subtitles are included.

THE HUCKSTERS is an enjoyable film on a lovely Blu-ray disc. Recommended.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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