| Home Town Story | |
|---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster  | |
| Directed by | Arthur Pierson | 
| Written by | Arthur Pierson | 
| Produced by | Arthur Pierson | 
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Lucien N. Andriot | 
| Edited by | William F. Claxton | 
| Music by | |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 
Release date  | 
  | 
Running time  | 61 minutes | 
| Country | United States | 
| Language | English | 
| Box office | $334,000[1] | 
Home Town Story is a 1951 American drama film written and directed by Arthur Pierson, starring Jeffrey Lynn, Donald Crisp, and Marjorie Reynolds, with Marilyn Monroe and Alan Hale Jr.
Plot
A defeated politician, Blake Washburn, takes over as editor of a small town newspaper in an effort to get himself re-elected. His campaign is intended to be a continuing exposé of the evils of big industry, and his strategy is to publish daily screeds against enormous corporate profits that enrich shareholders.
On a school outing to an abandoned mine, Washburn's little sister is trapped in the collapse of a mine tunnel caused as the result of a disgruntled employee's negligence, and the town's industries come to her rescue. The sister is rescued and flown in a company plane to the big city, and Washburn has a change of heart and recognizes that big corporations are necessary because, "It takes bigness to do big things", a line in the film delivered by MacFarland, the maker of the medical device that saved the sister.
Cast
- Jeffrey Lynn as Blake Washburn
 - Donald Crisp as John MacFarland
 - Marjorie Reynolds as Janice Hunt
 - Alan Hale Jr. as Slim Haskins
 - Marilyn Monroe as Iris Martin
 - Barbara Brown as Mrs. Washburn
 - Melinda Plowman as Katie Washburn
 - Renny McEvoy as Leo, the taxi driver
 - Glenn Tryon as Ken Kenlock
 - Byron Foulger as Berny Miles
 - Griff Barnett as Uncle Cliff Washburn
 - Virginia Campbell as Phoebe Hartman
 - Harry Harvey as Andy Butterworth
 - Nelson Leigh as Dr. Johnson
 - Speck Noblitt as motorcycle officer
 
Reception
According to MGM records, the film grossed $243,000 in the United States and Canada and $91,000 elsewhere, making a profit of $195,000.[1]
References
External links
- Home Town Story at IMDb
 - Home Town Story is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
 - Home Town Story at AllMovie
 - Home Town Story at Rotten Tomatoes
 - Home Town Story at the American Film Institute Catalog
 - Home Town Story at the TCM Movie Database
 
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