Madison Avenue

The mark of 6 out of ten refers to the quality of the DVD and not the actual film. The quality of the print of this Fox MOD DVD for this interesting film is not bad but has unfortunately "been modified to fit your screen". Too bad Fox took the cheap and easy way out. That being said,if you put your screen to zoom it does not seem as badly stretched as with most other films. When you watch the opening credits, without the zoom on, you can see that their is indeed a problem. As this will probably be the best we can expect for any type of authorized DVD release, it is still worth a purchase. It is just too bad that this black and white cinemascope film could not have been presented in all it's natural glory.

Well, I must admit that I watched this movie, only because it is the last one directed by the bland and lame director Bruce Humberstone, who was far more inspired by this CHARLIE CHAN movies, back in the thirties, and some other features in the meantime: FURY AT FURNACE CREEK. His only and unique masterpiece was I WAKE UP SCREAMING, of course, and I have a bit tenderness for SOUTH SEA SINNER and the several Tarzan adventures he also made in the late fifties. So, I am totally amazed that he was involved in such a sophisticated drama speaking of business, business and business, where glamor shines by its superb absence.... What the f....happened to him, regarding to his filmography? Imagine John Ford finishing his career with a musical...But Henry Hathaway ended his with a lousy Blaxploitation movie.

This obscure (at least until the Fox Movie Network unearthed it recently) drama revolving around the advertising world pales in comparison to other movies featuring corporate intrigue like "Executive Suite" and "Patterns". Andrews plays a hot shot ad exec who's too bright for his own good, which gets him canned by his employer. Seeking revenge, he decides to use every trick he can think of to climb to the top and steal away his former employer's biggest account. Along the way he uses and sometimes abuses a variety of people. The film is not quite as exciting as this description may lead one to believe. Andrews (never the most expressive of actors) gives a pretty straightforward performance with little creativity or style. Crain plays an on-again/off-again squeeze of Andrews. She is in just slightly over her head as the calculating and worldly character, but comes out fairly well. Parker has, perhaps, the showiest role as a partner to Andrews. She goes from glum and drab to ultra-sophisticated and gorgeous in just a day or so under his tutelage. (Oddly, there is no credited costume designer even though she sports one particular stunning ensemble and the film has an array of suits and dresses throughout that SOMEONE had to have worked on!) Albert effectively plays a child-like dunderhead who is built up by Andrews as a tool for greater power. The great Daniell is shamelessly wasted in a tiny part as a curmudgeonly executive, but manages to impress despite this. The inimitable Freeman has a nice little part as a secretary. The film is as slick as the sort of ads it purports to ruminate about. Unusual for a movie about advertising, there is never so much as a glimpse of any artwork or campaign designs. Instead, there's a horrid little ditty called the Milk Song sung in harmony by three ladies dressed in what appear to be Crain's old costumes from 1945's "State Fair". These chickadees chirp their sweet little song as a row of ad execs glow with appreciation. Yeah.....It's a real jungle out there! Though watchable, the film doesn't really catch fire and the various names of the businessmen become confusing at times since the script is so pedestrian. Attempts at shorthand, snappy dialogue often just leave the viewer wondering what the characters are even talking about. (A plot like this shouldn't be so hard to follow!) "Bewitched" viewers may get a lift out of seeing White ("Mr. Tate") in a straight role.

Dana Andrews is an ambitious public relations man in "Madison Avenue," a 1962 film that also stars Eleanor Parker, Jeanne Crain, Eddie Albert, Kathleen Freeman, Howard St. John and Henry Daniell. By 1962, this was no longer an A cast, and this is a second tier film at best. Andrews romances reporter Peggy Shannon (Crain) and public relations firm owner Anne Tremaine (Parker) as he makes his way up the corporate ladder with the goal of landing a huge milk account away from his old boss. He becomes the puppet holding the strings of the head of the company (Albert) and, in a desperate attempt to keep the account, pimps out Anne to him in a not too subtle scene.

Though a '62 film, it's made in black and white and feels like a '50s movie - possibly because corporate ambition was a '50s topic with films like "Executive Suite" and "Woman's World." The acting is good but the story is slow in spots, and I felt at the end like the writer just decided to stop writing. The whole thing was kind of a shrug without enough bite or top level stars to make it really powerful.

Is it worth seeing? Yes, Andrews is solid, it's always worth it to see Parker and the always beautiful Crain, and a delight to see character actor Henry Daniell so late in his career. It's mildly entertaining, which is more than I can say about a lot of films made today.

Based on a novel titled "The Build Up Boys," this lavishly produced widescreen movie was an unknown quantity for me until I discovered it on the Fox Movie Channel. The opening montage of colossal skyscrapers and city denizens rushing to work is very promising. Perhaps that is why what transpires next is so stupefyingly dull. Nothing really works here. David White, Larry on "Bewitched", utters a scary bit of dialogue: "Milk is actually a solid and should be sipped and chewed." Confused? So am I. There is more of that snappy banter between the sexes. It doesn't work here, either. Unfortunately, there is also a good deal of uncomfortable leering and lecherous behavior going on in a professional environment. The type of behavior which would get you fired or slapped with a lawsuit ASAP. Dana Andrews has always been a favorite actor of mine. But I longed to see his real-life brother, Steve Forest, show up with his "S.W.A.T." buddies just to stir things up a little. Jean Crain, another favorite of mine, plays a gossip columnist and "rock hound!" Go figure that one out. The opening musical theme has a simple piano melody over a lush background orchestration. I liked it.

I really wanted to like this sophisticated flick so I viewed it again. Same response. Maybe I will watch it a third time. I don't give up easily.