Madison Avenue

I don't know. I watched this movie because I loved the cast: Dana Andrews, Jeanne Crain, and Eleanor Parker. But this movie is just kind of blah. It's supposed to be about ad executives dating and fighting it out over a "great" story. The plot is almost as confusing as it is pointless. I liked it, for the two or three good moments between Crain and Andrews (and since they made STATE FAIR together I can forgive them just about anything) but poor Eleanor Parker is totally wasted here. She's her usual, beautiful self, but it's a dumb part in a stupid movie. (Thank goodness, she got her role in THE SOUND OF MUSIC only three years later.) Crain was reaching the end of her career by 1962, and she and Andrews only made one more film together: HOT RODS TO HELL (don't even get me started on that fiasco). So all in all, MADISON AVENUE is nice, for the sole purpose of seeing pretty Jeanne Crain, handsome Dana Andrews, and beautiful Eleanor Parker - but not much else.

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.

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.

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.

Curiously sedate and middle-of-the-road drama about cutthroat big business in the ad agency game. Dana Andrews plays hot-shot, ambitious public relations whiz in New York City who sees a fast track to the top: build up a second-string advertising firm in league with a dairy subsidiary to his largest account, Associated Dairy Corp., thereby giving himself an entrance to the big money when the time is right. Eleanor Parker plays the struggling agency's president-by-default who gets a make-over; Jeanne Crain plays a "jilted girl reporter" who may be trying to stab sometime-boyfriend Andrews in the back. This is one of many films which teamed Andrews with Crain, and they are very comfortable together, but the other performers fare much better with this minor material. Parker, in particular, brings some real flair to her role, Eddie Albert is very good as a befuddled corporation head, and Kathleen Freeman is terrific as the world's most efficient secretary. There's a bit of bounce in the direction and a terrific score by Harry Sukman, yet one gets the distinct feeling this was just a throwaway flick for 20th Century-Fox. The set designs (with a fetish for ships) and the art direction are dull, and the movie seems underpopulated and cumbersome. ** from ****