Home Town Story

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.

Home Town Story
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Arthur Pierson
Written by	Arthur Pierson
Produced by	Arthur Pierson
Starring	Jeffrey Lynn Donald Crisp Marjorie Reynolds Marilyn Monroe Alan Hale Jr.
Cinematography	Lucien N. Andriot
Edited by	William F. Claxton
Music by	Louis Forbes Alfred Newman
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	May 18, 1951 (1951-05-18)
Running time	61 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$334,000[1]

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]