Alcoholic reporter Bruce Foster is on the road to ruin when he partners with advertising man "Perk" Perkins to form a successful advertising agency. Foster makes the business a success, but ... Read allAlcoholic reporter Bruce Foster is on the road to ruin when he partners with advertising man "Perk" Perkins to form a successful advertising agency. Foster makes the business a success, but his personal life suffers.Alcoholic reporter Bruce Foster is on the road to ruin when he partners with advertising man "Perk" Perkins to form a successful advertising agency. Foster makes the business a success, but his personal life suffers.
- Red Moran, City Desk Editor
- (as Charles Wilson)
- Adrienne's Maid
- (uncredited)
- Girl
- (uncredited)
- Peggy's Song Publisher Escort
- (uncredited)
- Adrienne Deane's Secretary
- (uncredited)
- Deane Co. Chemist
- (uncredited)
- Deane Co. Receptionist
- (uncredited)
- Perkins Co. Worker
- (uncredited)
- Moran's Assistant
- (uncredited)
- Chili, a Bartender
- (uncredited)
- Charlie, Deane Co. Chemist
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaCostars Richard Dix and David Landau both died on September 20th (Dix in 1949, Landau in 1935), both aged 56.
- GoofsAt the beginning of the film, the newspaper that Bruce Foster (Richard Dix) works for, and later fired from, is called "The Reflector." It's referred to by name in the dialogue and the masthead appears in one shot. Later in the film, however, in a scene between Foster and Zimmer (the newspaper's editor, played by David Landau), the publication is referred to as "The Chronicle."
- Quotes
Bruce Foster: You're young. You have your whole life ahead of you. You know where you're going. Or, maybe you're a searcher. You're pursuing a career. You're busy. You're mired in decadence and sloth, just killing time, numbing your brain.
[pause]
Bruce Foster: When are you going to marry? Start a family?
Peggy Wilson: Someday.
Bruce Foster: Someday? *Some*day? *Some*day may be too late.
It sounds like pretty spicy pre-Code fare and I guess the idea is pretty daring, especially since the couple at the beginning seem quite happy with their relationship. However, as there really isn't much passion on display and little chemistry in either pairing, it actually seemed pretty tame. The cast doesn't have big stars (Richard Dix is the man, Elizabeth Allen the artist, and Doris Kenyon the client), and that might have been part of the problem. More significantly, though, the film doesn't really want to commit itself to this idea of "no marriage ties," or exploring what that means in an honest way. The character of the artist has no depth and comes across more as a sweet fantasy than a real person. The film then veers off into the guy's immorality in the advertising business, selling products that don't work or are harmful, a subplot that takes a life of its own and leads to a dreadful expository speech near the end. Good grief that was bad. It then seems to link what he's doing as an advertising exec with his lifestyle and its consequences, wrapping it all up in a bundle that's rather traditional and conservative.
At 72 minutes though, at least it moves along, and there are some fun little bits to this film that made it entertaining. While drunk the guy refers to his boss as a "sh*t faced mongrel," for example. Another thing is the guy's office being equipped with a giant bar on a revolving stand; he comes in and his secretary wheels it open, pours him a shot, and tells him "Your breakfast," while handing it to him. By contrast, his client's office has some lovely little Art Deco touches and beautiful lettering on the office doors. When he's dating her she takes him to a performance from "The Russian Art Players" where we see a scene of a couple of peasants speaking Russian; he then takes her to a wrestling match the next time they're out. While in the Caribbean and she's in his arms on a boat, we hear a lovely little bit of the song "Venezuela" from a voice that I wish had been credited. With these kinds of things and the initial challenge to traditional marriage I would have given it a slightly higher rating if it hadn't slipped off the rails at the end; regardless, you could do worse than seeing this one.
- gbill-74877
- Jun 17, 2021
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Ad-Man
- Filming locations
- Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York, USA(passenger line passing under bridge)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 12 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1