''Cash McCall'' is a 1960 American romantic drama film in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

from

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, produced by

Henry Blanke Henry Blanke (December 30, 1901 – May 28, 1981) was a German-born film producer who also worked as an assistant director, supervisor, writer, and production manager. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for '' The Nun’s Sto ...

, directed by Joseph Pevney, and starring

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy ...

and

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles. Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring r ...

. The film's screenplay by Lenore J. Coffee and Marion Hargrove is based upon the novel of the same name by Cameron Hawley. The film's storyline concerns a wealthy entrepreneur who buys moribund businesses in order to first refurbish and then sell them at a considerable profit. During his latest acquisition, he's attracted to the daughter of the company's owner, which complicates both his professional and private life.

Plot

Grant Austen, the head of Austen Plastics, yearns for retirement. So when Schofield Industries, his largest customer, threatens to take its business elsewhere, Austen hires a consulting firm, which finds an interested potential buyer, the notorious businessman Cash McCall. Cash meets with Austen and his daughter Lory, who owns part of the company. Austen conceals the problem he has with Schofield Industries. Afterwards, Cash speaks to Lory privately. It turns out they met the previous summer and were attracted to each other. However, when Lory showed up at his cabin soaking wet from a summer rainstorm later that night, Cash, not ready for a serious relationship, gently turned her away. Mortified by the rejection, she fled back into the storm. When he was unable to get Lory out of his mind, Cash realized he had made a big mistake. He overpays for Austen Plastics just so he can reconnect with her. Before the deal is finalized, Gil Clark, Cash's assistant, discovers that Austen Plastics holds

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

s essential to Schofield Industries. Its alarmed boss, retired Army General Danvers, tries to buy Austen Plastics himself. Cash then decides that he could run Schofield more profitably and starts secretly buying up controlling interest in the second company. In the middle of all the deal making, Cash proposes marriage to Lory, and she accepts. However, Maude Kennard, the assistant manager of the hotel where Cash resides, wants Cash for herself and tricks Lory into believing that she is Cash's girlfriend. Meanwhile, one of Austen's business acquaintances, Harvey Bannon, convinces him that Cash swindled him and paid much less than the company is worth, prompting Austen to sue Cash. Eventually, everything is cleared up, and Cash and Lory reconcile, while Gil talks Grant into going back to work.

Cast

Production

This was one of three theatrical films produced with Garner as leading man during the period in which he was still playing the lead in the Warner Bros. television series ''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...

'' (the other two were ''

Darby's Rangers ''Darby's Rangers'' (released in the UK as ''The Young Invaders'') is a 1958 war film directed by William Wellman and starring James Garner as William Orlando Darby, who organizes and leads the first units of United States Army Rangers during Wo ...

'' and ''

Up Periscope ''Up Periscope'' is a 1959 World War II submarine film drama directed by Gordon Douglas, produced by Aubrey Schenck and starring James Garner and Edmond O'Brien. The supporting cast features Andra Martin, Alan Hale Jr., Edd Byrnes, Warren Oate ...

''). Garner subsequently left the studio upon winning a contentious lawsuit and continued his movie career. ''Cash McCall'' screenplay writer and comedy novel best seller Marion Hargrove had also written several scripts for Garner's ''Maverick'' series. Garner wrote in his memoirs that he felt it was "not much of a movie, but I liked Natalie."

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. Howard Thompson of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' called it "a painless, amusing movie exercise that now and then touches solid ground." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that the film suffered from characters that were "stock and, in some cases, foolish," and a script that "borders on the ridiculous in piling on the number and kind of cCall'smultifarious enterprises," but "for audiences willing to accept a surface story for romantic shenanigans, the picture will suffice." '' Harrison's Reports'' wrote: "True, not too much attention to detail has been devoted to the real intricacies of business and high finance, but it's still a pleasant piece of entertainment certain to delight audiences who crave life's complexities dished out in simple mouthfuls." Richard L. Coe of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' declared: "Exactly what the makers of 'Cash McCall' thought they were doing I don't know, but they have come up with a boozy fairy tale which to men will have all the appeal '

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

' presumably has for females." ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' wrote, "The financial wangling is often quite amusing ... but nothing can prevent the film's romantic stretches seeming a trite and tedious makeweight to Cash's amoral escapades in the financial jungle."

References

External links