Clark’s second picture after returning to the screen, The Hucksters is categorized as a drama
but really it is a bit of a satire, poking fun at the advertising industry.

Clark’s character, Victor “Vic” Norman, is just home from the war and immediately sets his sights on returning to the advertising game. He seeks a job from Adolphe Menjou (an off screen pal of Gable). To land the job, he must entice a British widow (Deborah Kerr) to pose for a soap campaign. He falls in love with her, as a nightclub singer (a young and fresh-faced Ava Gardner, their first film together) falls for him. He is constantly at odds with himself: is all this manipulation and diminishing self respect worth it, just to please a bellowing soap company tycoon (Sydney Greenstreet)?

Ava Gardner singing "Don't Tell Me"


Quote-able Gable

“How are you, Frank?” first line

“I want to remind myself that money is only money.
It’s a thought that will make me sincere about not needing a job.”

“I want a very sincere necktie!”

“I’m not married. Not the type.”

“I get paid for my opinion!”

“Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? Get a massage, get drunk!”

“I’m just as insensitive as they come.”

“Women always seem to trust a man who smokes a pipe. If I had a dog, I would try to smell a little doggy.”

“A huckster is a peddler. You know, a hawker. We’re professional hucksters but with station wagons instead of push carts.”

“I haven’t had much experience with honest people and I’m not sure I like them. How can you tell what they’re going to do next?

“Have you gotten prettier since I last saw you?”

“Unfortunately what the public wants has nothing to do with radio. It’s what the sponsor wants that counts.”

“Everybody was a nobody once!”

“Now we’re starting with an even nothing in the world—it’s neater that way.” last line

Behind the Scenes

The book upon which the screenplay was based had Kerr's character as being married and having an affair with Gable's character. The script was changed to make her a widow and a more sympathetic character.