American Portrait

Alan Ladd was starting to move into credited parts in 1940, a year in which he had roles in a dozen and a half movies, including this one. He plays this in heavy make-up as an old man and using a voice that would be unrecognizable to anyone familiar with his starring movies. At the time he was doing a lot of radio work which called for a facility with voices; two years later, his voice would be part of his starring persona and he would use it for the following two decades.

Milburn Stone, now best remembered for his continuing role in TV's GUNSMOKE is also on hand.

This is a nice little industrial film with good production values and a cast and crew that worked hard. It speaks of the importance of salesmen in getting people to accept new and valuable ideas. It's actually to sell life insurance.