This is a lifeless story. A kind man takes pity on a young author, even though he is detestable, and aids him financially. He receives nothing and the writer even lies to him big time. I'm not sure what we are to learn from this. The benefactor had every right to do what he did, yet he is portrayed as a loser. Skip this one.
2 Reviews
Don't understand why he tried to help the young writer
FlushingCaps22 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Wealthy author Ralston Temple is persuaded by his secretary to read the three chapters of a novel someone has sent him, and winds up agreeing to meet the young author. It turns out, the young would-be author, Alan Chatterton, is a rude bore who pays little attention to Temple and who is only there to ask for the author to stake him to a modest salary of $40 a week so he can be free to finish his work.
For reasons that escape me, Temple agrees, and we soon see that he is constantly adding to his "loans" to the young man, including $1,000 so he can marry a woman he has impregnated-remember this is 1962. Temple later sees Chatterton living it up at a fancy restaurant, learns that he is a regular customer there AND that he totally made up the story about the woman he "had" to marry. With no evidence the man is even trying to write, Temple tears up the contract he had for half the rights to his book and leaves on his planned world cruise.
***ENDING SPOILER ALERT*** When he comes back, Temple learns that Chatterton is now a best-selling author and although he paid him back for what Temple paid him, he is through with the author because Temple never had any faith in him.
I hate to give away endings, but in this supposed-to-be humorous episode, I just dropped my jaw and said, "That was it!?" The totally unlikeable man who lied to get extra funds, wasted much of the money he was lent, did finally produce a book. Temple lost out because he tore up the contract-although this point was never even mentioned. But with no laughs, no crimes, no reason to like Chatterton, almost no reason to like Temple or even his secretary for that matter, this whole episode just seemed like a waste of my time. A three is the best I can give it.
For reasons that escape me, Temple agrees, and we soon see that he is constantly adding to his "loans" to the young man, including $1,000 so he can marry a woman he has impregnated-remember this is 1962. Temple later sees Chatterton living it up at a fancy restaurant, learns that he is a regular customer there AND that he totally made up the story about the woman he "had" to marry. With no evidence the man is even trying to write, Temple tears up the contract he had for half the rights to his book and leaves on his planned world cruise.
***ENDING SPOILER ALERT*** When he comes back, Temple learns that Chatterton is now a best-selling author and although he paid him back for what Temple paid him, he is through with the author because Temple never had any faith in him.
I hate to give away endings, but in this supposed-to-be humorous episode, I just dropped my jaw and said, "That was it!?" The totally unlikeable man who lied to get extra funds, wasted much of the money he was lent, did finally produce a book. Temple lost out because he tore up the contract-although this point was never even mentioned. But with no laughs, no crimes, no reason to like Chatterton, almost no reason to like Temple or even his secretary for that matter, this whole episode just seemed like a waste of my time. A three is the best I can give it.
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