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Youngblood Hawke

     Hey, everyone. I had the pleasure of watching a terrific, older movie tonight on TCM (Turner Classic Movies.) The title is Youngblood Hawke. This is a 1964 work that could best be described as a human drama, I suppose. My reason for watching it was because it was about an author, but I found it to be so well done that anyone could enjoy it.
    James Franciscus stars as Youngblood Hawke, a young Kentucky lad who aspires to be a writer. No, that's not fair. He is a writer. He drives a truck for a living but works all night, most nights, writing a massive first novel. He sends it to New York to a publisher, as myself and untold millions of other people have done. (I have a few nice form letters of rejection around here somewhere.)
      Mr. Hawke is weary of his life, his job and his bitter mother. His uncle has cheated the Hawke family out of their interest in a coal mining property. She is preparing to bring suit against her crooked relatives when Youngblood gets 'The Call'. By this I mean that call that all writers think about. The call from a publisher saying they like your book and want to publish it.
     Hawke, ecstatic over the news, departs for the big apple. He is, of course, the proverbial babe in the woods. His new publisher takes advantage of the fact that the kid has no agent and signs him to a minimum deal. He does one thing for him, though. He gives him the top notch editor of all time. It is certain that Hawke hit the jackpot with Jeanne Green (Suzanne Pleshette). Jeanne is bright, skilled and a total babe. Moreover, she is devoted to the fiery young writer's success. She gets him a loft apartment above her own and they are able to collaborate at all hours. I mean that in an innocent way. They are churning away on Hawke's second novel.
       Unfortunately, depending on your point of view, Hawke meets a society damsel named Mrs. Frieda Winter. (Played by the devastating Genevieve Page.) Yes, a married woman with three young children and a fabulously wealthy husband. Sparks fly between the two immediately. Frieda invites the young writer to her townhouse to check out her reference library, which he hopes to use in his second book. It has a great deal of books on decorating during certain historical periods, you see. I am sure that neither Frieda or Mr. Hawke thought that anything provocative would happen. But, it is Christmas Eve, her husband and children are in Connecticut for the Holidays, and she is due to leave for London the next day on business.
      As some of us might have assumed, a torrid affair begins with that one night. Oh, she leaves the next day, but she comes back to New York when the youngster sends her the first copy of his new book when it rolls off the press. She finds him hard at work in the squalor of his apartment, along with his hot, young editor. Frieda immediately arranges for an actor friend to let the writer stay in his penthouse while the actor goes abroad.
      Frieda, wealthy and influential, pulls many strings for her protege. His career is like a shooting star. It is like a fantasy land for author's. In fact, Hawke would have had difficulty writing such a happy ending. Visions of Pulitzers, #1 Bestsellers, jetting to Nassau to write a screen play, all of these and more dance through his dreams.
      Surfeit with blessings, he fails to treat his best friends very well. The faithful Jeanne, for one. Her new boss and fiance for another. This guy has received Jeanne on the rebound. No basketball player has ever had such luck, believe me.
      As the movie progresses you begin to rue each new move by the young Hawke. The confidence of youth leads to massive errors, sometimes, and we are all guilty of foibles. Only by the grace of God do we escape relatively unscathed.
    Will Hawke survive his own errors? Will his affair with the smoking Frieda burn things better left untouched? Will Jeanne continue to devote herself to a selfish, foolish man? Will Hawke, like many other people, mistake success in one field to mean that he can be victorious in the business world? Check this film out at TCM, Amazon, Blockbuster or whatever you desire. I rate it as 4.5 stars out of 5. It is very, very good. It is well directed, and superbly acted by all cast. Do yourself  a favor and see this cautionary tale for writers and really, all young people. Heck, all people, really.
   I'm CE Wills. Good night from the author's green retreat.

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