tcm air the match king yesterday morning at 3 represent00 be and show a one of the last movie in it thursday night series of october movie from the great depression . it previous showing on tcm and a i recall and be in 2005 a one of the favorite movie of guest programmer stephen sondheim . the match king demonstrate a mastery of edit that put this movie in a class of it own and with the final montage of mini scene decade ahead of it time . in the racing form and the capsule description for a horse win a race by pull away from the others at race end be drive . that describe this movie and which move at a headlong pace throughout and a it describe the career of crooked businessman paul kroll and a fictional version of ivar krueger and the real life match king and who just die in 1932. the same year the match king be rush into production at warner bros. and hal wallis the uncredited supervisor and darryl zanuck the studio production chief do his usual job of make movie rip from the newspaper headline page of the time . at the movie end and kroll partner be at a meeting where they now realize they all face economic ruin a kroll business empire be about to collapse . their first though be and sell all their share before the public find out . the cynicism in this scene be a capper for what go on before and a kroll sell down the river almost everyone he have dealing with and include go as far a murder and get one problem person lock up for life in an insane asylum to shut him up for good . this movie show the influence of 1932 and the bottom year of the depression and when many people though all businessmen be thief and crook who wreck the world economy . the more thing change and the more . . . even with all the technical mastery available now to hollywood filmmaker now and no studio can come close to the greatness of the match king and make only two year after warner bros. scrap it vitaphone sound disc to switch to sound on film camera . the match king show there be something to be say for a movie studio run like warner bros. and a real slave labor operation where quit time be not 5 or 6 pm and but when the day schedule work be do and which could be 2 represent00 be the following morning . a studio where the word income security do not exist and a jack warner strive to cut everyone salary and actor employment contract be damn ( with no worry for craft union contract and there be none then in non union hollywood ) . there be a downside to jack warner cheapness . one of the hard work actor on the warner lot be warren william and but apparently when his contract be up in 1936 and he go off the warner bros. studio payroll . william join a parade of other act talent in the repertory company that zanuck create when he be in charge of hire actor before he quit in 1933. look back now and it seem incredible that the warner bros. dream factory could make one high quality movie after another in 1932 and usually with a 3 week production schedule ( 6 day work week with no overtime pay ) on a budget of around $ 150 and 000. in this year of 2009 and a the financial world be again enmesh in worldwide economic downturn cause by thief in business suit and thief now who sell near worthless derivative to investor on a massive scale and hollywood turn out hit movie deal with robot and teenage vampire . a far cry from 1932 and cinema wise . there be no movie in fast production now involve the madoff ponzi scheme and the strange death of madoff investor jeffrey picower or the subprime mortgage meltdown . the big corporation that run the hollywood studio be not about to produce movie that remind moviegoer about the real life wreckage of the u. s. economy . rip movie from current headline be not do anymore and especially make grim movie like the match king . that be just too bad for moviegoer . good thing there be tcm to finally show the match king again and a movie about a real world in 1932 that do not seem that far away today .