MovieChat Forums > Tin Men (1987) Discussion > the McCarthyesque commission was right

the McCarthyesque commission was right


those crooks should have been "blacklisted" for ripping people off, yet in this movie it seemed like the director was showing this as negative, comparing it to the McCarthy hearings which supposedly accused those who were innocent; but these Tin Men, as shown in the film, were guilty of many scams. they should have a commission for all salesman in this nature.

"faith is for nuns and amateurs" ham tyler

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thank you for your keen cinematic insight!

What the $%*& is a Chinese Downhill?!?

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Calling this commission "McCarthyesque" is not accurate. McCarthy blacklisted those he deemed "socialist" simply because of their leanings towards social programs and progressive politics. The commission in this movie is more of what the FTC should be like - truly protecting citizens from con artists. But that pesky "free speech" gets in the way.

Dude means nice guy. Dude means a regular sort of person.

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Wrong. While the left has spent 60+ years denouncing McCarthy, the truth is the federal bureacracy, the State Department and the US media were in fact infiltrated with numerous Soviet symphathizers and spies, just as McCarthy had charged. The people charged by McCarthy weren't just political opponents, but were actively collaborating with enemies of the United States. That isn't progressive politics, that's treason and punishable by law.

There is simply no excuse for not knowing this; declassified documents released after the fall of the Soviet Union confirmed the guilt of many such agents, including several who had been charged by McCarthy.

I'm not sure, are you saying freedom of speech keeps government agencies from doing their proper job of protecting the stupid from themselves?


"You didn't come into this life just to sit around on a dugout bench, did ya?" - Morris Buttermaker

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I know it's been a while since this was posted but...

The "McCarthyesque commission" was the Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC) that was instituted in the early 60's for the exact purpose of preventing consumers from being ripped off by dishonest salesmen like those in Tin Men. This is a real consumer rights commission that still exists today. Legitimate home improvement companies in Maryland all carry an MHIC number and are registered with the state.

This is all a part of the end of an era theme at the end of the film. For sales men like BB and Tilley, the party was over.

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One more time:

McCarthy was right! There were a lot of communists in the government! Really!

And RFK, yes, that RFK assisted McCarthy! Really!

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Prove it. McCarthy never could.

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Look up Venona Papers, declassifed documents from the Cold War era. They confirm the guilt of many Soviet agents including Alger Hiss, the Rosenbergs, advisers to FDR and other major government officials.

This is fairly well-known history; there is no real reason to be ignorant about it.

"You didn't come into this life just to sit around on a dugout bench, did ya?" - Morris Buttermaker

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When I was younger, I thought the speak Tilley gave about the suit was not only witty but a good response. I watched the film again recently and thought the suit defence was lame and was not even a defence. Why did the commission even let him go then?

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At the end of the day they weren't really cheating the people. They clearly needed siding and they were paying a fair price for it. It's not like the salesmen were gouging, or even getting rich by it.

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They were selling a product at a high mark-up under false pretenses. Yes, they were cheating people.

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Not true. They were doing things like marking the cost of materials up and making labor free. In the end it worked out to a fair price.

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No, it did not. That's why the MHIC shut down these operations. They were misrepresenting their products, services, costs and expenses. They outright lied to prospects. Some were actually jailed for their illegal practices. This wasn't made up for this movie. You can read about it in great detail if you do some research.

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Be smart enough to realize that a movie is usually not an entirely accurate reflection of reality.

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It's pretty close to factual in dealing with the aluminum siding salesmen and the MHIC. Not much of the portrayal of those business practices could be disputed.

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