When Ernest Borgnine gets his big break in Hollywood, he can hardly believe his luck. But soon he discovers his supposed star vehicle, Marty, is not the dream gig he thought it was.
In this episode of Cautionary Tales, recorded live at the Bristol Festival of Economics, Tim Harford examines what happens when the murky world of tax avoidance collides with the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.
[Apple] [Spotify] [Stitcher]
Further reading
ON ERNEST BORGNINE:
I Don’t Want To Set the World on Fire, I Just Want to Keep My Nuts Warm – My Autobiography by Ernest Borgnine: 2009
“I Was Marty: An Interview With Ernest Borgnine” Huff Post. 24 June 2011.
“Oscars: 1955 best picture ‘Marty’ conquered love, TV and film” By Susan King. LA Times Feb. 13, 2014
“THE ACTORS STUDIO AND HOLLYWOOD IN THE 1950s A History of Theatrical Realism” by Mario Beguiristain. 2006
ON BURT LANCASTER:
“1956: Lancaster flips for ‘Marty’” Variety.
Burt Lancaster: An American Life by Kate Buford. 2000
ON TAX:
“DODGING THE INCOME TAX IN USA: End Came to a Honeymoon” 13 Dec 1946
“OIL: The Hollywood Wildcats” Time. 10 Oct 1949
Rebellion, Rascals and Revenue Michael Keen and Joel Slemrod
