Pro-Business Movies – Econlib

Last week Alex Tabarrok over at Marginal Revolution had an interesting post on pro-business movies. He focused on recent movies, only one of which I’ve see–Air–and I’ve already commented on that one.

That leaves out my two all-time favorite pro-business movies: Executive Suite (1954) with William Holden and Working Girl (1988) with Melanie Griffith.

I won’t say much about either because if I do, I’ll necessarily give spoilers and I highly recommend watching them in suspense.

I will say this. Do you think someone could make a movie in which a large part of the plot is about whether a company should focus on quality in making furniture? If you had asked me before I saw Executive Suite, I would have said no.

As for Working Girl, my favorite scene is at the end when the camera pans out to show the beautiful skyline of Manhattan, showing, if I recall correctly, the Twin Towers. Like other Americans, I still feel bad for the approximately 2,500 people in those buildings and in the two airplanes who were murdered when the planes hit. But I also feel bad that we can’t see those buildings any more. Back to the camera. As it pans out, we hear Carly Simon singing “Let the River Run.” I’ve looked all over for that version. The one I bought by Carly Simon is good but not nearly as good.

How about you? What are your favorite pro-business and/or pro-market movies? I recognize that those are not nearly the same.