When Washington DC Supreme Court Judge Frank Morgan takes a much needed vacation, he ends up in a seemingly quaint small city run by a ruthless mayor, corrupt judge and their menagerie of crooked businessmen. Morgan, keeping his identity secret, stirs up a young attorney (Richard Cromwell) to run for mayor and run these offensive control freaks into the town sewer. With the help of Morgan's pretty secretary (Jean Rogers), Carlson soon has the townspeople in an uproar and the powers-that-be quaking in their fat shoes.
A delightful surprise, this is just what America needed in 1943 to remind them that clean-up starts at home, that Nazi's, Jap's and the Italians were not their only enemies, and that ultimately, it is the simple folk who will prevail, not Government officials with special interests in mind. This is a far cry from his usual roles for Morgan, not at all the fliberty-gibet he was in most films. He plays the role simply, doesn't strive for lovability, just plain honesty. One of the best films of 1943 (and perhaps the best film you've never heard of), "A Stranger in Town" is a perfect film for students of political science and rousing entertainment for everybody else. It is a message film that still resonates today.
A delightful surprise, this is just what America needed in 1943 to remind them that clean-up starts at home, that Nazi's, Jap's and the Italians were not their only enemies, and that ultimately, it is the simple folk who will prevail, not Government officials with special interests in mind. This is a far cry from his usual roles for Morgan, not at all the fliberty-gibet he was in most films. He plays the role simply, doesn't strive for lovability, just plain honesty. One of the best films of 1943 (and perhaps the best film you've never heard of), "A Stranger in Town" is a perfect film for students of political science and rousing entertainment for everybody else. It is a message film that still resonates today.