Lightly amusing little crime flick, thanks mainly to an authoritative Morgan, an officious Rogers, and an affable Carlson. We know from the outset that Morgan's Mr. Grant is high-up in government. But just how high-up remains a secret until the end. Seems he goes to little town of Crown Point for duck hunting. While there, however, he gets involved in challenging the town's corrupt officialdom from the mayor, to the municipal judge, to assorted town's people. Seems the mayor's being electorally challenged by Carlson's Bill Adams who's too soft, however, to succeed, so the seasoned Grant takes him under wing since his anti-corruption platform is deserving. In the process, Grant's lovely but officious aide Lucy Gilbert (Rogers) furnishes timely help. Nonetheless, the cards are stacked against them, so how will things turn out.
MGM's B-movie unit does a good job of combining a serious topic with some light-hearted humor, always a difficult trick to pull off. But they pull it off mainly with a good cast and Rowland's smooth directorial touch. Then too, the script does a good job of slowly revealing Grant's superior legal understanding to the consternation of both the floundering Adams and the corrupt town officials. Note too that the programmer's a product of its time, 1943, so the patriotic "citizen's duty" speech at the end is not surprising. Still, I'm wondering how a hundred guys can brawl without a single one one losing his hat. But then Hollywood is Hollywood. Anyway, the flick remains an engaging hour of MGM entertainment.
MGM's B-movie unit does a good job of combining a serious topic with some light-hearted humor, always a difficult trick to pull off. But they pull it off mainly with a good cast and Rowland's smooth directorial touch. Then too, the script does a good job of slowly revealing Grant's superior legal understanding to the consternation of both the floundering Adams and the corrupt town officials. Note too that the programmer's a product of its time, 1943, so the patriotic "citizen's duty" speech at the end is not surprising. Still, I'm wondering how a hundred guys can brawl without a single one one losing his hat. But then Hollywood is Hollywood. Anyway, the flick remains an engaging hour of MGM entertainment.