Gildersleeve on Broadway

This is one of the four "Gildersleeve" comedies released during the war years. Harold Peary plays the hapless Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve-who says he doesn't seek out problems; they find him.

This film feels like it was written by the author of "Arsenic and Old Lace" with an assist by Groucho Marx, and a dose of "Andy Hardy". Gildersleeve is surrounded by some wacky characters in this screwball story.

His nephew, Leroy (Freddie Mercer), always seems to get the better of him in a contest of wits, but so does everyone else, including a little kid at the drugstore . The druggist, Mr. Peavey, enlists TG in a harebrained scheme to travel to New York City for two unrelated but equally preposterous purposes.

On his missions, Gildersleeve meets an amorous widow (Billie Burke) and a gold-digger (Claire Carleton). Meanwhile, he has a fiancee to appease. The entire cast does a good job with the script, carving out moments of mayhem and hilarity. Watch for the bellboy (Walter Tetley) who imparts his wisdom about women. And the window washer (Leonid Kinskey-"Casablanca") who hangs around for the romantic tutelage.

Director Gordon Douglas keeps the action moving without a dull moment as Gildersleeve gets sucked into the deepening mire of his misadventure. But it never becomes so silly that the story loses its thread or its entertainment value.