Colonel Effingham's Raid

The main reason I saw this film is that it starred the wonderful character actor, Charles Coburn. Well, in this sense, I wasn't disappointed as once again Coburn played the sort of crotchety but lovable guy he so often played in films. However, sadly the film seemed like it was very strongly inspired by MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (so it loses points for originality) and it unfortunately ended way too abruptly--like they knew it was supposed to be a B-picture so they ended it because this format wouldn't allow for a longer film! The film begins with the Colonel (Coburn) retiring to his childhood home in Georgia. Instead of just sitting back in a rocking chair, however, he wants to do a newspaper column to keep himself busy. At first, the column is very well received. However, when Coburn begins attacking the local corrupt administration, things start to get kind of crazy and soon it's this character and his new friends versus the establishment. This is all sort of a history lesson on politics and grassroots politics and when the mayor and his cronies dig in their heels for a fight the film gets interesting. Oddly, however, after setting up this great confrontation, it just seems to end! In the matter of just a couple minutes, everyone agrees to Coburn's demands and they all live happily ever after!! What a letdown at the end.

Overall, a pleasant and entertaining film that is worth watching but could have been even better. Excellent characters but a limp finale make this more of a nice time-passer than anything else.

Charles Coburn stars in this political satire as the title character, a retired Colonel who believes in patriotism above all else. He's too old to serve in the war, so he tries to give himself a different purpose. He returns to his hometown in the South and conducts a "raid" in order to drum up patriotism. No one has pride in the town anymore, flags aren't flying, and the old monuments are about to be repurposed.

This is a rather silly comedy, but if you like "Piggy" Coburn, you might enjoy it. I don't think it will stand the test of time very well given the current political climate, but if you know what side "Piggy" is on and you are also on his side, you stand a far better chance at rooting for a happy ending. Costars Joan Bennett, Allyn Joslyn, Elizabeth Patterson, Frank Craven, and Donald Meek.

At the time I post this only 56 other users have rated this little film and only one other user has posted comments, and it's rated an average of 6.2. It's a shame that so few people have seen this little gem, and it's sad that our times are so out of step with its sentiments.

This is the humorous and romantic story of a retired colonel who returns to the town he grew up in and finds that few of its citizens are involved in its care, noting that a very small percentage even bothers to vote and finding that they are afraid to get involved, not for any sinister reasons but simply because the mayor and his cronies have the town locked up pretty tight and can bluster their way out of anything. This town needs a focal point for change, and the Colonel is just the man for the job. His young second cousin and a society writer on the local paper join in, with satisfactory results and some poignant dialogue along the way. Nice film. 9/10. I'd give it a solid 10 if not for the unfortunate racial attitudes that come from a southern town still in love with its pre-Lincoln heritage, but even these are handled fairly delicately considering the movie's era.

The film was apparently just restored in 2005, so probably it's not been seen often for many years. Watch for it on TCM; just caught it today on their Joan Bennett day, so it'll turn up again sometime. Well worth its brief run time.

So, looking at the cast, you KNOW its going to be pretty good, and probably a comedy, with Charles Coburn (starred in Gentleman Prefere Blondes), and regulars Donald Meek, and Cora Witherspoon. Many of the roles on IMDb were either "scenes deleted" or "uncredited", so there must be a story there somewhere. Meek, Witherspoon, and Bobby Barber were in just about every black and with movie made in the 1930s and 1940s. Also stars Joan Bennett, and William Eythe, but their parts aren't that big. In our story, retired Colonel Effingham decides he wants to write a column in the local town paper, and becomes a local hero. But then, writing isn't enough, and he starts making waves, and taking action... We knew SOMETHING was going to start happening, since right from the beginning, he quotes sayings from the military, and treats everyone around him as if they WERE in the military. City Hall doesn't like the things he's doing, and now there's trouble brewing! It's the Mayor and his cronies versus the Colonel. The mayor is played by Thurston Hall, who was born in 1882, and had started in silent movies in 1915. Looking at his list of roles, Hall always played the governor, the senator, the major. There are some clever lines here, and no plot issues, but the story itself is plain and simple, and a little slow-moving. Also a little annoying is the narrator who occasionally breaks in with his personal comments (his cousin ?). Although this is the only entry in IMDb for the original author Berry Fleming, a search on Library of Congress shows numerous works by Fleming, translated in various languages. Released in Atlanta, Georgia, in January 1946, the last thing we see on the screen is "Buy Your War Bonds in this Theater". WWII had just ended, after all.

That is the basic theme of this Capra-esquire comedy starring Charles Coburn as the titled character, a colonel forced to retire who returns to his small Georgia home town he hasn't been in for years. He takes up a voluntary reporting job supposedly on the war. But he takes up a stand on local corruption, and becomes a public hero. Coburn is a force of nature as he takes on the politicians and money men, who as usual, are presented as old fuddy-duddies who don't appreciate his intrusion. But Coburn proves he is much more than a feisty senior citizen as he goes out of his way to show that a supposed civil war hero was nothing of the sort and not worth being honored by having a park renamed in his honor. The powers-that-be are not only angered by Coburn, but by the showing of support towards him by the majority of the public.

In the background of this story, fellow reporters William Eythe and Joan Bennett stand with Coburn, but their romance is secondary to Coburn's feisty performance. He does a brief mean samba with Bennett to a Carmen Miranda tune, makes the town think about what is going on behind the scenes of their supposedly honest government, and turns the paper around. A nice moment comes when pages of the newspaper are displayed with quiet sound effects until an explosion is heard over the sight of Coburn's column.

After winning the Oscar for "The More the Merrier", Coburn went from being a beloved character actor to one whose appearance in films were equal, if not greater, than the younger stars in the film. In this cast, he is surrounded by a virtual who's who of Hollywood's greatest character actors (among them Elizabeth Patterson as his sister and Thurston Hall as the mayor) who bring on the perfect 40's small town atmosphere, and they are excellent.

A short and sometimes seemingly abridged social comedy with a Frank Capra like feel to it, "Col. Effingham's Raid" is enjoyable on many levels, but feels like it's missing a few necessary details.