The Reformer and the Redhead

Pleasant little comedy about politics with Dick Powell the reformer and June Allyson the spunky redhead. He's running for mayor and ties in with the crooked Ray Collins until he uncovers some dirt about him and exposes him. She's the daughter of a zoo director (Cecil Kellaway) who gets fired for crossing Collins. Not quite a screwball comedy since the politics angle anchors this one in a sense of reality.

Allyson and Powell are terrific together, with an easy-going charm and banter that probably reflects their married life together. Also on the plus side are funny supporting turns by David Wayne and Marvin Kaplan (who's still with us) as Powell's office associates. Robert Keith plays a gruff reporter, and the always-watchable Kathleen Freeman has a cat fight scene with Allyson. In bits, Mae Clarke as a cashier and John Hamilton as the police captain.

Oh and the animals are good too.

Mild comedy played in straight fashion by fine cast. The plot's rather contemporary in its concern for wild animals and exposing political skullduggery. And, by golly, Allyson's headstrong zoo keeper is going to take down crooked politician (Collins) before he does more to glorify trophy hunting. Trouble is her potential ally, the politically ambitious Powell, can't seem to decide which side he's on. Maybe Herman the lion can help him decide. He certainly has Powell clambering over the furniture in acrobatic fashion. Then too, Allyson's winning ways are hard for any guy to ignore, even if the actress allowed herself to be deglamorized.

Real life husband and wife, P&A, get center stage, while Wayne gets the many snappy throwaway lines, along with an amusingly bookish Marvin Kaplan. Also look for cult figure Tor Johnson as the mountainous Finnlander next to Powell in that well-crafted scene. Expert writers Panama and Frank come up with a witty script that's mostly amusing, but it's clear they have the two serious targets in mind, even if the animal scenes are likely the movie highlights. Though there's the physical comedy, neither direction nor editing goes for bouncy type humor, relying instead on script and situation for the chuckles. Nonetheless, I love it when Wayne wonders what Powell sees in the shapely Allyson, and Powell archly replies there's "a couple of reasons". Of course, this was back in the day when such innuendo was cutting edge.

Anyway, it's a consistently amusing 90-minutes thanks to shrewd MGM craftsmanship. Then too, a special award should go to the kings of the jungle who perform brilliantly. I just wonder what the sets were like during filming. Also, a special nod to P&A who don't mind getting upstaged or sharing the spotlight. True professionals.

"The Reformer and the Redhead" is a rare opportunity to see Dick Powell co-starring with his wife, June Allyson. And, while it's not a great film, it is breezy and enjoyable.

The film begins with Andrew Hale deciding to run for mayor of his town on the Reform ticket. After all, he sees the existing power structure as wicked and in need of change. At about the same time, a kooky woman who helps her father run the local zoo comes to him for help--they have been victims of the town's crooked politics. He agrees to help them and makes their case one of his rallying points for the election. In exchange, the kooky woman (Allyson) works hard at getting him elected. Imagine her shock, then, when her new hero agrees to work with the local political machine! What's next? See the film.

The repartee between Allyson and Powell is very nice and the film never takes itself very seriously---which makes it easy viewing. No serious problems with the film but it's not exactly deep or life-changing--though sometimes this is all you really want from a film.

By the way, if you do see the film, look for Tor Johnson at the Finnish Society meeting. He's a familiar Ed Wood Jr. actor and was a professional wrestler before entering such notable films as "The Beast of Yucca Flats" and "Plan 9 From Outer Space". He was, by the way, Swedish, not Finnish.

Anything with June Allyson draws my attention. A number of my favourite movies include her in the marquee, especially The Glenn Miller Story. While profitable for MGM, 'The Reformer and the Redhead' seems to have all but disappeared for today's viewers. With her husband Dick Powell, I found their interactions much more enjoyable than I expected.

Local political conflicts see Kathleen's (Allyson) father dismissed from his position of 20 years at the zoo. With a lifetime of unmanaged anger has her needing a lawyer after assaulting the trophy-hunting daughter of the town's leading citizen, Commodore Parker.

Of course the lawyer, Hale (Powell), is already being engaged with Commodore for the probable future as Mayor, and best choice for her defence is suggested to be lawyer Hale. Hale's distrust of the Commodore requires information to resolve, and so we find Kathleen's family to become a source of that info.

We are drawn into a somewhat predictable story with fun and clever shooting of cast and animals back at the ranch. For me, a lion peeking over a sofa made me laugh. In this case, a predictable story is part of what made it fun and enjoyable. Allyson and Powell are a great match, in what I believe is the only movie they did together while married (they were both in 'Meet the People (1944)' before their marriage).

Don't pass up the chance to enjoy this movie if you can find it.

Just another TCM time-passer. June Allyson brings her usual earnest charm to a movie that just didn't have much to it. The essential weakness is that the screenplay cannot make up its mind whether it wants to be a "look at all those crazy animals" comedy or a political "the honest man will win" film. When the movie finally makes its decision at the end, it just made me wonder why it spent all that time on the other thread. I've also been fairly suspicious of movies that have more than one credited director. Maybe that played a role here too.

The high point for me was the performance of Cecil Kellaway as the father. TCM and IMDb make a great combination for learning about the wonderful character actors of Hollywood history.