A Stranger in Town

"A Stranger in Town" holds up very well after sixty-three years. The only part that seems curious and quaint today is the closing with Joe Grant (The Wizard of Oz, aka Frank Morgan) giving a rousing patriotic speech (remember this was made during the height of World War II). The court packing scheme of President Roosevelt was still fresh on the movie goer's mind, having been all over the news a short six years earlier. So having a Supreme Court justice go incognito was apropos in 1943. Today, few would recognize a Supreme Court justice if they tripped over one. So no need for a disguise. Changing times.

Associate Justice Josephus Grant attempting to get away from it all goes on a duck-hunting vacation to the small town of Crown Port. He no sooner arrives than he is arrested and tried for not having a local hunting license but in reality because he wouldn't pay off the local police official who caught him. It becomes obvious to Grant that he has chosen a corrupt town for his vacation. Enter a reform candidate for mayor, Bill Adams (Richard Carlson), who has virtually given up any hope of winning. Grant rallies Adams onward and upward by teaching him tricks of the trade in the court room. Fighting city hall becomes more fun when Grant's business-like, yet attractive and smart, secretary, Lucy Gilbert (Jean Rogers), comes to town to bring Grant important papers concerning a case the Court is hearing. Yes, it is love at first sight between Adams and Lucy. Much of the fun centers on Adams' clumsiness and shyness in trying to court Lucy. The election heats up with all sorts of humorous skulduggery until the showdown involving a free-for-all brawl on the street in front of Adams' campaign headquarters.

This film is so fast-paced with fine acting by all involved, including a gallery of character actors such as Chill Wills, Olin Howland, Donald MacBride, Porter Hall, and even Eddy Waller in a bit part, that it proves extremely entertaining with many a wry comment on the politics of the day, which are not unlike the politics of today.

I have to admit that what initially drew me to watch A Stranger in Town was its 67 minute run time. I don't recall ever seeing such a short run time and I was curious. The result is that I'm very happy that I took the time to check it out because it's a very pleasant, humorous, and enjoyable film. Most of the performances are solid, the production values are decent, and it's a good story. I don't recall ever seeing John Carlson or Jean Rogers on film before, but I found them quite likeable here and may have to see what else they've done. A Stranger in Town is worth checking out.

Previous reviewers of this movie are all over the map. Some really liked it, others were disappointed that Frank Morgan did not reprise his role in the Wizard of Oz. Most don't seem to appreciate the movie for what it had to offer movie goers in 1943. And that's a shame.

This movie was made during the early part of World War II. The Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor in Dec 1941. We started to strike back in the Pacific, and in Nov 1942 we managed to invade and take control of North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia). That would allow us to prepare for an invasion of what Churchill called *the soft underbelly of Europe*, Italy and eventually southern France. By April of 1943, things were starting to look better for us, but D-Day, and our success there, were still a year and a half away. There were still many isolationists in the U. S. who felt we should not have gone to war in Europe. Others wondered if we would succeed against Germany. But FDR said that we had to defend *the four freedoms* around the world. American values, if you will, but FDR was not so close-minded as to depict them as just American.

That's what this movie is all about, encapsulated in Frank Morgan's speech before the court near the end of the movie. It is every American's duty to defend democratic (with a small d) values. That means fighting locally the sort of small-town corruption and dictatorship that tries to take self-government away from the people. (The romantic lead, who starts off as a weakling, will learn that in the course of the movie, as all Americans, especially isolationists, needed to do.) What the corrupt mayor of that small town was doing was just a smaller version of what dictators around the world were trying to do on a much larger scale. Americans needed to fight such dictators on the home front, just as we needed to fight them on a much greater level.

There are problems with this movie, sure.

The actor who plays the small-town lawyer who must learn to defend democracy, Richard Carlson, isn't up to the task of showing why he is weak to begin with and how he learns to fight with something in addition to - not other than - his fists to win the small-town war against fascism.

The depiction of small-town corruption, presented as unexceptional, suggests that there are worms gnawing away at our great democracy from inside. In the context of this movie, that is disquieting. It might have been more powerful if there had been some effort to link the small-town despots to their equivalent on the world stage.

This movie is never as bone-chilling as masterpieces of the genre like *Mr. Smith Goes to Washington* and *Mr. Deeds Goes to Town*, both of which deal with how corruption in our institutions threaten our democratic way of life. The corrupt small-town powers here hurt two men, but we are not made to feel their pain, or to imagine that their pain could one day be ours. That makes this movie less powerful.

But it's still a lot more than just another romantic comedy. It is another entry in the *Why we fight* series of movies that Hollywood put out during World War II, a series that produced some of the greatest movies ever made.

Absolutely an outstanding movie. "A Stranger In Town" has laughs, fun moments, drama, tension and manages to keep it all lighthearted enough to make it an enjoyable movie for one and all. Frank Morgan (Wizard Of Oz 1939) is excellent as a vacationing Supreme Court Justice who stumbles into a corrupt town's government. Richard Carlson (Hold That Ghost 1941) is just as good as a small town lawyer trying to right a system gone wrong. The supporting cast is equally as entertaining (Jean Rogers, Porter Hall, Robert Barrat, etc...) in this great, great movie. While the director Roy Rowland (Dr. Seuss's The 5,000 Fingers Of Dr.T. 1953) is new to me, it is a marvelous job of direction on his part that also helps to make this an A movie for me.

Good "B" picture starring Frank Morgan as a Supreme Court justice who goes on a hunting trip. He winds up becoming entangled with a small town's crooked politicians. Unassuming drama has a slight Frank Capra feel to it. Morgan is very good in a subdued performance. Richard Carlson plays the young lawyer who seems to be the only one in town that wants to stand up to the corrupt politicians. Robert Barrat, Porter Hall, Donald MacBride and company make amusing villains. Jean Rogers is the pretty love interest for Carlson. Pleasant cast and an earnest script. Short runtime helps. This is an entertaining hidden gem you should definitely check out if you get the chance.