You, the People

Crime Does Not Pay short about election fraud. Mobsters are running the government in one unnamed city, it seems. They have a patsy Mayor and use every dirty trick in the book to make sure he stays in office. Nice cast includes C. Henry Gordon, Hugh Beaumont, John Hamilton, Will Wright, and Raymond Bailey. Also Mr. Martini himself -- Bill Edmonds! He's one actor who always puts a smile on my face. The basic message is to get out the vote and not to let corrupt politicians and thuggish political machines stop you. I got so worked up I made like Barney Fife and shouted "We defy the mafia!" at my TV screen. This is not the best of this particular series of shorts but it's an entertaining one. The message was hammered home well and I came away feeling that crime, in fact, does not pay.

This short film is part of a series dedicated to the assertion that crime does not pay. Obviously, it sometimes does, but this fictional story about a city election is meant to demonstrate the importance of each individual's vote. What the film does instead is demonstrate the importance of anti-corruption laws and regulations.

A corrupt incumbent mayor---and the machine that keeps him in power---is opposed by a candidate running on a reform agenda. We see the many tricks and crimes committed by the machine and the lengths it will go to. Some of those methods are still being used today, though they might be nearly unrecognizable due to changes in technology and laws. For example, employees of companies with government contracts are still coerced for contributions, albeit in an indirect and technically legal way.

This film is both instructive and inspirational. It reminds every voter that vigilance is a necessary part of franchise rights. And if local elections are important enough to attract unscrupulous powerbrokers, what is implied about state or national elections?

It's the "Crime Does Not Pay" series from MGM. Criminal elements are corrupting the democratic process. They use every graft in the books to buy votes and steal the election for Mayor James Wheelock. They lie about their reform opponent. They are racketeers forcing everyone to pay.

While some of issues have changed, the general premise remains the same. Democracy is always under attack. It is up to a well-motivated and informed populace to fight back by casting their votes. The only thing missing is an evil newspaper magnate. I would have expected more from a foreign adversary considering the times. Maybe they wanted to not blame it on outsiders.

You, the People (1940)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Lesser entry in MGM's Crime Does Not Pay series takes a look at a gangster who buys votes, forces people to vote one way and pretty much gets a crooked mayor re-elected for his own gain. One citizen is beaten for trying to stand up against them but that doesn't stop him from trying to bring them down. This is without question one of my favorite series and for the most part it has strong episodes but this here isn't one of them. This is still an entertaining film in its own right but there's not as much drama or tension that you've come to expect from the series. I think the biggest problem is that the main goal is to teach people that they should vote. Vote. Vote. Vote. That's the message and we're pretty much beaten over the head with it. I think the film did a pretty good job at showing how some of the illegal activity is done but there's just not enough story to back anything else up. We do get to see some famous (or at least known) faces here including Bill Edmonds who would go onto play Mr. Martini in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE as well as Hugh Beaumont who would of course go onto Leave it to Beaver.

"no crook ever won an election when the people did their duty"

Since I bought the "Crime Does Not Pay" DVD set, I noticed that the earlier, pre-WWII episodes were by far the best. They were full of excitement, violence and mobsters. However, after WWII began in Europe, often the topics changed to patriotism and good citizenship. And, frankly, these topics come off as preachy and are a lot less fun to watch. I also noticed that the 'government officials' who introduce the films are, in fact, actors--with the producers trying to pass them off as real officials in order to give the films a touch of authenticity. In this case, Mr. Edward Gibbon is actually played by Robert Elliot!

In "You, The People", the problem being addressed is political corruption. In an unidentified town, mobsters run the government--with a hand-picked mayor and enough voter fraud to ensure he'll never be voted out of office. To make it worse, voter apathy becomes so bad, it is like the people are condoning the corruption and abuse of power.

This turns out to be a good civics lesson bu also a horribly boring and preachy short film at times. Not terrible but it sure could be better!