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This definitely is one of Shirley's three or four best, mostly because she is not required to perform a tearful treacly scene as in some other films, those which tug at your heart but later seem somewhat embarrassing. This is one in which she comes across as a young actress, and not simply as a personality. The musical numbers are unusually effective; probably because they are shared with Alice Faye and Jack Haley and not strictly solo. (You have to smile over the final number, when the military band number, well done though it is, is done with full costumes and choreography, even though the performance is taking place over a radio hookup.) Shirley conveys an innocence and trustfulness and joy in life which is a universe removed from portrayals of children in contemporary film and TV. One more remark: I was truly surprised to see the appearance of a pedophile in a film of that era, and to see Jack Haley confronting and fighting him as he is about to lead Shirley away from the apartment house.

If you can accept the premise: that an out-of-work crooner can be nominated for governor of a state on the basis of a single speech, there are some attractive moments in this film. Dick Powell moves beyond his ingenuous Warner Brothers musical style, and seems on his way to becoming the actor he later showed himself to be. Fred Allen replicates his sharp-tongued radio persona, and is able to provide most of the humor, even though he clearly did not have a charismatic screen presence even as real as that of Jack Benny or Eddie Cantor. The satirical treatment of small-state politics is rather heavy-handed, suggesting that there is nothing but self-interest involved. The songs are nothing special, but Powell delivers them in his usual off-hand yet convincing manner. For me, the most interesting and surprising episodes in the film were the two song and dance numbers by Ann Dvorak and Patsy Kelly. Having known Dvorak only as a performer in melodrama, from Scarface to Rebel Without a Cause, I looked closely, to see whether there was a double; but there were enough close-up shots to let one see that her dancing wasn't faked.(Whether the singing was dubbed is another matter). She was always an actress whose work I found compelling, though she never achieved top stardom at Warners; perhaps because Bette Davis was slated for some roles Dvorak might have played. Probably not a "gem", but a film many will enjoy.

I was prepared by Maltin's comments not to expect very much, yet decided it would be interesting to see some star performers of the 1940s and 1950s in their relatively advanced age. I suppose did expect too much, since some first-rate actors, including the iconic Katherine Hepburn,my all time favorite, were submerged by a leaden script, which made them seem as though they were swimming against the tide in a river of mud. When I saw the original Broadway production, starring Martita Hunt, which as I recall took place exclusively in the madwoman's basement, I was taken by how delicately the author Giraudoux balanced a serious theme with the humor generated by a group of eccentrics and street people. The film takes the serious theme, beats it over the head until it becomes at the very least repetitive; with very few touches of humor, save perhaps the scenes in which the madwoman inveigles the conspirators to walk into her net, when a touch of the old Hepburn edginess appears. If you are looking to see some old favorites at career's end, DON'T; you will almost certainly be disappointed.