Southerner Claghorn is a mint plantation owner consumed with memories of the old south. The problem is that the old south he still lives in is as "Gone With the Wind" as the O'Hara family who lived at Tara some 60 years before this takes place. Claghorn's wife (Una Merkel) is the head of the local chapter of the daughters of the confederacy, and is chosen by them to run for senator to opposite puppet Jimmy Conlin, controlled by ruthless Northern businessman Douglas Dumbrille. But somehow, Claghorn gets chosen to run against Conlin and his wife, and Dumbrille is concerned that he will win over the local populace with his simple philosophies, a la Will Rogers.
This fast-moving Capra-Corn like comedy gets quickly lost in its devotion to the old south. There are funny moments when Merkel's women's group of tea-totalers gets bombed on booze mistaken for Grape Juice. But for the most part, this is a very predictable programmer. Veteran old ladies Ida Moore and Vera Lewis are among the drunks at Merkel's meeting, while Dumbrille (a veteran of villainy in Capra's "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town") plays his usual stereotypical criminal. Kenny Delmar is fairly amusing as Claghorn, while Merkel (a veteran gold-digger of 30's comedies) is a bit too naggy. A young June Lockhart does a fine job as their sweet daughter. The kid and the dog are the scene-stealer's here, a reminder of what W.C. Fields said about the two types of actors he hated working with.
This fast-moving Capra-Corn like comedy gets quickly lost in its devotion to the old south. There are funny moments when Merkel's women's group of tea-totalers gets bombed on booze mistaken for Grape Juice. But for the most part, this is a very predictable programmer. Veteran old ladies Ida Moore and Vera Lewis are among the drunks at Merkel's meeting, while Dumbrille (a veteran of villainy in Capra's "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town") plays his usual stereotypical criminal. Kenny Delmar is fairly amusing as Claghorn, while Merkel (a veteran gold-digger of 30's comedies) is a bit too naggy. A young June Lockhart does a fine job as their sweet daughter. The kid and the dog are the scene-stealer's here, a reminder of what W.C. Fields said about the two types of actors he hated working with.