"The Staff of Life" is an episode of "Racket Busters" that SHOULD have very good...the plot is unusual and interesting. However, the final results are very poor...and I'll explain more about that.
When the show begins, a local Department of Agriculture agent receives a visit from some folks claiming to work for the National Association for the Improvement of Wheat. They tell him that the organization is planning on having a contest and give the winning farmer $1000! All he needs to do is encourage the local farmers to submit their best wheat and see whose is judged the best at the fair. However, after the prize is given, many of the local yokels start protesting that the contest has been fixed so it's up to Captain Braddock to come to the rescue.
So why is this one so bad? Well, folks go from one extreme to the other so quickly--too quickly. First, when the contest occurs the locals are happy, they become INSTANTLY angry when the winner is announced. They're practically ready to skin him alive! Then, when Matthews briefly explains the scam, the same rubes become instantly nice and happy and apologetic--way too quickly to be believable in the least.
When the show begins, a local Department of Agriculture agent receives a visit from some folks claiming to work for the National Association for the Improvement of Wheat. They tell him that the organization is planning on having a contest and give the winning farmer $1000! All he needs to do is encourage the local farmers to submit their best wheat and see whose is judged the best at the fair. However, after the prize is given, many of the local yokels start protesting that the contest has been fixed so it's up to Captain Braddock to come to the rescue.
So why is this one so bad? Well, folks go from one extreme to the other so quickly--too quickly. First, when the contest occurs the locals are happy, they become INSTANTLY angry when the winner is announced. They're practically ready to skin him alive! Then, when Matthews briefly explains the scam, the same rubes become instantly nice and happy and apologetic--way too quickly to be believable in the least.