For stage veteran Grace George, making her film debut opposite James Cagney in this sweet turn of the century tale of political corruption versus simple values was a stroke of genius for the writers of this forgotten sleeper. On hiatus from Warner Brothers after winning his Oscar for "Yankee Doodle Dandy", Cagney took second fiddle to Ms. George, here playing a drifter who helps the aging George (playing the owner of a declining newspaper) fight city hall and the Boss Tweed like political villain who threatens to take away the paper and her mansion due to financial struggles if she doesn't buckle down under his thumb. Supported by a fantastic supporting cast, Cagney and George take on the evil Edward McNamara in a way that sometimes lacks true believability, especially in the finale which strikes a false note as the music swells to an end.
Still, with a supporting cast of such fine character players as Hattie McDaniel (as George's beloved cook), Marjorie Main (as a dance hall proprietor), George Cleveland as a drunken reporter and Margaret Hamilton as the newspaper's gruff secretary, there's a lot of humor and touching drama to behold, and at times, you feel as if you are in the middle of a script that Frank Capra might have at one time rejected. Ms. George never rings a false note in her sincerity and feistiness, and the vintage portrait of her as a beautiful young woman on the mansion wall is just a reminder that behind every sweet old lady was once a young beauty of uncompromising ideals.
Still, with a supporting cast of such fine character players as Hattie McDaniel (as George's beloved cook), Marjorie Main (as a dance hall proprietor), George Cleveland as a drunken reporter and Margaret Hamilton as the newspaper's gruff secretary, there's a lot of humor and touching drama to behold, and at times, you feel as if you are in the middle of a script that Frank Capra might have at one time rejected. Ms. George never rings a false note in her sincerity and feistiness, and the vintage portrait of her as a beautiful young woman on the mansion wall is just a reminder that behind every sweet old lady was once a young beauty of uncompromising ideals.