laugh out loud funny *spoilers*

This framed tale has just enough stock 'back East' hollywood characters to rack up quite a few laughs, especially through its very strong beginning setup. as we learn the early years of McGinty, we are treated to quite a few hilarious tableaux (such as his visits as collector for protection). Akim Tamiroff is funny, Dunlevy is perfect. for me, personally, the laughs dragged somewhat with the introduction of the family, but hollywood's always got to appeal to multiple demographics, so one deals. what makes this one especially witty - preston sturges is usually funny - is the bare brains approach of the politics. there is no attempt to explain, justify, or even modify: politics is what they is, here, and the corruption is merely a backdrop for laughs (even considering our hero's moral quandary). in other words, no heavy-handed commentary or civics lessons are being taught. sturges respects his audience enough to assume they know and accept that politics is a racket - by definition. saved from preaching, sturges' film is free to romp lightly over heavy topics, allowing for great small character sketches and a healthy sprinkling of that oh-well c'est-la-vie essence that hollywood films could get away with from the depression to the war... after that, everything changed. sometimes it's nice to go back to the days before we all had to grow up.

example: mcginty prevents a suicide in his bar, but not before the moment is used for a laugh about a cologne-spraying gadget in the bathroom. in a contemporary film, this would be played as a deadpan morose moment, stripped of pathos as the characters bared their souls with little to no emotion. in a cold-war-era film, the scene would have been treated with 'gallows' or 'black' comedy. but way back when, sturges can just work in a sight gag over a drunken man's lowest moment in life. c'est la vie. effervescent.