Clevercell Very disappointing...

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

dougdoepke Mild comedy played in straight fashion by fine cast. The plot's rather contemporary in its concern for wild animals and exposing political skullduggery. And, by golly, Allyson's headstrong zoo keeper is going to take down crooked politician (Collins) before he does more to glorify trophy hunting. Trouble is her potential ally, the politically ambitious Powell, can't seem to decide which side he's on. Maybe Herman the lion can help him decide. He certainly has Powell clambering over the furniture in acrobatic fashion. Then too, Allyson's winning ways are hard for any guy to ignore, even if the actress allowed herself to be deglamorized.Real life husband and wife, P&A, get center stage, while Wayne gets the many snappy throwaway lines, along with an amusingly bookish Marvin Kaplan. Also look for cult figure Tor Johnson as the mountainous Finnlander next to Powell in that well-crafted scene. Expert writers Panama and Frank come up with a witty script that's mostly amusing, but it's clear they have the two serious targets in mind, even if the animal scenes are likely the movie highlights. Though there's the physical comedy, neither direction nor editing goes for bouncy type humor, relying instead on script and situation for the chuckles. Nonetheless, I love it when Wayne wonders what Powell sees in the shapely Allyson, and Powell archly replies there's "a couple of reasons". Of course, this was back in the day when such innuendo was cutting edge.Anyway, it's a consistently amusing 90-minutes thanks to shrewd MGM craftsmanship. Then too, a special award should go to the kings of the jungle who perform brilliantly. I just wonder what the sets were like during filming. Also, a special nod to P&A who don't mind getting upstaged or sharing the spotlight. True professionals.

vincentlynch-moonoi This is a rather pleasant, somewhat typical romantic comedy with some serious overtones. It's rather typical of such films of that period, albeit with the zoo angle a bit unusual.But I'll tell you why it's worth watching: June Allyson. When it comes right down to it, Allyson was a versatile actress. More than once she proved her talents in both drama and comedy, and here she was able to shine with a little bit of both.Dick Powell is the male lead here, and while he was not as accomplished as Allyson, he was pleasant on-screen, as well. I have to admit he seemed a bit tame here; I would have liked to have seen a little more spunk. The character certainly called for it.David Wayne was the best friend here...wasn't he always? Well, almost always. I think Wayne unfortunately got typecast quite often; he was really quite a good actor. Cecil Kellaway plays the zoo keeper and Allyson's father here; he's quite an enjoyable chap to have in a film. One of my favorite character actors is here as a crooked political donor -- Ray Collins; this is not one of his better roles. Robert Keith is good as the friendly newspaper reporter. Marvin Kaplan has a funny turn as an assistant to Powell, although the role he played here was essentially the role he always played. Kathleen Freeman has some really funny scenes here, though only briefly early in the film.If you like romantic comedies of this era, you'll like this film. Nothing special, but very enjoyable.

drednm Pleasant little comedy about politics with Dick Powell the reformer and June Allyson the spunky redhead. He's running for mayor and ties in with the crooked Ray Collins until he uncovers some dirt about him and exposes him. She's the daughter of a zoo director (Cecil Kellaway) who gets fired for crossing Collins. Not quite a screwball comedy since the politics angle anchors this one in a sense of reality.Allyson and Powell are terrific together, with an easy-going charm and banter that probably reflects their married life together. Also on the plus side are funny supporting turns by David Wayne and Marvin Kaplan (who's still with us) as Powell's office associates. Robert Keith plays a gruff reporter, and the always-watchable Kathleen Freeman has a cat fight scene with Allyson. In bits, Mae Clarke as a cashier and John Hamilton as the police captain.Oh and the animals are good too.

maisannes Just another TCM time-passer. June Allyson brings her usual earnest charm to a movie that just didn't have much to it. The essential weakness is that the screenplay cannot make up its mind whether it wants to be a "look at all those crazy animals" comedy or a political "the honest man will win" film. When the movie finally makes its decision at the end, it just made me wonder why it spent all that time on the other thread. I've also been fairly suspicious of movies that have more than one credited director. Maybe that played a role here too.The high point for me was the performance of Cecil Kellaway as the father. TCM and IMDb make a great combination for learning about the wonderful character actors of Hollywood history.