Should you get involved if you see a problem, or should you just mind your own business? “A Stranger in Town” from 1943 is a vivid example of a man who gets involved with a small town’s problems in spite of himself and ends up inspiring change in a whole community.
A Small Town Story
John Josephus Grant (Morgan) is a Supreme Court justice who goes on a duck hunting trip to get away from the pressures in Washington. On the first day of his trip, Grant is stopped by a local sheriff (Irving Bacon), who says that he needs a stamp on his hunting license from the nearby town of Crown City. Disgusted by the officer’s racket of pocketing extra money for the stamps, Grant opts to appear in court instead.
In Crown City’s courtroom, Grant observes that the town’s government is riddled with corruption. Mayor Connison (Robert Barrat) has been in office for years, and he controls the judge (Porter Hall) as well as the sheriff. He’s in cahoots with hotel owner Roscoe Swade (Andrew Tombes) and store owner Vinnie Z. Blaxton (Donald MacBride), who help him maintain his stranglehold on the town.
The only person fighting for justice for the citizens of Crown City is Bill Adams (Richard Carlson), a young lawyer who is running against Connison for mayor.
Grant quickly sees that Bill and his campaign manager (Chill Wills) are using entirely the wrong approach. He challenges the eager young man to use his legal knowledge to expose the town leaders’ corruption through the court system. Before long, Grant is very involved with the fight in Crown City.
A Noble Ideal
“A Stranger in Town” is like a mini Frank Capra movie. Instead of focusing on a small-town man who evokes change in the big city, it shows a Washington citizen who helps transform a small town. Like many Capra films, this story shows the unfortunate reality that our great nation has always been corrupted in spots by dishonest, selfish individuals who will manipulate entire communities for their own profit.
Although this movie is honest about showing that corruption can exist in average American towns, it’s very patriotic. Like all movies from this classic era, it shows that the ideal of the United States of America is noble and incorruptible, even if it is distorted by those in power. The principles on which this country was founded are worth defending, no matter what.
These noble ideals are brought to life by a wonderful cast of character actors. The focal point is veteran actor Frank Morgan, who shines as the serious man of the law. Richard Carlson brings a lot of realism to the role of Bill Adams, who isn’t overly idealized; he has a good heart and good intentions, but he needs a little advice from the older judge to outwit his enemies.
A Citizen’s Duty
The best part of this movie is Joe Grant’s speech to the town of Crown City, explaining why he involved himself in the town’s politics:“It’s only right that you should know why I, a stranger, have become involved in your affairs. Believe me, it’s not because I am a Justice of the Supreme Court. It’s because, like all of you here, I am a citizen of this country.
“That is no little honor. Men have fought revolutions, have died, to be called ‘citizen.’ And as citizens, we carry a burning responsibility. It means that when we elect men to public office, we cannot do it as lightly as we flip a coin. It means that after we’ve elected them, we can’t sit back and say, ‘Our job is done. What they do now doesn’t concern us.’ That philosophy of indifference is what the enemies of decent government want.
“If we allow them to have their way to grow strong and vicious, then the heroic struggle which welded thousands of lovely towns like this into a great nation means nothing. Then we’re not citizens, we’re traitors. The great liberties by which we live have been bought with blood. The kind of government we get is the kind of government we want.
“Government of the people, by the people, and for the people can mean any kind of government. It’s our duty to make it mean only one kind—uncorrupted, free, united.”
I think these words explain why it’s important to fight corruption of any kind, even if the situation doesn’t seem like any of our business.
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