Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Matthew_Capitano I love Danny Kaye, but this film is somewhat strained with few genuinely funny moments to sustain one's true interest for 102 minutes... quite a long running time for a 1949 comedy.Kaye's goofy singing grows tiresome really fast, though he does sing a love song ('Wish on the Moon') with that beautiful voice of his. Tune in just to hear that. Barbara Bates plays the girl he loves and she's cute, but Walter Slezak's 'Yakov' character ruins the fun because he's such a scumbag, and in the end, he doesn't even get kicked out of the picture, in fact, he gets to hang around and enjoy the show.Movie is too long without enough laughs, but it's Danny Kaye and if you're a Danny Kaye fan like me, you'll want to see it.

david-sarkies I had just finished reading the play by the Ukranian playwright Nicolae Gogol and I decided that I would have a look through Youtube to find out if somebody had uploaded a performance but what my search ended up throwing up me was, well, this movie (and I believe that it may be public domain since it is up of Youtube, and if a movie is not public domain, or not allowed on Youtube then I suspect that it will be pulled down pretty quickly). The play is about how a group of corrupt officials on a small Russian town in the 19th century hear that somebody is coming from St Petersburg (the then Russian capital) to perform a audit on the town's accounts, so they end up rushing about in a panic to try and cover up their nefarious deeds. Then enters a lowly clerk on a holiday and they immediately believe that he is the auditor and go out of their way to soften him up and offer him bribes.The movie differs from a play a little (and is a little be more slapstick, but then again I have not seen it performed so I cannot comment on that aspect of it) in that the clerk is replaced by an out of work con-man (because he does not like deceiving people) and the play has a much happier ending. In fact the clerk in this film is a much more honest individual than the original in the play (who scampers out of town quick fast when he is discovered). Also, the clerk (for want of a better word because in the movie he is actually homeless and destitute and wonders into the town having not eaten for two days).The movie is also set in some vague European Village in some vague empire because at one point it is suggested that the Emperor if Napoleon, and at another point it is said that the capital city is Budapest (which is a huge continuity error because Budapest was never the main capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and Napoleon never had his capital in Budapest (he was French, so it was always going to be Paris). However, putting aside that minor problem, and the fact that the main character is much, much nicer in this movie than in the play, it is still a pretty good rendition, and enjoyable to watch.

Space_Mafune An illiterate buffoon named Georgi (Danny Kaye), part of a traveling Gypsy medicine sideshow in Eastern Europe somehow winds up mistaken for the all-powerful, visiting Inspector General whose assignment from Emperor Napoleon is to root out all evil and corruption in every town he visits. Of course, the town's officials, thoroughly corrupt to the core, are terrified by his presence and do everything they can to impress him and throw him off their trail. Georgi meanwhile is thoroughly confused but not above accepting the good hospitality especially given how hungry and down on his luck he's been. Of course, being an Inspector General also means you're a target and much danger looms for Georgi.No mistaking this is the Danny Kaye show all the way. The rest of the cast including Elsa Lancaster, Gene Lockhart, Alan Hale and Walter Slezak are all good no doubt but it's Kaye's singing, dancing and comedy routines that prove this film's main focus. How much you enjoy it probably depends on how much you enjoy Kaye's brand of humor. I have to admit at times it goes on much too long, almost to the point of annoyance, but there's a kind of innocence about Kaye's Georgi character here that one is able to ultimately forgive this more often than not. Favorite bits: The "Be Arrogant, Be Elegant, Be Smart" section and the Gyspy drinking song.

magician780 My wife and I tried 3 times to watch this movie. Even though we are Danny Kaye's devoted fans from his classic 'The Court Jester' he is most poorly directed in this movie. The lines are cheesy, the acting is bad, and the so called humor in this dated movie feels tacky, amateurish, and completely overacted. Such poor video editing and so many cartoonish sound effects are put to try to draw a laugh it is almost an insult to the viewer's intelligence. I cannot seem to like or care for one single character, and there are many I hate. Some songs were much too long and unnecessary. Danny Kaye appears like only a shadow of his own self. It is a pity to see such great talent wasted.