Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

JohnHowardReid Producers: Norman Panama, Melvin Frank. Copyright 7 March 1950 (in notice: 1949) by Loew's Inc. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture. New York opening at the Capitol: 8 April 1950. U.S. release: 5 May 1950. U.K. release: 18 September 1950. Australian release: 1 September 1950. 8,086 feet. 90 minutes.SYNOPSIS: When her father is fired as director of the local zoo, a fast-talking redhead seeks to engage an upcoming lawyer who is running as the reform candidate for mayor.PRINCIPAL MIRACLE: Those lions come mighty close to Mr Powell. Are they extra tame or is he extra brave? Or maybe doubles were used? Or special effects?COMMENT: Unlike some of Panama and Frank's other ventures, this one is consistently amusing as it manages to deftly intertwine three main plots (the zoo dismissal, the mayoral race, the hardcase boy meets oddball girl) plus a few subsidiaries (will poor, downtrodden Marvin get his $10 raise? will the hero's cynical partner see the light of reform? is the newspaperman friend or enemy? will the hero overcome his fear of Herman, the pussycat lion?) and yet also introduce a couple of nice running gags (that monkey is a wonder). With a rich-in-incident script like this, it's hard to go wrong, except maybe in the choice of players. But here everyone is perfectly cast. Powell takes to the lawyer as to the orphan born, Miss Allyson seems a natural chatterbox, while Cecil Kellaway provides a steadying influence and Ray Collins the forked tongue. Produced on a sumptuous budget with all the largesse at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's command, The Reformer and the Redhead, despite its unpromising title, delivers first-rate comedy, both visual and aural,

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.

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.

MartinHafer "The Reformer and the Redhead" is a rare opportunity to see Dick Powell co-starring with his wife, June Allyson. And, while it's not a great film, it is breezy and enjoyable.The film begins with Andrew Hale deciding to run for mayor of his town on the Reform ticket. After all, he sees the existing power structure as wicked and in need of change. At about the same time, a kooky woman who helps her father run the local zoo comes to him for help--they have been victims of the town's crooked politics. He agrees to help them and makes their case one of his rallying points for the election. In exchange, the kooky woman (Allyson) works hard at getting him elected. Imagine her shock, then, when her new hero agrees to work with the local political machine! What's next? See the film.The repartee between Allyson and Powell is very nice and the film never takes itself very seriously---which makes it easy viewing. No serious problems with the film but it's not exactly deep or life-changing--though sometimes this is all you really want from a film.By the way, if you do see the film, look for Tor Johnson at the Finnish Society meeting. He's a familiar Ed Wood Jr. actor and was a professional wrestler before entering such notable films as "The Beast of Yucca Flats" and "Plan 9 From Outer Space". He was, by the way, Swedish, not Finnish.