MartinHafer
The main reason I saw this film is that it starred the wonderful character actor, Charles Coburn. Well, in this sense, I wasn't disappointed as once again Coburn played the sort of crotchety but lovable guy he so often played in films. However, sadly the film seemed like it was very strongly inspired by MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (so it loses points for originality) and it unfortunately ended way too abruptly--like they knew it was supposed to be a B-picture so they ended it because this format wouldn't allow for a longer film! The film begins with the Colonel (Coburn) retiring to his childhood home in Georgia. Instead of just sitting back in a rocking chair, however, he wants to do a newspaper column to keep himself busy. At first, the column is very well received. However, when Coburn begins attacking the local corrupt administration, things start to get kind of crazy and soon it's this character and his new friends versus the establishment. This is all sort of a history lesson on politics and grassroots politics and when the mayor and his cronies dig in their heels for a fight the film gets interesting. Oddly, however, after setting up this great confrontation, it just seems to end! In the matter of just a couple minutes, everyone agrees to Coburn's demands and they all live happily ever after!! What a letdown at the end.Overall, a pleasant and entertaining film that is worth watching but could have been even better. Excellent characters but a limp finale make this more of a nice time-passer than anything else.
ksf-2
So, looking at the cast, you KNOW its going to be pretty good, and probably a comedy, with Charles Coburn (starred in Gentleman Prefere Blondes), and regulars Donald Meek, and Cora Witherspoon. Many of the roles on IMDb were either "scenes deleted" or "uncredited", so there must be a story there somewhere. Meek, Witherspoon, and Bobby Barber were in just about every black and with movie made in the 1930s and 1940s. Also stars Joan Bennett, and William Eythe, but their parts aren't that big. In our story, retired Colonel Effingham decides he wants to write a column in the local town paper, and becomes a local hero. But then, writing isn't enough, and he starts making waves, and taking action... We knew SOMETHING was going to start happening, since right from the beginning, he quotes sayings from the military, and treats everyone around him as if they WERE in the military. City Hall doesn't like the things he's doing, and now there's trouble brewing! It's the Mayor and his cronies versus the Colonel. The mayor is played by Thurston Hall, who was born in 1882, and had started in silent movies in 1915. Looking at his list of roles, Hall always played the governor, the senator, the major. There are some clever lines here, and no plot issues, but the story itself is plain and simple, and a little slow-moving. Also a little annoying is the narrator who occasionally breaks in with his personal comments (his cousin ?). Although this is the only entry in IMDb for the original author Berry Fleming, a search on Library of Congress shows numerous works by Fleming, translated in various languages. Released in Atlanta, Georgia, in January 1946, the last thing we see on the screen is "Buy Your War Bonds in this Theater". WWII had just ended, after all.
bkoganbing
Charles Coburn took a bit from his Academy Award winning performance in The More The Merrier and a bit from his imperious father in Vivacious Lady to create the unfazed Colonel Effingham in Colonel Effingham's Raid. It's one of the few films where this distinguished character actor is given the lead role and he makes the most of it.Through sheer stubbornness and will power Coburn is given a column on the local newspaper where his nephew William Eythe and Joan Bennett are also employed. It's supposed to be a column about the impending war news for this film set in 1940, but Coburn sees it as a great opportunity to rouse public opinion in that sleepy Georgia town against the ruling clique which has been in power so long they just treat the city money and assets like their own.The city fathers are a group taken right out of a Preston Sturges classic and I wouldn't be surprised if this film might have been something offered to him. Thurston Hall makes a genially corrupt mayor, this is one of his best efforts.Catch this film the next time TCM runs it, it's a real unknown gem.
abchulett
At the time I post this only 56 other users have rated this little film and only one other user has posted comments, and it's rated an average of 6.2. It's a shame that so few people have seen this little gem, and it's sad that our times are so out of step with its sentiments.This is the humorous and romantic story of a retired colonel who returns to the town he grew up in and finds that few of its citizens are involved in its care, noting that a very small percentage even bothers to vote and finding that they are afraid to get involved, not for any sinister reasons but simply because the mayor and his cronies have the town locked up pretty tight and can bluster their way out of anything. This town needs a focal point for change, and the Colonel is just the man for the job. His young second cousin and a society writer on the local paper join in, with satisfactory results and some poignant dialogue along the way. Nice film. 9/10. I'd give it a solid 10 if not for the unfortunate racial attitudes that come from a southern town still in love with its pre-Lincoln heritage, but even these are handled fairly delicately considering the movie's era.The film was apparently just restored in 2005, so probably it's not been seen often for many years. Watch for it on TCM; just caught it today on their Joan Bennett day, so it'll turn up again sometime. Well worth its brief run time.
AD
