Gee, with a life like this, what a Broadway musical this would make. Oh wait. There was one. "Jimmy", starring Frank Gorshin, ran for three months a decade after this came out, and not as popular as the other "Mayor" musical, "Fiorello!" The rival to James J. Walker, "Gentleman Jimmy" as a Broadway star loosely based on the character Vera Miles plays here, only is heard on radio, but his presence is definitely felt.
To play Walker, casting directors went comic even though Bob Hope is very dramatic here, even though he's loaded with wisecracks. It's obvious that his marriage to Alexis Smith is in trouble, even though she sticks with him for his political career. Walker meets the real life Betty Compton (Miles) by accident even though he's disturbed by the way she supposedly slaughters the hit Rodgers and Hart song "Manhattan".
This film proclaims Walker's love for the city, so this is filled with several songs from that era, and Hope gets a duet with none other than Jimmy Durante, as big a highlight as Hope's duet with Cagney as George M. Cohen in "The Seven Little Foys". Other cameos by friends of Hope's includes people who knew the real Jimmy, so this is a real treat, especially to show Hope's dramatic talents. The real drama deals with accusations of corruption, pretty mild when compared to others, but serious none the less. Definitely one of Hope's best films, even though less memorable films are more remembered than this.
To play Walker, casting directors went comic even though Bob Hope is very dramatic here, even though he's loaded with wisecracks. It's obvious that his marriage to Alexis Smith is in trouble, even though she sticks with him for his political career. Walker meets the real life Betty Compton (Miles) by accident even though he's disturbed by the way she supposedly slaughters the hit Rodgers and Hart song "Manhattan".
This film proclaims Walker's love for the city, so this is filled with several songs from that era, and Hope gets a duet with none other than Jimmy Durante, as big a highlight as Hope's duet with Cagney as George M. Cohen in "The Seven Little Foys". Other cameos by friends of Hope's includes people who knew the real Jimmy, so this is a real treat, especially to show Hope's dramatic talents. The real drama deals with accusations of corruption, pretty mild when compared to others, but serious none the less. Definitely one of Hope's best films, even though less memorable films are more remembered than this.