If you've seen the story of Corruption before you certainly have. Six years later Frank Capra took this story once again before the movie going public and it went from City Hall in your average American city to the Halls of the U.S. Senate in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.
A corrupt political party who is headed by Tully Marshall and Warner Richmond thinks they've found themselves a naive young man in Preston Foster as their town's new Mayor. But Foster fools them and starts reforming things. That's something the local machine won't stand for and Foster is soon out as Mayor and first framed on a morals charge and then when that doesn't stick, he gets framed for Richmond's murder.
Foster is Jefferson Smith if he was a mayor instead of a senator. Bright certainly and honest to a fault, but a bit of a fathead as well in not seeing these obvious temptations put in his path. He passes up good girl Evelyn Knapp who is his loyal secretary for the charms of Natalie Moorehead who is Marshall's secretary. And the frame the bad guys put him in with Gwen Lee, I mean really Preston, you're supposed to know about the birds and the bees.
Marshall has a most interesting role as the millionaire/philanthropist who provides the veneer of polish the machine needs. His observations on the nature of man are interesting. And Mischa Auer as a dedicated immigrant doctor are worth noting.
Corruption is a poverty row studio product, but its parallel to the Frank Capra classic are unmistakable.