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.

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.

Anything with June Allyson draws my attention. A number of my favourite movies include her in the marquee, especially The Glenn Miller Story. While profitable for MGM, 'The Reformer and the Redhead' seems to have all but disappeared for today's viewers. With her husband Dick Powell, I found their interactions much more enjoyable than I expected.Local political conflicts see Kathleen's (Allyson) father dismissed from his position of 20 years at the zoo. With a lifetime of unmanaged anger has her needing a lawyer after assaulting the trophy-hunting daughter of the town's leading citizen, Commodore Parker.Of course the lawyer, Hale (Powell), is already being engaged with Commodore for the probable future as Mayor, and best choice for her defence is suggested to be lawyer Hale. Hale's distrust of the Commodore requires information to resolve, and so we find Kathleen's family to become a source of that info.We are drawn into a somewhat predictable story with fun and clever shooting of cast and animals back at the ranch. For me, a lion peeking over a sofa made me laugh. In this case, a predictable story is part of what made it fun and enjoyable. Allyson and Powell are a great match, in what I believe is the only movie they did together while married (they were both in 'Meet the People (1944)' before their marriage).Don't pass up the chance to enjoy this movie if you can find it.

The Reformer and the Redhead is a fun film to watch because it stars a real life Hollywood couple: Dick Powell and June Allyson. The two are wonderful together, sweet and funny.The film is about a zoo-keeper's daughter and a man running for mayor. When the girl's father is at risk of losing his job for a phony reason supplied by a corrupt power over the city, she enlists the help of the man, hoping for him to stay true to his pledge of being a reformer and to help her. The two become involved in a relationship along with many funny events, several including a sweet lion a la Bringing up Baby.The movie is very enjoyable, but nothing special. It is a breezy film with a good cast, a great choice for a bad day.