WASHINGTON MELODRAMA (1941)

A surprisingly engrossing B-movie from MGM. It's a crime thriller, a political drama, and a romance, with a musical number and even a water ballet! Frank Morgan is an industrialist who is trying get a bill passed that would allow the U.S. to send money and food to suffering victims of Nazism in Europe (at a time when the government was supposed to be neutral). His future son-in-law, a journalist (Kent Taylor), is dead set against his policy. One night at a nightclub while his wife and daughter are on an extended visit overseas, Morgan hooks up with a chorus girl (Anne Gwynne) who keeps him company while he's lonely--as a sop for the Code, it's made clear that they aren't engaging in any hanky-panky, but I didn't believe it for a minute. The day after his wife returns, the girl is found murdered and some damaging clues that point to Morgan are presented to Taylor, who is torn between his duty as a reporter and some strained loyalty to his future father-in-law. Dan Dailey, the nightclub owner, is the real killer (not a spoiler, since we see him commit the murder), but will he be unmasked before scandalous headlines hurt Morgan and his political cause? Coherent, well acted, suspenseful, and fun. Ann Rutherford is Morgan's sympathetic daughter, Fay Holden is the somewhat less sympathetic wife, and Lee Bowman has a nice non-irritating comic relief role. Fans will recognize Sara Haden and Douglass Dumbrille in small roles. Dailey is quite good playing against type as a scoundrel. Morgan is even better, going for subtlety rather than bluster. The water ballet is quite bizarre, done to a song called "Fishing for Suckers," with chorus girls in bathing suits swimming about in a pool while the rich male clientele literally "fish" for the girls with fishing rods that can hook the girls suits. That's how Morgan reels in Gwynne. Why this trend didn't sweep the country's nightspots is beyond me. [TCM]