Watching this film I was recently put in mind of the latest of Washington DC scandals involving page boys. Something like what Representative Foley of Florida did with a page boy a few years back would not be on the big screen back in those Code driven years. And I guess it depends on your point of view what is more immoral, what Foley did or what is shown in Adventure In Washington.
US Senator Herbert Marshall does a favor for one of the political bosses back in his home state. The favor for J.M. Kerrigan is make young Gene Reynolds a Senate page, maybe that will straighten out this particular juvenile delinquent. Reynolds is the son of the former big boss of the state now deceased as is Reynolds mother.
Reynolds is cast in a role that at MGM would have been done by Mickey Rooney or at Warner Brothers by Dead End Kids Billy Halop or Leo Gorcey. Usually Gene is a good kid, but he manages to do well with the bad boy role. Who turns out to be a good kid after all in the way he assumes responsibility especially pulling his patron Herbert Marshall out of a jackpot Reynolds put him in.
That Senate set built for Mr. Smith Goes To Washington got some more use for Adventure In Washington. Harry Cohn would not have contemplated otherwise. The girl reporter role here is played by Virginia Bruce, probably because they could not get Jean Arthur. Like Arthur in both Frank Capra classics Mr. Deeds Goes To Town and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Bruce starts out as an adversary to the hero, but then becomes his biggest booster.
It might be interesting to see if this film ever got a remake today. It would not be a G rated remake you can bet.
US Senator Herbert Marshall does a favor for one of the political bosses back in his home state. The favor for J.M. Kerrigan is make young Gene Reynolds a Senate page, maybe that will straighten out this particular juvenile delinquent. Reynolds is the son of the former big boss of the state now deceased as is Reynolds mother.
Reynolds is cast in a role that at MGM would have been done by Mickey Rooney or at Warner Brothers by Dead End Kids Billy Halop or Leo Gorcey. Usually Gene is a good kid, but he manages to do well with the bad boy role. Who turns out to be a good kid after all in the way he assumes responsibility especially pulling his patron Herbert Marshall out of a jackpot Reynolds put him in.
That Senate set built for Mr. Smith Goes To Washington got some more use for Adventure In Washington. Harry Cohn would not have contemplated otherwise. The girl reporter role here is played by Virginia Bruce, probably because they could not get Jean Arthur. Like Arthur in both Frank Capra classics Mr. Deeds Goes To Town and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Bruce starts out as an adversary to the hero, but then becomes his biggest booster.
It might be interesting to see if this film ever got a remake today. It would not be a G rated remake you can bet.