John P. Merrick (Charles Coburn), a bigtime businessman (the "richest man in the world") is upset that the employees of one of his "small holdings" (a department store) are burning him in effagy, and wants to get to the bottom of things. Rather than sending in a private detective to infiltrate the organizers, he
decides to get to investigate the situation himself. Rather than the group of lazy rabble-rousers he expected to find, he's instead greeted by a group of caring and well-meaning individuals who look out for one another. It's something a bit foreign to him, this concept of people liking one another. He's especially bowled over by Miss Jones, an almost saintly figure in comparison to the miserly board members he's used to associating with. Mary Jones (Jean Arthur) seems to be a friend to everyone in the department store, and, under the mistaken impression that Mr. Merrick is a down-and-out tramp who's just found a job, is quick to offer him lots of helpful advice. As Merrick gets a firsthand look at the sort of treatment the average worker gets from the supervisors, he makes little notes in a notebook of DOOM for those who treat him cruelly. Things get complicated when he finds out the chief rabble-rouser is none other than Miss Jones own boyfriend. It's really amazing how quickly Mr. Merrick gets into the persona of a common working man, almost immediately identifying with all the problems facing them (which is a huge jump from the way his character is introduced). As his moral change happens rather quickly, the rest of the movie is sort of a "secret identity" type caper, where Mr. Merrick is constantly on the verge of being discovered. "A madcap comedy of errors", I suppose is the term. While Jean Arthur's charming performance really shines, it's famous character actor Charles Coburn makes this film great. Coburn (1877-1961), who didn't appear in film until the age of 56, also had roles in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and Howard Hawks' "Monkey Business". I don't think he was ever finer than he was here.
August 11, 2010
