You, the People (1940)

This entry in MGM's series of shorts, "Crime Doesn't Pay", features a big city crime boss's attempt to use his crime "machine" to fraudently win re-election for the current corrupt mayor. ... See full summary »

Director:

Roy Rowland

Writers:

Douglas Foster (screenplay), Douglas Foster (story)

Stars:

C. Henry Gordon, Byron Shores, Paul Everton

Cast

Complete credited cast:
C. Henry Gordon	...	John 'Boss' Bailey
Byron Shores	...	Deputy William 'Bill' Wright
Paul Everton	...	Mayor James W. 'Jim' Wheelock
Matt McHugh	...	Albert 'Bert' / 'Perky' Perkins

Storyline

This entry in MGM's series of shorts, "Crime Doesn't Pay", features a big city crime boss's attempt to use his crime "machine" to fraudently win re-election for the current corrupt mayor. By using several illegal tactics, and aided by voter apathy, the crime boss nearly continues his control of the city.

---

Plot Keywords:

mayor | voter apathy | beating | speech | election fraud | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Short | Crime

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 November 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Crime Does Not Pay No. 32: You, the People

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

21 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Crime Does Not Pay

You, the People (1940)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Lesser entry in MGM's Crime Does Not Pay series takes a look at a gangster who buys votes, forces people to vote one way and pretty much gets a crooked mayor re-elected for his own gain. One citizen is beaten for trying to stand up against them but that doesn't stop him from trying to bring them down. This is without question one of my favorite series and for the most part it has strong episodes but this here isn't one of them. This is still an entertaining film in its own right but there's not as much drama or tension that you've come to expect from the series. I think the biggest problem is that the main goal is to teach people that they should vote. Vote. Vote. Vote. That's the message and we're pretty much beaten over the head with it. I think the film did a pretty good job at showing how some of the illegal activity is done but there's just not enough story to back anything else up. We do get to see some famous (or at least known) faces here including Bill Edmonds who would go onto play Mr. Martini in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE as well as Hugh Beaumont who would of course go onto Leave it to Beaver.