You, the People (1940) User Reviews

A Relevant Reminder

[atlasmb · 7/10 · 17 November 2020]

This short film is part of a series dedicated to the assertion that crime does not pay. Obviously, it sometimes does, but this fictional story about a city election is meant to demonstrate the importance of each individual's vote. What the film does instead is demonstrate the importance of anti-corruption laws and regulations.

A corrupt incumbent mayor---and the machine that keeps him in power---is opposed by a candidate running on a reform agenda. We see the many tricks and crimes committed by the machine and the lengths it will go to. Some of those methods are still being used today, though they might be nearly unrecognizable due to changes in technology and laws. For example, employees of companies with government contracts are still coerced for contributions, albeit in an indirect and technically legal way.

This film is both instructive and inspirational. It reminds every voter that vigilance is a necessary part of franchise rights. And if local elections are important enough to attract unscrupulous powerbrokers, what is implied about state or national elections?

Teaching good citizenship instead of entertaining.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 20 November 2013]

"no crook ever won an election when the people did their duty"

Since I bought the "Crime Does Not Pay" DVD set, I noticed that the earlier, pre-WWII episodes were by far the best. They were full of excitement, violence and mobsters. However, after WWII began in Europe, often the topics changed to patriotism and good citizenship. And, frankly, these topics come off as preachy and are a lot less fun to watch. I also noticed that the 'government officials' who introduce the films are, in fact, actors--with the producers trying to pass them off as real officials in order to give the films a touch of authenticity. In this case, Mr. Edward Gibbon is actually played by Robert Elliot!

In "You, The People", the problem being addressed is political corruption. In an unidentified town, mobsters run the government--with a hand-picked mayor and enough voter fraud to ensure he'll never be voted out of office. To make it worse, voter apathy becomes so bad, it is like the people are condoning the corruption and abuse of power.

This turns out to be a good civics lesson bu also a horribly boring and preachy short film at times. Not terrible but it sure could be better!

"The streets, the buildings, the people. We own it all."

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 19 January 2014]

Crime Does Not Pay short about election fraud. Mobsters are running the government in one unnamed city, it seems. They have a patsy Mayor and use every dirty trick in the book to make sure he stays in office. Nice cast includes C. Henry Gordon, Hugh Beaumont, John Hamilton, Will Wright, and Raymond Bailey. Also Mr. Martini himself -- Bill Edmonds! He's one actor who always puts a smile on my face. The basic message is to get out the vote and not to let corrupt politicians and thuggish political machines stop you. I got so worked up I made like Barney Fife and shouted "We defy the mafia!" at my TV screen. This is not the best of this particular series of shorts but it's an entertaining one. The message was hammered home well and I came away feeling that crime, in fact, does not pay.

Crime Does Not Pay

[Michael_Elliott · 15 August 2010]

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.

Though it's not quite in the same league with . . .

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 14 November 2020]

. . . TRIUMPH OF THE WILL, this offering from the Fifth Columnist official propaganda arm of the U.S. Pachyderm Political Party is equally pernicious when compared to The Fuhrer's favorite flick. Distributed across America as a dirty election tricks primer under the guise of its nefarious "Crime Pays" series, YOU, THE PEOPLE gives how-to tips on pulling off all the century-old Pachyderm ruses to corrupt Democracy: voter suppression, assault & battery, bogus ballot boxes swapped out for the real ones (which are immediately incinerated), widespread misinformation campaigns and the assassination of honest election officials. The crooked Pachyderm gangsters bribe citizens to submit counterfeit voting forms (already filled in to reelect this mob's "Machine" of Nixon-style crooks). Most Americans have never even met an authentic traitor of this vile ilk, since all the Pachyderm "core supporters" you see spewing hate on TV are paid agitators and professional actors. But if you've just eaten some tainted or expired food and need to toss your cookies, watching YOU, THE PEOPLE should accomplish your goal.

Vote, damn it, vote!

[mark.waltz · 9/10 · 3 December 2015]

That's basically the theme of this Crime Does Not Pay short where election fraud is exposed in a local mayoral contest. C. Henry Gordon, in his last film appearance, is the big boss of local crime and determined to get his mayoral candidate re-elected so he can remain quietly in the background in control. It will take a lot of ingenuity for the law to expose the mastermind behind all this because in addition to be very calculating, they are all very clever.

Still timely today this short goes into great detail to show everything that these rackets do to keep their puppets in office. They will resort to violence , bribery and blackmail to keep the public both from choosing who will lead them and from knowing what they are up to. Well written and complex, this ranks as one of the better Crime Does Not Pay shorts.

You, the People is another compelling "Crime Does Not Pay" short subject

[tavm · 8/10 · 3 June 2008]

Before I begin, I'd like to note that Bill Edmonds-Mr. Martini in It's a Wonderful Life-plays Louie the janitor here. Also appearing are "The Beverly Hillbillies" Raymond Bailey as Bailey Henchman and "Leave It To Beaver"s Hugh Beaumont as Pete. And that Barbara Bedford, who died in a city I once lived in-Jacksonville, Fla.-is a rooming house diner here. Shades (or maybe not) of the 2000 general presidential election, this "Crime Does Not Pay" short explores the illegal ways an incumbent mayor's re-election staff tries of "stuffing the ballots" and convincing the "regular folks" to stay home on election day. When someone tries to expose them, however, someone gets shot and police arrive as they try to burn the polling place...Gets pretty exciting at the end with the chases and shootings and is also compelling when someone at the end says to shut up since the person he talked to admitted he didn't vote. A pretty good account of how corruptness always seems to be around the corner near election day. Hope nothing like that happens this year with Obama now declared the Democratic presidential nominee...

Vote!

[boblipton · 5/10 · 11 November 2023]

In this episode of MGM's long-running crime series, we see C. Henry Gordon (in his last movie role) as the political boss of a political machine trying to keep the money flowing and re-elect his pet mayor, while John Hamilton, as the reform candidate, tries to fight the usual lies: the machine is backing both candidates, no one's individual vote counts, the count is crooked, there's no difference between the two candidates, and every person who doesn't go to the polls for the good guys is the same as one who goes to vote for the bad guys. And you don't expect to get your contract renewed if your contribution is a miserable $5,000, do you?

Sound familiar? We've been hearing the same things for the last election cycle, and the decision is yours to make, so make it, and make it count by voting. Vote as if your vote, and your vote alone will decide the election. Because if you let the crooks win, you'll discover the hard way that crime doesn't pay. Not for you.

still the same

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 11 November 2023]

It's the "Crime Does Not Pay" series from MGM. Criminal elements are corrupting the democratic process. They use every graft in the books to buy votes and steal the election for Mayor James Wheelock. They lie about their reform opponent. They are racketeers forcing everyone to pay.

While some of issues have changed, the general premise remains the same. Democracy is always under attack. It is up to a well-motivated and informed populace to fight back by casting their votes. The only thing missing is an evil newspaper magnate. I would have expected more from a foreign adversary considering the times. Maybe they wanted to not blame it on outsiders.