Great Guy

Mae Clarke is a big crook’s private secretary, she thinks he’s a philanthropist.

James Cagney is her fiancé, at least part of the joke is his constant docility toward her except in the one thing. He’s Acting Deputy Chief in the Department of Weights and Measures, owing to some mischief that befell his boss at the hands of the gang whose nominal leader is a ward heeler, and the mayor’s in on it.

The directress of the city orphanage (Mary Gordon) gets fired when she complains about short weight from the philanthropist’s company.

Cagney’s kidnapped, knocked out, dampened with whiskey, wrecked in a car, and charged with armed robbery, but the ward heeler drops the complaint.

The two Deputy Chiefs are named Joel Green and Johnny Cave (Cagney), which seems to express the “cost to the housewife” of the gang’s citywide chiseling. Such names go with the job, in Los Angeles County the Department of Weights and Measures saw Cato R. Fiksdal succeeded by Kurt E. Floren.

Swiss Miss

A major inspiration of Russell’s Mahler, to all appearances.

Leading operetta composer goes to the Alpenhotel for silence and inspiration, his advisor garbs the staff in Tyrolean costume, the wife is not admitted, his soprano star (she eclipses his fame).

Laurel & Hardy sell “mousetraps with personality”, are paid with francs from Nowheresville and have to work in the hotel kitchen. The composer’s wife slips in that way.

How Madame *** did not install a spinet in the Alps.

Block-Heads

To be married is like guarding a trench after all the other doughboys have gone over the top.

Stan literally does this, reunited with Ollie (married) the clash of metaphor and reality is too much for everything.