Today’s quick review: The Inspector General. Too honest to make it as a snake oil salesman, Georgi (Danny Kaye) ends up broke, starving, and set to be hanged. Unexpected salvation comes when the town officials mistake him for the Inspector General, an official tasked with rooting out corruption. Georgi wants nothing more than to leave with his neck, but his old associate Yakov (Walter Slezak) convinces him to keep up the ruse in hopes of doing some good.
The Inspector General is a musical comedy in the classical mold. Danny Kaye puts his broad talents to work as Georgi, a failed huckster with a knack for singing and an unfortunate honest streak. Witty musical numbers, a plot driven by coincidence and misunderstanding, and Danny Kaye’s able performance make The Inspector General an enjoyable watch reminiscent of the Marx Brothers or Gilbert and Sullivan.
However, The Inspector General is missing the brilliance of the great comedies. The movie relies heavily on Kaye’s faces, voices, and slapstick and less on his singing, dancing, and patter. The songs are clever in places, but they are padded too long and are easy to forget. The plot lacks the extra complexity typically found in comedies of its style, and the romance, which should have been an easy inclusion, is woefully underdeveloped.
The Inspector General remains a charming watch for fans of classic comedy, but it is a marked step down from the best of the era. Give it a shot if you are in the mood for a light comedy with a musical flourish. Less enthusiastic fans of the era would be better off trying The Court Jester, a more polished Danny Kaye musical.
6.9 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for skillful but flawed comedy.