Colonel Effingham's Raid (1946)

Fantastic!

Crappy film

best movie i've ever seen.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

"Colonel Effingham's Raid" is one of the most unlikeable movies I've ever watched. Hard to find any redeemable qualities.A brief synopses, Colonel Effingham is a retired colonel who doesn't like the direction in which his small, Georgian city is heading. The politicians are crooked and don't understand the values that made the city great. So the Colonel takes action by starting a column in his nephew's newspaper.The column is extremely controversial, especially when the Colonel starts a campaign to preserve the 150 year old court house, which the politicians want to tear down and replace with a new, more modern court house.The movie's pacing was very slow, never caught my interest and no characters were even in the slightest bit sympathetic. The Colonel was a grouchy, arrogant, blow-hard who, while he may have been trying to fight against crooked politicians, went about it in the most obnoxious ways. Perhaps the most disturbing scene was at the end when the angry, but victorious, townspeople/mob try to topple the platform on which the mayor and counsel men are giving a speech.Perhaps the most ridiculous part of the movie was the romance between Colonel Effingham's nephew, Albert, and a female reporter, Ella.Throughout the movie, Albert makes snide comments about female reporters and the two, when they are not completely ignoring each other constantly bicker. They pretty much can't stand each other until one day, Albert and Ella are walking somewhere and the wind blows up her skirt and Albert catches sight of her legs and from then on he's smitten. They'll be arguing about something and then Ella will cross her legs and from the look on Albert's face, we are reminded that he is madly in love with her. Problem is, Ella has a boyfriend, Professor Bland. So Albert sets out to woo Ella by taking her out bowling and enlisting in the National Guard- neither grand gesture seems to impress Ella much, until Albert is called upon for active duty and on the eve of his departure he reveals to Ella his deep regards for her legs and instead of being repulsed and slapping him she giggles and says she didn't think he noticed! And of course they kiss, both of them forgetting about Professor Bland.A few questions for discussion: Why, when the newspaper editor is titling the picture of Colonel Effingham and his dog for the Colonel's newspaper column, does the editor insist that they say that the dog's name is "Rover" instead of it's real name, "Buck"? How is Rover a superior name to Buck?? Why does Professor Bland's name sound like a character out of a board game? And are we supposed to assume from his name that he has a really boring personality? And speaking of names, who else thinks that the Colonel's name sounds like a euphemistic swear word? At one point the city counsel presents two independent reports on the structure of the courthouse from two building inspectors, trying to prove that the building is unsound and must be torn down. Colonel Effingham insists that they use a completely objective inspector from a different city. Don't you think it's a little ridiculous of the Colonel to hire, as an objective party, a good friend of his?

The main reason I saw this film is that it starred the wonderful character actor, Charles Coburn. Well, in this sense, I wasn't disappointed as once again Coburn played the sort of crotchety but lovable guy he so often played in films. However, sadly the film seemed like it was very strongly inspired by MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (so it loses points for originality) and it unfortunately ended way too abruptly--like they knew it was supposed to be a B-picture so they ended it because this format wouldn't allow for a longer film! The film begins with the Colonel (Coburn) retiring to his childhood home in Georgia. Instead of just sitting back in a rocking chair, however, he wants to do a newspaper column to keep himself busy. At first, the column is very well received. However, when Coburn begins attacking the local corrupt administration, things start to get kind of crazy and soon it's this character and his new friends versus the establishment. This is all sort of a history lesson on politics and grassroots politics and when the mayor and his cronies dig in their heels for a fight the film gets interesting. Oddly, however, after setting up this great confrontation, it just seems to end! In the matter of just a couple minutes, everyone agrees to Coburn's demands and they all live happily ever after!! What a letdown at the end.Overall, a pleasant and entertaining film that is worth watching but could have been even better. Excellent characters but a limp finale make this more of a nice time-passer than anything else.

Charles Coburn plays a lovable old veteran who returns to his hometown of Fredricksville, Georgia as World War II commences. There, he finds nephew William Eythe, who helps facilitate a job for his uncle on the town newspaper. Also on staff is society gal Joan Bennett. Mr. Coburn uses his newspaper column "On the Firing Line" to rally the townspeople - he wants to save an old town Courthouse from being torn down, and replaced. Can he rally the townspeople to save the monument from demolition? Although the Courthouse in danger is a Confederate Courthouse, there is no political agenda offered by the film - it's simply a story about weeding out political corruption, and preserving an old building. There is, however, a stereotypical servant (called "Orderly 98") who isn't too hard to take until his offensive fencing scene with Coburn. The "whistle" which accompanies close-ups of Ms. Bennett's legs is ridiculous. Don't expect authentic Georgia accents. A nice idea, and a competent cast, aren't enough to lift this "Colonel Effingham's Raid". *** Colonel Effingham's Raid (1/24/46) Irving Pichel ~ Charles Coburn, Joan Bennett, William Eythe, Thurston Hall

At the time I post this only 56 other users have rated this little film and only one other user has posted comments, and it's rated an average of 6.2. It's a shame that so few people have seen this little gem, and it's sad that our times are so out of step with its sentiments.This is the humorous and romantic story of a retired colonel who returns to the town he grew up in and finds that few of its citizens are involved in its care, noting that a very small percentage even bothers to vote and finding that they are afraid to get involved, not for any sinister reasons but simply because the mayor and his cronies have the town locked up pretty tight and can bluster their way out of anything. This town needs a focal point for change, and the Colonel is just the man for the job. His young second cousin and a society writer on the local paper join in, with satisfactory results and some poignant dialogue along the way. Nice film. 9/10. I'd give it a solid 10 if not for the unfortunate racial attitudes that come from a southern town still in love with its pre-Lincoln heritage, but even these are handled fairly delicately considering the movie's era.The film was apparently just restored in 2005, so probably it's not been seen often for many years. Watch for it on TCM; just caught it today on their Joan Bennett day, so it'll turn up again sometime. Well worth its brief run time.