A Scottish town's powerful provost (mayor) struts and brags about his city "improvements" while the cowed villagers are sullenly forced to put up with him. A free-spirited English reporter is brought from London to work for the local newspaper and soon clashes with the autocrat—while falling in love with his daughter. He strikes out against the provost by taking up the cause of a poor woman who sells ice cream from a pushcart, and has dared to protest against the provost's new "dog tax". The local police are about to put her sheepdog Patsy to death because she cannot pay the back taxes and subsequent fine incurred by her ownership of the dog.
The idealistic young reporter exposes the injustice in the local newspaper before the editors have a chance to suppress the article, and it sparks an indignant protest campaign all over England and Scotland. The furious provost rashly sues the "cheeky little rotter from London" for libel. A courtroom scene ensues which strongly resembles a "kangaroo trial" until, in view of local support for the defendant (with the villagers humorously barking like dogs) and the budding love affair between the reporter and the provost daughter, the provost gives up, and all is happily resolved.
At the time of the film's initial release, reviews were favourable. In The New York Times, Frank S. Nugent called it "an engaging miniature" and "a splendid comic brew".[4] The critic for The Montreal Gazette wrote, "the excellent story is done fullest justice by the directors, Victor Saville and Dalrymple, and by the large and often-brilliant cast."[3] The critic for Boys' Life called it "a riot of fun for the audience."[5]
The number of favourable reviews grew over time. Leonard Maltin rated this movie three out of four stars and called it "witty social comedy."[6] The book Guide to British Cinema considered this film as one of Victor Saville's "well-crafted, genre films" and "the breezy Rex Harrison–Vivien Leigh social comedy."[7] The book British Film Directors: A Critical Guide called it "a whimsical comedy with anti-fascist undercurrents."[8] The book A Chorus of Raspberries: British Film Comedy 1929–1939 considered this film "one of the best British comedies of the decade."[9]
Anne Edwards, author of the 1977 biography of Vivien Leigh, considered this film a "funny but inconsequential comedy;" nevertheless, she called Leigh's performance "witty and warm" for her role that "could not have given [Leigh] much pride of accomplishment."[10]
Radio version
The play was adapted for Australian radio in 1940 with Peter Finch.[11]
^Australasian Radio Relay League., "JONATHAN LISTENS TO PLAYS", The Wireless Weekly: The Hundred per Cent Australian Radio Journal, 35 (4 (27 January 1940)), Sydney: Wireless Press, nla.obj-719777473, retrieved 16 March 2024 – via Trove
McFarlane, Brian, ed.; Anthony Slide, asst. ed. The Encyclopedia of British Film: Second Edition – Fully Updated and Revised. London: Methuen Publishing, 2005. Print. ISBN978-0-413-77526-9.
Robertson, James C. (1982). "British Film Censorship goes to war". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 2 (1). London: Routledge: 49–64. doi:10.1080/01439688200260041.
Library of Congress, Copyright Office. Catalog of Copyright Entries: Part 1, Group 3: Dramatic Composition and Motion Pictures: 1938 New Series: Volume 11, No. 2. p. 1375 Washington: GPO, 1939.
Library of Congress, Copyright Office. Catalog of Copyright Entries Part 1, Group 3, 1937 New Series, Volume 10, No. 10. page 591. Washington: GPO, 1938. p. 591
Library of Congress. Copyright Office. Federal Register, 17 April 1998 (Volume 63, Number 74): "Notices" pp. 19299-19300" Washington: GPO, 1998.
