I'm disappointed that I've only been able to come across poor Public Domain prints of THE INSPECTOR GENERAL which I believe looked much better originally than the washed out prints currently circulating. The Technicolor looks less than vibrant, but DANNY KAYE is the main reason for watching this anyway. He gets to do his thing in a variety of songs, the outstanding one being "The Gypsy Drinking Song", another "Happy Times" penned by Sylvia Fine.
He has the benefit here of excellent support from WALTER SLEZAK (a fake healer who, with Kaye, is a traveling salesman of his phony elixir), GENE LOCKHART (as a corrupt mayor), ALAN HALE, and especially ELSA LANCHESTER as the flirtatious woman who wants to run off with Kaye under the perception that he's The Inspector General. It's the usual crazy identity mix-up that has all the villagers thinking Kaye is the man about to expose corruption of the town's leaders.
Kaye does all his usual song patters and double takes and mugging with his usual zest and skill and the vehicle is clearly tailor-made for his talent. True, it's overly silly at times and some of the routines are less than witty, but he's still fun to watch as he dodges the poisoned drink and swaggers through his impersonation while really trying to escape the clutches of the law.
Best watched if you can find a good print--entertaining fluff with Kaye and Slezak obviously enjoying themselves.
