Washington Merry-Go-Round (film)

Washington Merry-Go-Round
Washington Merry-Go-Round
Directed by	James Cruze
Screenplay by	Jo Swerling
Story by	Maxwell Anderson
Based on	the book Washington Merry-Go-Round by Robert Sharon Allen and Drew Pearson
Produced by	Walter Wanger
Starring	Lee Tracy; Constance Cummings; Walter Connolly; Alan Dinehart
Cinematography	Ira H. Morgan (as Ira Morgan); Ted Tetzlaff
Edited by	Richard Cahoon
Production; company	Columbia Pictures
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	October 15, 1932;
Running time	79 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Washington Merry-Go-Round is a 1932 American pre-Code film directed by James Cruze and starring Lee Tracy, Constance Cummings, Walter Connolly, and Alan Dinehart. It was produced by Walter Wanger.^[1]

Plot[]

Button Gwinnett Brown (Lee Tracy) is a new congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives. He refuses bribes, vowing to rid Washington of corruption; but crosses swords with powerful senator Edward Norton (Alan Dinehart), who wants to enlist Brown to help Prohibition bootleggers. Norton also happens to be chasing elder senator Wylie's (Walter Connolly) granddaughter Alice (Constance Cummings), who Brown has also fallen for. In order to silence the idealistic newcomer, politicians stage a phony re-count and Brown loses his government seat. However, with the help of Senator Wylie and Alice, Brown manages to win back his place and clean up the halls of justice.

Cast[]

Lee Tracy as Button Gwinnett Brown
Constance Cummings as Alice Wylie
Walter Connolly as Senator Wylie
Alan Dinehart as Edward T. Norton
Arthur Vintonas as Beef Brannigan
Arthur Hoyt as Willis
Berton Churchill as Speaker of the House
Frank Sheridan as John Kelleher
Clay Clement as Conti
Clarence Muse as Clarence
Wallis Clark as Carl Tilden (uncredited)
Larry Steers as Guard (uncredited)
John T. Prince as Senate Clerk (uncredited)

Critical reception[]

The New York Times wrote, ""Washington Merry-Go-Round" is a sturdy piece of work with melodramatic interludes. At times it is somewhat reckless in its dealings, but, allowing for its explosive utterances and its eagerness to win popular favor as an entertainment, it arouses a certain amount of interest. There are excellent performances by the cast, headed by the vehement Lee Tracy, and Mr. Cruze's direction is for the most part genuinely able";^[2] while more recently Allmovie called it "a ridiculously contrived political tale that even in its time must have been viewed as overly simplistic";^[3] whereas Leonard Maltin wrote that the film "remains surprisingly relevant today, with engaging performances and strong feel for the political arena, but peters out after great first half."^[1]

References[]

^ ^a ^b "Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932) - Overview". Tcm.com. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
^ "Movie Review : Lee Tracy in a Maxwell Anderson Story of Graft and Patronage in Washington". Nytimes.com. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
^ "Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932) – James Cruze – Review". AllMovie. Retrieved August 26, 2017.

External links[]

Washington Merry-Go-Round at IMDb
Washington Merry-Go-Round at the TCM Movie Database

This 1930s drama film-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[tcm-1] "Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932) - Overview". Tcm.com. Retrieved August 26, 2017.

[2] "Movie Review : Lee Tracy in a Maxwell Anderson Story of Graft and Patronage in Washington". Nytimes.com. Retrieved August 26, 2017.

[3] "Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932) – James Cruze – Review". AllMovie. Retrieved August 26, 2017.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t Films directed by James Cruze
1910s	From Wash to Washington (1914) Too Many Millions (1918) The Dub (1919) Alias Mike Moran (1919) The Roaring Road (1919) You're Fired (1919) The Love Burglar (1919) The Valley of the Giants (1919) The Lottery Man (1919) Hawthorne of the U.S.A. (1919) An Adventure in Hearts (1919)
1920s	Terror Island (1920) Mrs. Temple's Telegram (1920) The Sins of St. Anthony (1920) What Happened to Jones (1920) Food for Scandal (1920) A Full House (1920) Always Audacious (1920) The Charm School (1921) The Dollar-a-Year Man (1921) Gasoline Gus (1921) Crazy to Marry (1921) One Glorious Day (1922) Is Matrimony a Failure? (1922) The Fast Freight (1922) The Dictator (1922) The Old Homestead (1922) Thirty Days (1922) The Covered Wagon (1923) Hollywood (1923) Ruggles of Red Gap (1923) To the Ladies (1923) Leap Year (1924) filmed 1921 The Fighting Coward (1924) The Enemy Sex (1924) Merton of the Movies (1924) The City That Never Sleeps (1924) The Garden of Weeds (1924) The Goose Hangs High (1925) Waking Up the Town (1925) Welcome Home (1925) Beggar on Horseback (1925) Marry Me (1925) The Pony Express (1925) Mannequin (1926) Old Ironsides (1926) The Waiter from the Ritz (1926) never completed or released We're All Gamblers (1927) The City Gone Wild (1927) On to Reno (1928) The Mating Call (1928) The Red Mark (1928) Excess Baggage (1928) The Duke Steps Out (1929) A Man's Man (1929) The Great Gabbo (1929)
1930s	Once a Gentleman (1930) She Got What She Wanted (1930) Salvation Nell (1931) Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932) If I Had a Million (1932) Racetrack (1933) Sailor Be Good (1933) I Cover the Waterfront (1933) Mr. Skitch (1933) David Harum (1934) Their Big Moment (1934) Helldorado (1934) Two-Fisted (1935) Sutter's Gold (1936) The Wrong Road (1937) Prison Nurse (1938) Gangs of New York (1938) Come On, Leathernecks! (1938)