Normally, I despise old movies. However, after listening to my kids quote line after line, and sing song after song, I decided that I absolutely must watch the movie. I was delighted! The comedy is fresh, not slapstick. The actors, though tempting as it might be to overact, were comic without goofiness. This movie is as fresh and funny today as it was in 1949. Now, I don't buy many movies, but I'm patting myself on the back for taking a risk on this one!!

This movie is one of Danny's best! I love Danny Kaye, so my opinion is a little biased, but if you like Danny Kaye's style of humor and acting, then this is a good DVD to buy. I think there are better movie's he's done, but this one definitely has it's great moments.

This fantasy is a rags-to-riches story. A vagrant and charlatan (played by Danny Kaye) is rejected by his partner for being too honest (refunding a needy woman's money. She had earlier been conned into buying a worthless liquid). He travels from town to town, hungry and rejected everywhere. To make matters worse, he is falsely accused of attempting to steal a horse, and is about to be hanged.

He manages an escape, and ends up amongst a group of corrupt men who are fearfully awaiting the incognito appearance of the one who can expose their wrongdoings--an inspector general. They come to think that HE is the inspector general. At first, he thinks only of escaping from town so as to escape recognition as an outlaw and gallows bird. But then, he decides to play along with the charade. He asks himself, "What does an inspector general do? Inspect generals? Inspect generally?" He decides what kind of persona his "inspector general" self should be.

Overnight, his fate undergoes a complete reversal. His near-starvation situation gives way to parties, lavish dinners, and other forms of obsequious behavior, all provided courtesy of the powerful, corrupt men who fear his (imagined) authority. After he "examines" the books, one by one the corrupt men come to see him privately, each minimizing and confessing his wrongdoings, and pleading for mercy while also paying a bribe. Ironic to all this is the fact that the vagrant "inspector general" cannot even read! He can only pretend--and he does this very well, and in a very entertaining manner.

In time, the corrupt men plan to destroy him. They set up a trap for him. Will the "inspector general" fall victim to the poisoned goblet of wine? If not, what will happen when he wanders near a barn near which an axe-wielding hit man is waiting for him? How will the town react once the fraudulence of his "inspector general" self become evident? Will he hang? I will not spoil the ending by revealing it.

THIS NOT A REVIEW BUT IT'S A COMPLAINT WITH U GUYS THAT SUCH A GOOD MOVIE WHICH I WAS SEARCHING FOR AGES I FINALLY FOUND FROM U BUT I HAVEN'T GOT MY DELIVERY SO FAR IAM GETTING YOUR MOVIES REGULARLY WITH THIS GILMORE GIRLS (SEASON 2) WAS ALSO ORDERED PLEASE LET ME KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
BEACAUSE I AM EAGERLY WANT TO SEE THIS MOVIE

This is one of my all time favorites. Danny Kaye is just superb in his role. The story is really well told and there is not a single boring moment in this film.