Frank Morgan often played comical and even silly characters in many classic movies, but may be best known for his role as the Wizard of Oz. In A Stranger in Town, one of my favorite movies, he plays Judge John Josephus Grant. Grant is the kind of judge we all like to think of as being on the Supreme Court-- intelligent, serious, conscientious, and of course, just. His only fault seems to be that he's kind of gruff around the edges outside of court, and a little slow to praise his hardworking secretary.
When the film opens he's anxious to start a long-awaited vacation in which he plans to relax and get away from all things related to the law. But relaxation is not in the cards, as he and his secretary try to help a young lawyer running for mayor in what turns out to be a town suffering from the tyranny of a small gang of corrupt people.
Morgan completely and perfectly inhabits the character of Justice Grant, and the movie is a good mix of comedy, a little romance, and some interesting ways to get back at villains by using the law.
Judge Grant wants desperately to be incognito on vacation, so he calls himself Joe Grant. The people think he's just another old guy who's visiting the town. He remains so for most of the movie, but the moment comes when one of the bullies (the current mayor), feeling threatened by Grant, demands during a meeting of all the people at the courthouse to know who the heck Grant thinks he is, where is he from, and and what does he do?
Morgan answers with a speech to the mayor and the crowd that I can't help including in this post. He begins:
"I'm from Washington DC. I'm not Joe Grant. I'm John Josephus Grant, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States."
He then says he's not taking this action (to stop the tyrants) because he's a Supreme Court Justice, but rather:
It's because, like all of you here, I am a citizen of this country. It is no little honor. Men have fought revolutions, have died, to be called citizen. And as citizens, we carry a burning responsibility. It means that when we elect men to public office, we cannot do it as lightly as we flip a coin. It means that after we've elected them we can't sit back and say our job is done; what they do now doesn't concern us. That philosophy of indifference is what the enemies of decent government want.
If we allow them to have their way to grow strong and vicious, then the heroic struggle which welded thousands of lovely towns like this into a great nation means nothing. Then we are not citizens; we're traitors. The great liberties by which we live have been bought with blood. The kind of government we get is the kind of government we want. Government of the people, by the people and for the people can mean any kind of government. It's our duty to make it only one kind: uncorrupted, free, united.
I believe, Mayor, that I've answered your question.
A Stranger in Town was made in 1943 and is rated PG. It also stars Richard Carlson who's perfect as the aspiring young mayoral candidate.
I saw this film for sale on Amazon as a DVD from around $4.50 used to $9.50 new, on VHS for $7.99, and (I think) you can see it on Prime Video.