A Stranger in Town (1943 film)

A Stranger in Town is a 1943 comedy-drama political film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Roy Rowland and produced by Robert Sisk from an original screenplay by Isobel Lennart and William Kozlenko. The film has a music score by Daniele Amfitheatrof and Nathaniel Shilkret, and cinematography by Sidney Wagner.

Plot
Quietly planning to go duck hunting, John Josephus (Joe) Grant, a U.S. Supreme Court justice, tells his secretary Lucy Gilbert where he will be but no one else. A fish-and-game warden promptly insists he pay an extra fee for a license and toss in a "tip". Grant refuses and ends up in town, facing possible criminal charges.

There he discovers honest lawyer Bill Adams, running for mayor against the incumbent, Connison, someone he considers to be corrupt. Judge Austin Harkley, businessman Blaxton and even the sheriff appear to be in the mayor's pocket, and when Bill is insulted and throws a punch, they conspire to keep him in jail.

Joe intervenes on Bill's behalf without telling anyone his true identity. He helps free Bill in the first legal dispute, then does likewise for Lucy after she shows up and is denied a room at the local hotel for no good reason. Joe ultimately admits who he really is, causing Bill to faint. Once he recovers, his political career begins.

Cast

 * Frank Morgan as John Josephus Grant
 * Richard Carlson as Bill Adams
 * Jean Rogers as Lucy Gilbert
 * Porter Hall as Judge Austin Harkley
 * Robert Barrat as Mayor Connison
 * Donald MacBride as Vinnie Z. Blaxton
 * Walter Baldwin as Tom Cooney
 * Andrew Tombes as Roscoe Swade
 * Olin Howland as Homer Todds
 * Chill Wills as Charles Craig
 * Irving Bacon as Orrin Todds
 * Eddie Dunn as Henry
 * Gladys Blake as Birdie
 * John Hodiak as Hart Ridges
 * Edward Keane as Blaxton's Lawyer
 * Robert Homans as Sergeant