FEATURE FILM

The Inspector General

6.7/10
TMDB60 votes
1949Original: English101 min

An illiterate stooge in a traveling medicine show wanders into a strange town and is picked up on a vagrancy charge. The town's corrupt officials mistake him for the inspector general whom they think is traveling in disguise. Fearing he will discover they've been pocketing tax money, they make several bungled attempts to kill him.

Genres: Comedy, Romance
Cast: Danny Kaye, Walter Slezak, Barbara Bates, Elsa Lanchester, Gene Lockhart

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THE STORY & THE PEOPLE

About The Inspector General

The Kaye way to chaos and corruption.

The Inspector General (1949) is a film in the comedy, romance genres. Directed by Henry Koster. The cast includes Danny Kaye, Walter Slezak, Barbara Bates, Elsa Lanchester.

Released
1949-12-31
Original language
English
Runtime
101 minutes
Status
Released
Production countries
United States of America
Production companies
Warner Bros. Pictures, First National Pictures
Directors
Henry Koster
Writers
Philip Rapp, Harry Kurnitz

The Inspector General cast & characters

Audience reviews

6.7/10 from 60 TMDB votes. Ratings and reviews are supplied by TMDB. Reviews are attributed to their original authors.

John Chard

TMDB member review

Oh, I have no wife. None of my family had wives. My father didn't like wives. I mean, my mother didn't like my father's wives. Danny Kaye was a wonderful performer, he would sing, dance, tell jokes, turn his face into rubber and just generally come off as a quality humanitarian. The Inspector General showcases all of those talents. Directed by Henry Koster, The Inspector General is loosely adapted from…

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Oh, I have no wife. None of my family had wives. My father didn't like wives. I mean, my mother didn't like my father's wives. Danny Kaye was a wonderful performer, he would sing, dance, tell jokes, turn his face into rubber and just generally come off as a quality humanitarian. The Inspector General showcases all of those talents. Directed by Henry Koster, The Inspector General is loosely adapted from Nikolai Gogol's classic Russian story, and it finds Kaye as a stooge of Walter Slezak's iffy tonic peddler who is mistaken by iffy officials of a small Russian town for the much feared and respected Inspector General. Cue mistaken identity mayhem as the music numbers, gags, visual contortions and all round slapstick ensues. Also along for the ride are Elsa Lanchester, Alan Hale, Barbara Bates and Gene Lockhart. It's more a safe and solid Kaye movie for the family to enjoy, rather than a high end classic like The Court Jester, but sometimes the high energy jinks of Kaye is all you need to lift the blues away. 7/10

Questions about The Inspector General

What is The Inspector General about?

An illiterate stooge in a traveling medicine show wanders into a strange town and is picked up on a vagrancy charge. The town's corrupt officials mistake him for the inspector general whom they think is traveling in disguise. Fearing he will discover they've been pocketing tax money, they make several bungled attempts to kill him.

Who stars in The Inspector General?

Danny Kaye, Walter Slezak, Barbara Bates, Elsa Lanchester, Gene Lockhart, Alan Hale. See the cast cards above for character names.

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