Little Old New York (1940)

By CinemaSerf

Richard Greene is engineering pioneer "Robert Fulton", a man with a vision for building a steamboat that can work the interior river network of the USA quickly, and efficiently, distributing goods from the seaports to the towns and cities. Unfortunately, his first effort in Paris led to a an explosive conclusion, so getting backing for this new venture is proving difficult, especially when his fellow sailors think this might be a threat to their own existence and his latest prototype gets torched. The story is entertaining, Fred MacMurray and Alice Faye work well with Ward Bond, Henry Stephenson and an on-form Andy Devine to create an enjoyably flowing narrative of toing and froing as friends become foes become friends again, President Jefferson applies trade embargoes - oh, and yes - of course there is a little romance bubbling away too. It's got just about enough action both on and off the water, the dialogue is a bit on the wordy side, but quite witty at times and the last fifteen minutes are really quite funny. Worth a watch.