Meet the Mayor

The mayoral election hangs on the whim of a simple elevator operator and amateur inventor, Spencer Brown. Unleashing a torrent of dirty tricks, corrupt businessman George Diamond seems a shoe-in to steal the race from honest, hard-working incumbent Martin Sloan. Desperately in love with Norma Baker, the Mayor's niece, Spencer determines to help defeat Diamond. He manages to catch Diamond incriminating himself on a new, portable recording device he has invented. He has gained the evidence that will win the election for Sloan, but it will cost him the thing he holds most dear.

Funnyman Frank Fay was well known for his enormous ego. Appearing as a witness in court, he introduced himself as "the world's greatest comedian," justifying it by citing that he was sworn to tell the truth. He married a then unknown actress named Barbara Stanwyck, who rocketed to stardom while Fay's career nose-dived, leading to rumors that the plot of A Star Is Born was based on their ill-fated marriage.

Obviously filmed several years before its 1938 release, MEET THE MAYOR serves as a vehicle for popular Broadway comedian Frank Fay. The star is cast as Spencer Brown, elevator operator in a backwoods hotel. As the community's resident philosopher, Brown's support is highly coveted in the upcoming mayoral race. The outcome of the plot is decided by a hidden recording device developed by Brown's friend and confidante Harry Bayliss (George Meeker in a rare sympathetic role). Fulfilling the film's leading-lady obligations is Ruth Hall, who by the time MEET THE MAYOR hit the screens had retired to become the wife of cinematographer Lee Garmes.