The Hoodlum Saint (1946)

Returning home from WWI, a soldier (William Powell) finds he can't get his old job as a reporter back. A chance meeting with a socialite (Esther Williams) gets him a job with her Uncle's (Charles Trowbridge) newspaper but he soon decides to throw in with an unethical tycoon (Henry O'Neill) because that's where the money is. Directed by Norman Taurog (BOYS TOWN) and "inspired" by an actual person. A rather dreary film that its appealing cast makes tolerable for most of its running time until the last half hour or so when it gets religion, literally. Then it becomes near intolerable. Powell has his usual charm, Williams makes her dramatic debut (she doesn't swim in this one) and she's charming and poor Angela Lansbury gets stuck in the kind of role that sent her screaming from MGM! There's a Runyonesque quality to the proceedings but it lacks the distinctive affection Damon Runyon had for his characters. With James Gleason, Lewis Stone, Frank McHugh, Rags Ragland and Slim Summerville.