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There's an awful lot of plot in Russell Mack's The Meanest Gal In Town, and also a surprising amount of sex, for its time -- not that anything is shown, but Pert Kelton's showgirl makes no secret of how she lures men to do pretty much whatever she wants. What's more, she evokes a persona not all that different from that of Mae West, who was at her peak of fame at the time -- with the enforcement of the Production Code starting in 1934, a little more than six months after the release of this movie, it would become impossible for Kelton, or any other actress, including West, to project raw sex appeal in the manner seen in The Meanest Gal In Town. The other interesting aspect of this movie concerns its vision of small-town America -- it wasn't remotely the only movie like this, especially from RKO, but seeing this picture today is to see a snapshot of a setting (and an audience touchstone) that was to disappear within a decade. The Gildersleeve movies (also from RKO) capture something of the same phenomenon, and as this side of America passes into history and out of memory, The Meanest Gal In Town takes on slightly more importance, as a comedy. Additionally, the basic plot here was probably the basis for The Andy Griffith Show episode "The Manicurist", three decades later.