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The Night Mayor was probably the best -- though not the most entertaining (an honor that belongs to Hallelujah I'm A Bum) -- early 1930s film-a-clef about New York's Mayor James J. Walker. Lee Tracy outdoes himself in the role of Bobby Kingston, the fun-loving New York mayor (and fictionalized stand-in for Walker). His manic, machine-gun delivery is toned down slightly so that we can sympathize more with the character, and this works -- Kingston may not be the most moral man ever to be depicted holding office, but he is head and shoulders above Eugene Pallette's Hymie Shane. And Tracy is convincing as a man who discovers, and not to his displeasure, halfway through the movie that he isn't half the scoundrel that he believed himself to be. Evelyn Knapp is also beguiling as his love interest, and Donald Dillaway turns in a good performance as the journalist who threatens to get between Kingston and his girlfriend. The brisk pacing, which includes room for romantic daliances and a murder attempt on a key character, as well as a couple of races against time, makes this a full cinematic meal, even at a mere 68 minutes. Columbia Pictures knew how to give its audiences their money's worth, and in many ways one can see the roots of a studio style that would later help inform more celebrated pictures such as It Happened One Night and Holiday. Real-life also combined to make the picture even more topical than intended in its time -- Walker himself resigned from the mayor's job just two weeks after the movie was released.