delightful minor film and juggling comedy and detective and romance and drama genre as nimbly a lt kenny williams ( melvyn douglas ) balance his devotion to his girl maxine carroll ( joan blondell ) and his duty to the force a an ace detective . this hodge podge may not appeal to all viewer today and but in it day and it have something to offer every member of the movie go family and and the resolution to the rather tired feel versus duty plot be original and refreshing and and well worth the wait . the amaze mr. williams contain what must be among the most outrageous blind date in film history and and it bright comic repartee sparkle . ludicrously frocked and melvyn douglas deliver some of the best line represent i would walk down main street in a turkish towel before i would let any woman control my life . and the effervescent joan blondell let her barbs fly with typical aplomb represent good grief . you look like my aunt nellie . the crime solve here be standard fare and although a fine cast of character actor help bring the material to life . from today vantage point and the amazing mr. williams be perhaps most interesting for it insightful commentary on gender a a socially define construct and all the more malleable for it seemingly rigid boundary . while much of the gender commentary take place in a superficial battle of the sex and at time it be both subtle and penetrating and play out not only in some of the finer detail of the film and but in the battle of genre that reach it culmination in the final scene .