Mr. And Mrs Finch (Henry Morgan* and Virginia Grey) live in small South Bend, Indiana and Mr. Finch thinks life is grand. After all, the wife recently received a modest inheritance and WWI just ended. However, the missus and her sister are NOT happy and shethe wife announces that they are moving to New York City...and poor Mr. Finch doesn't seem to have any choice! However, he hates the notion of moving and the film is shown from his viewpoint...and nearly everything in the big city annoys or disappoints him. Are the Finches destined to remain in New York or will Mr. Finch be right...it's NOT a great place for anyone to live...especially the Finches.
In many ways, this comedy's plot is like the very serious drama "Dodsworth". Both are about men who are reluctant to leave home but despite this agree to a move in order to make the pretentious family happy....and with unintended consequences. Of course, "Dodsworth" is a classic and "So This is New York" isn't...it's more a low-budget comedy.
So is this film any good? Well, it flopped at the box office...so at least folks back in 1948 didn't think so. When seen today, the story isn't bad but it suffers from being overlong (I think it would have been better at B-movie length...about 60-65 minutes) and a few of the laughs were tired and annoying...especially Rudy Vallee's howling at the race track as well as the many demands of Mrs. Finch. As a result, it's a watchable film but certainly not one to rush to see.
*It's easy to mix up this Henry Morgan with Harry Morgan (of "MASH" and "Dragnet" fame). This is because Harry's real first name was Henry and he changed it because folks kept mixing him up with the other Henry Morgan.