The feds hunt a dance criminal. Plot twist: he's in love with her.
The government has set up a special agency to stamp out what it considers the number one public menace: the jitterbug. They aren't after the many followers, but the primary perpetrator of the jitterbug, who they've coined "Public Jitterbug No. 1". Hal Sturges is one of several agents working on the case who goes undercover as a dancer in Broadway haunts to find and capture Public Jitterbug No. 1. In his investigation, Hal runs across the beautiful Betty, a seemingly innocent bystander. Hal and Betty fall for each other. However Betty is unaware that Hal is a federal agent, and Hal is unaware that Betty is Public Jitterbug No. 1. Will their roles as agent and public menace number one take priority over their roles of man and woman?
Acting
Betty Hutton's pre-fame manic sparkle carries the whole thing.
Direction
Henabery crams a feature's worth of plot into 21 breathless minutes.
Director
Joseph Henabery
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This short captures genuine 1930s anxiety about swing culture corrupting youth, repackaged as comedy.
Betty Hutton was 17 here, two years before Paramount made her a star—her first screen appearance.
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