Sweet, cuddly Spring Byington always played the dear, warm, laughing, slightly ditzy, little old lady. Born in 1886, she was already in her 60s when she made "According to Mrs. Hoyle", clearly a pun on "The rules, according to Hoyle". She lives in a hotel, and hasn't seen her husband in many years. She gets caught up in the intrigue when a longtime gangster buys the hotel, and tries to evict all the residents. Some other residents commit some acts that aren't so legal, and the coppers are sure that Mrs. Hoyle is at the heart of it. Great premise. and there are so many ways the actual plot could have gone. Anthony Caruso is "Morganti", the kingpin who may or may not be done with the life of crime. Only FIVE votes on IMDb so far, so they must NEVER show this one on Turner Classics. It's a good story, but the picture and sound quality are pretty rough for the first five minutes. It does get better after that. Very entertaining. Story moves right along. Some twists towards the end, but it's all in great fun. Definitely worth the viewing. and all based on a short story in Good Housekeeping by Jean Owen. Not great, but not bad either.

The always delightful Spring Byington stars as the title character in this not-so-delightful movie. She is an elderly widow who has spent her life as a teacher in a tough neighborhood setting bad boys on the straight and narrow. When ex-gangster Anthony Caruso buys the run-down residential hotel she lives in and starts to rehabilitate it, he wants to kick out the occupants, but Miss Byington charms him into letting her stay and even gets him and most of his henchmen into donating to the local church. However, a couple of them rob a jewelry store. One gets shot, and the other hides the loot in Miss Byington's room, and she winds up on trial. There are the usual obnoxious Startling Revelations that wrap up the story in a sickening manner.The talent on view performs their tasks well enough, but director Jean Yarborough brings nothing to the cheap Monogram programmer and the script was co-written by Scott Darling, best remembered for writing dozens of Christie comedies in the 'Teens and 20s and three of Laurel & Hardy's worst features in the 1940s. As much as I enjoy Miss Byington's warm, motherly screen personality, this is one that adds no luster to her career.

An unbelievably tripe-laden novelette about a retired schoolteacher who reforms some gangsters and discovers her own son amongst their number.True, the last half of the film, with its robbery and trial scenes, picks up a bit, but if anyone's still watching then, I'll be very surprised. Most viewers will be sufficiently irritated by the picture's early scenes to turn it off or walk out. Miss Byington is embarrassingly hammy and the script repulsively corny.Director Yarbrough brings nothing to the movie but a charmless Poverty Row aura of "B" grade efficiency. And would you believe it all ends up with the pastor of the little church around the corner inviting the gangster to kneel down and say a prayer for his mother!