He Snoops to Conquer

Two newspapermen are ordered to cover a piece on town planning in the industrial town of Tangleton. On arrival at the town hall they find only the odd-job man, George Gribble, who gives them a guided tour of the town. The disparity between Gribble's cramped world and the town's wealth sets up the central tension.

The journalists publish a negative piece that highlights inequality, focusing on the wealthy council leader and the slum-dwelling Gribble. In response, town leaders order Gribble to perform a public opinion survey across the town. The aim is to show a controlled narrative to support the status quo.

Gribble is instructed to conduct a cross-section survey, but instead conducts interviews with the entire town’s population. This oversized poll yields startling results and unsettles the council. His actions threaten the planned spin.

The poll reveals deep unhappiness with living conditions and services. Oxbold and the council fear a government-driven demolition and rebuild plan, which motivates their counter-move. The findings threaten the council’s financial interests.

To salvage their image, Oxbold and colleagues decide to send only the favorable forms to London. They order Gribble to burn the rest, but he salvages them instead, unwittingly preserving evidence of the deceit.

Gribble had agreed to do the polling in exchange for payment of £27.10s, a sum he needs to pay a loan shark. The financial pressure adds personal stakes to the political plot. He becomes more desperate as deadlines approach.

Gribble cannot get past Strawbridge’s staff at his mansion and ends up in a chance encounter on the road with the wary inventor. The road-sweeper ride becomes a reckless chase that releases the unfavourable polling forms into the street.

They shelter at Strawbridge’s house to avoid trouble, and Gribble meets Strawbridge’s daughter Jane, who immediately sparks his interest. The chance meeting changes Gribble’s fortunes and adds a new ally to his cause.

Gribble finally persuades Strawbridge to fill out his survey, but his bosses discover Gribble’s role in guiding the journalists and sack him. The job loss compounds his dangers as the mob closes in. Jane’s intervention hints at a political pivot.

An angry mob gathers and blames Gribble for the cover-up, while a bailiff pursues him for debt. Jane proposes that Gribble run for the council on a pro-town planning platform to turn the tide. The idea seeds a new path for his political future.

With newspaper support, Gribble begins to build a head of steam and looks likely to win the council seat. The council, meanwhile, fights to derail him by controlling the polling narrative. He becomes the town’s unexpected champion.

Oxbold and colleagues attempt to seize control of the forms to erase evidence of dishonesty. Gribble’s belongings, including the vase that stored the forms, are seized by bailiffs. The conflict tightens as the forms near destruction.

Gribble and Strawbridge race to recover the remaining forms and present them at the town planning conference. Gribble fails to recover them in time, but Strawbridge has already recorded them electronically. The audience awaits the decisive moment.

The crooked councillors are exposed to the town, and Gribble is hailed by the people for standing up to corruption. Strawbridge’s record clinches the revelation and marks a civic turn. The film ends on a note of reform and vindication.