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The Hoodlum (1951)
Well-scripted B-noir with political implications that ring true today
Lawrence Tierney plays his usual smooth-tongued but violent amoral character, in this case up for parole after doing five years for his latest crime. The warden tries to warn the parole board that there's no evidence of his being anything but same thug he's been since adolescence, but they fall for a sob story from his mother and order his release, whereupon he starts up where he left off before his latest incarceration.
In other words, an indictment back in 1951 similar to those leveled today against the legal system, and certain politicians, for being too soft on crime.
On the other hand his very self-centered ruthlessness and contempt for the law and for people who work for a living give him a certain magnetism that makes some people want to follow him, and attracts some women to him despite his obviously having no interest in them other than using them. You might find him reminiscent of at least one major American political figure in 2024.
Throw in a carefully planned heist going wrong as they usually do in the movies and there's quite a lot happening here in 61 minutes. You won't be bored anyway.
By 1951, while the Production Code was still being applied to major Hollywood productions, it seems that bottom-of-the-bill quickies like this went through unscrutinized. The film is quite explicit about his relationship with his brother's goody-goody virginal fiancee, who practically throws herself at him.
The Light of Western Stars (1940)
Wacky Western that might appeal to non-Western fans
A snooty rich Boston woman is dumped off unceremoniously in a small western town in the middle of the night at an unattended railroad station. A Mexican on horseback eyes her and she takes refuge in the station until morning.
Meanwhile at the local saloon a loud drunken cowboy has just made a bet with the corrupt local sheriff that he can get the next woman who comes to town to marry him, as so often happened in those days.
Turns out the Mexican is his comic-relief sidekick (played by an Anglo yet) who tells him about the lady stranded at the station. The two and a crooked minister descend on her and in what's almost a rape are about to force her into marriage until at the last minute the cowboy realizes she's his friend's sister and relents.
Sound like a spoiler? No, just the first few minutes of a story that has more plots and subplots in 62 minutes than seems possible. Not all of them are plausible or resolved but the whole thing has a head-spinning quality despite a few scenes where it slows down to a crawl.
I seldom watch westerns and watched this one because it featured Jo Ann Sayers, a forgotten actress whose looks and talent struck me in a Boris Karloff mad scientist move called The Man With Nine Lives. Her career never took off but she got to play in some bizarre films.
The cast might be the most impressive thing about the film, not only Sayers but Ruth Rogers, an even more obscure actress playing the love interest of Sayers' brother.
The drunken cowpoke is Victor Jory, whose career was spent mostly in Westerns although he could easily have been a leading man to match the best of them in mainstream films. Tom Tyler, the sheriff, who has the obligatory fight scene with Jory where they wreck the saloon while everyone else stands around and watches, was another cowboy star I was unfamiliar with, with looks and charisma to match Jory's.
Fans of Westerns don't seem too fond of this film but this non-Western fan found it surprising and enjoyable despite its flaws.
The Big Caper (1957)
I'm on board - if you're a noir fan, catch this one if you can
Independently produced, and a bit late in what might be called the golden age of noir, this film attracted little attention when released but ranks with earlier classic noir heist films like The Killing and The Asphalt Jungle. Like them, it involves an elaborate, carefully planned heist involving several people, some more competent and trustworthy than others.
The gimmick here is that the plan to rob a small town Southern California bank that will briefly hold the $1M payroll for the Marines at Camp Pendleton (equivalent to more than $10M today) involves two members of the gang posing as man and wife while scoping out the parts of town where some members will cause distractions while the break-in occurs. As a cover, they buy a house and he buys a gas station.
A further complication is that couple consists of the gang boss's girl friend and his right-hand man, both quite attractive, leading to the possibility of their doing more than just posing, though they do their best to avoid it, especially him.
At first they're both resentful of playing these unaccustomed roles. However, middle-class life in So. Cal. In those simpler times could be pleasant and almost bucolic, at least for white folks, and they begin to enjoy a life of having friendly neighbors without having to be on the run looking over their shoulders.
This gives the film a nice rhythm, switching between their domestic life and the scenes of crime and violence which, even on their own would have made a decent film.
So why spoil it by giving any more of the plot? Well acted, directed, photographed, interesting location shots. As Joe Bob Briggs used to say, check it out.
Flight from Destiny (1941)
A disturbing and ultimately unsatisfying film
As you've gathered by now, this film is about a professor of philosophy who knows he has a few months to live and becomes obsessed with the idea that since he has so little to lose he could seize the opportunity to murder a really bad person.
A disturbing thought in today's era of copycat crimes, gun violence, and hate in general. I almost feel like this film should be suppressed before some segments of the population start seriously considering the idea.
So we have a crime film, though with less action than usual, as well as a philosophical discussion of whether it's a good idea to murder people because you have a fatal disease and will die soon anyway.
I don't think it's a spoiler to say that ultimately the film doesn't recommend murdering people, but that hardly describes the events in the plot, which I won't give away, though I'll say that the event that makes the professor see the error of his ways is a bit forced and arbitrary.
Great performance by Thomas Mitchell, though audiences may not identify too much with a dying old man vacillating between sanctimoniousness and contemplating murder. Even greater performance by Mona Maris, whose career was mostly in Spanish-language films, as amoral home wrecker and intended victim. Geraldine Fitzgerald and Jeffrey Lynn both fine as usual as the couple involved, and Thurston Hall amusing as usual as a blustering bureaucratic boss.
I feel like I've made this film sound more interesting that it is. Well, it is in a way but I'd recommend it more for curiosity value than enjoyment.
Outside the Wall (1950)
A real noir sleeper
One of two films released a year apart (the other Tomorrow is Another Day) with the same plot device of a prisoner convicted of murder as a teen being released about age 30 with little social support, and despite being reformed running into the expected trouble. The two films take quite divergent paths, both excellent but I think this has a bit more plot and is a bit more nuanced.
It deals almost humorously with the drastic adjustment someone in that situation with almost no idea of life on the outside, particularly as relates to the opposite sex.
The action is so fast-paced it's almost hard to follow. In fact I wouldn't mind re-watching in a couple of months just to catch everything.
Richard Basehart excellent as always, the rest of the cast fine too, and all the cinematography, lighting, music, etc. Of a top-drawer noir.
The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)
Everyone's told you the plot but no one seems to have commented on the ending
For a supposedly low-budget film this has an excellent script and fine cast. It might even be a noir classic. Lots of scenic San Francisco location shooting. This includes an exciting rooftop chase of a suspect in the middle of the film. However the finale, shot at historic Fort Point near the Golden Gate Bridge, is surprisingly un-action packed and lacks the punch of the rest of the film. Also, a third car that was supposed to be in on the chase just disappears with no explanation. Still, the gradual unraveling of the mystery is done well, neat twists and turns and worth a view. Just a little Hitchcockian type suspense at the end would have made it a classic.
Crime Doctor (1943)
B-movie nostalgia
When a 1943 movie boasts it's based on a radio show, one doesn't exactly expect Shakespeare. When it tells the story of a criminal with amnesia who breezes through medical school to become a leading psychiatrist one doesn't expect much relation to reality as we know it. This expectation is fulfilled by depictions of hospitals, universities, prisons and courtrooms in keeping with 1940s comic book standards.
Those quibbles out of the way, I must admit this is fast-paced fun with plenty of action, not much real violence, a plot that makes sense within its simplistic worldview, snappy dialog and minor characters with personality in their brief appearances. The fact that this film spawned nine sequels in six years indicates it must have had something going for it.
A few relatively bigtime actors (Warner Baxter, Ray Collins, Leon Ames) if not in their most memorable roles, a few interchangeable attractive, if not well-remembered, young actresses, and 66 minutes of escapist fun, reminiscent to this old-timer of movies we'd watch on TV in the 50s on rainy afternoons. And now you can see it uninterrupted by commercials. What more could you ask for?
Mr. Ace (1946)
An ideological mess of historic interest
This film's makers probably were aiming at a kind of political satire that Capra and Sturges sometimes brought off, but a lack of focus and fear of breaching the production code resulted in a script that lurches one way and then another.
Sylvia Sidney is excellent as a female politician, back when such things were rare, doing her best to conceal her ambition and ruthlessness behind an attractive demeanor with a fixed smile. The script doesn't quite know what to make of her. At first she seems not only wholly self-centered but frigid, having driven her husband, whom she married for his wealth and position, into the arms of other women without her much caring about it. Later she becomes more sympathetic for not being corrupt like most of the other pols around her, and for having to walk a fine line between being ladylike and being "one of the boys."
George Raft is his usual stoic self as a hard-bitten political with hinted-at mob connections whose only ideology is winning and graft (or G. Raft).
Sidney's idea is to lure him away from the machine candidate to back her. In one scene she inveigles him into spending the night at her place with apparent intentions of seducing him, but then the movie gets cold feet and the scene fizzles out, as do many others.
Still the film addresses, albeit timidly, political corruption and the ease with which the masses can be manipulated, and also reminds us of the pervasive sexism of that era. Sidney is repeatedly told "you're too attractive to run for office." Was ugliness considered a necessary attribute of female politicians in those days?
As you'd expect, some romantic sparks eventually fly between the two co-stars en route to its wildly implausible ending.
Good cinematography and some lavish interior decoration. If you're the type who enjoys watching old films for a window into the political atmosphere of their times, this is for you.
They Met in a Taxi (1936)
Too bad it was post-code
The success of Frank Capra's It Happened One Night in 1934 starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable spawned a host of movies about madcap daughters of millionaires fleeing a planned marriage, meeting a rugged two-fisted working-class male and you can guess the rest. None of them enjoyed the success of the original, which won all major Academy Awards.
This one doesn't come close. You might be tempted to ask "How could Fay Wray and Chester Morris compare with Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable?" Not too badly, actually. They're both attractive and well-suited for their roles. The big problem is that It Happened One Night was made before the dreaded Production Code was enforced rigorously and this film was made after. Thus, They Met in a Taxi fails to even hint at any sexual undercurrent inherent in presumed fleeing heiress Wray hiding out in cab driver Morris's apartment. They're more like two squabbling children, at the beginning at least. There is one original twist to the plot that unfortunately most of the other user reviews have given away.
There are things to like here, mostly the performances of the two stars and sidekicks Lionel Stander as a larcenous fellow cabbie and Raymond Walburn as an effusive gossip columnist. The plot shifts to a search for missing jewels but there's no real tension. You just know from the blandness of it all that we're headed for a happy ending with few complications.
Still, if you're a fan of late-1930s "screwball comedies" or a Fay Wray fan like me you'll get some enjoyment. It just could have been a lot more.
The Clairvoyant (1935)
Accept the premise for the sake of drama and it's a gripping film
I don't believe in fortune tellers or clairvoyants. If you happen to, it may add to your enjoyment of this fast-paced drama lightened by occasional snippets of humor typical of British cinema of the 1930s.
However one needn't believe in angels to enjoy It's a Wonderful Life, or in reincarnation to enjoy Heaven Can Wait. If you accept the premise that fake music hall mind reader Maximus (Claude Rains) develops the ability to really foretell the future, at least in certain circumstances, then this is an exciting drama, excellently directed and designed with an all-star cast. As often in similar plots, his gift is a mixed blessing and the possibility is raised that some of his prophecies are more self-fulfilling than clairvoyant.
No need to give away any more than that, so nothing more to say except I don't understand why some reviewers here call it a low-budget production. It strikes me as the opposite, with some grandiose sets and convincing crowd scenes.
Identity Unknown (1945)
Surprisingly touching low-budget drama of returning WW II vet
This film, ostensibly about a US soldier returning from World War Two with amnesia searching for his former identity, is actually about the effects of losing a loved one in the war. It surprisingly touching and has a low-key naturalness uncommon in low-budget Republic Pictures productions, probably thanks to screenwriter Richard Weil, as the rest of the production crew have few noteworthy accomplishments.
Richard Arlen, who in real life served in World War One, is thus about one war too old for the lead character and turns in his usual stiff performance, here suitable for one suffering from memory loss. The underlying gimmick is that he's told that could be any of four missing GIs. Yes, this could have been resolved by sending his photo to the four families involved, but the script manages to make his mission somewhat plausible. His traveling around the country for a week with nothing but his uniform, which remains clean and neatly pressed just as he stays well-groomed and clean-shaven, is less plausible but typical of Hollywood movies of all eras.
He encounters, respectively, the wife, the son, the brother, and the parents of the four men, each episode containing a small drama in itself related directly or indirectly to the missing soldier's absence. Some twists and turns along the way. No need to spoil them.
There have been lavishly produced better-known films about the war's effects on the home front and returning soldiers, yet somehow I felt this forgotten film better captures the bittersweet feeling of victory mingled with loss.
Best performance is by Bobby Driscoll, just beginning his career as a child star that was to end in tragedy. More surprising is that of Cheryl Walker, now almost unknown, as a soldier's widow. Walker was a SoCal beauty queen who had a brief film career before becoming something of a Bircher in later life. This may not suggest a major talent but her performance here is moving and sympathetic. Somehow she never got beyond B movies and stand-in work.
I'm not a big fan of movies relating to war, but this one struck a chord with me. Its naturalistic portrayal of ordinary people was more common in European movies at that time.
The part of the brother of one of the missing is played by one John Forrest. Watching it one would assume he was a well-known character actor yet he appeared in only ten other films, all in uncredited bit parts. I mention this because everyone involved seemed to performing over their heads. Nice score by another non-household word, Jay Chernis. Just one of those times when everything clicks.
Attorney for the Defense (1932)
Comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb
The first half of this movie is a fine example of a fast-paced pre-code drama raising moral issues (i. E., how far should an attorney go in prosecuting a doubtful case) with crisp dialogue, surprising plot twists, and a cynical attitude. About midway it slows down and resolves in a tepid courtroom scene with the climax pulled out of a hat as in a lesser Perry Mason episode. Too bad. Worth a watch for pre-code buffs and those who enjoy any courtroom scene as long as the good guy wins.
PC alert: Talented black actor Clarence Muse, who seldom got meaningful roles in that era, plays a key witness. He isn't treated disrespectfully but Muse was made to act the role in the stereotypical eye-rolling childish manner and cornball dialect then seemingly required.
Bachelor Apartment (1931)
Spicy pre-code Cinderella tale
And what better time for Cinderella tales than the Great Depression, when shopgirls, secretaries and waitresses (like Mia Farrow in Purple Rose of Cairo) could dream about Prince Charming, or in a pinch a mere millionaire, recognizing their inner goodness, virtue and purity, giving them that ring and whisking them away to live happily ever after.
Such tales became a bit stale and predictable but never fear, this is way before the Production Code took hold and there are several twists and turns before the inevitable.
Leading man Lowell Sherman, who died unexpectedly in 1934 at age 48, was a suave William Powell type onscreen as well as a successful director. Early Irene Dunne, as virtuous stenographer with requisite untamed younger sister, was perfect for conveying the kind of prissiness required for the role. There are two other gold-digging floozies to contrast with Irene's idealism, one of whom appears briefly in a see-through nightgown towards the end. This really was pre-code. Even Sherman's Jeeves-like butler is a bit of a cad in one scene.
Most of the complications arise from two of Sherman's old flames pursuing him while he pursues Dunne. One of them kind of fades out like the screenwriter forgot about her, or maybe some bits ended up on the cutting room floor. The other is a nasty, if somewhat cartoonish, femme fatale who stirs up some surprisingly serious trouble.
Much snappy dialogue and a good example of the fast-paced adult films that would become unmakeable in Hollywood a few years later.
Are You Listening? (1932)
Kind of a mess with some pre-code moments
William Haines, usually a leading man in light romantic comedies in silents and early talkies, has become a bit of a cult figure because his career may have ended because he refused to give up what for those days was a fairly open gay lifestyle, even if not known to the general public. Then again, he just may have outgrown that type of role and his career would have ended anyway. Don't feel bad, he became a renowned interior decorator to the stars.
In this, his last big film, it looks like the studio wanted to put him in a more serious role but couldn't quite decide if the film was a comedy, a romance, a soap opera, or something darker.
It's pre-code in the way the sympathy is tilted toward his relationship with his girl friend and away from his shrewish wife, who seems to have no function in life but to be frigid, criticize everything he does, and demand money.
The plot revolves more around the girl friend and her two sisters and their love lives. Most of the plot strands end up unresolved or resolved in unconvincingly lame fashion.
Not terrible but mostly for those like myself who find most pre-code films interesting for their style and historic interest, even the lesser ones.
Lawyer Man (1932)
OK if you don't care too much about making sense
William Powell is a brilliant small-time lawyer on the Lower East Side who seems to specialize in defending sleazy characters. You pretty much have to take his brilliance on trust since although in the courtroom scenes we're treated to shots of clocks ticking, calendar pages dropping, and anxious faces of the participants, we never actually hear any legal oratory. Imagine, say, a Perry Mason show where we don't hear any witnesses or legal arguments, just the verdict.
When Powell gets small-time punk Allen Jenkins off for some unspecified misdeed, to blaring front-page headlines of course, his legal adversary, wealthy Park Avenue lawyer Alan Dinehart, is so impressed he asks Powell to become his partner. Why this crook was being prosecuted by Dinehart rather than the D. A. is a bit of a mystery.
Powell, whose moral compass seems to swing 180 degrees every few minutes, is bitterly opposed to crooked political boss David Landau, who seems to run all New York City but does nothing to Powell but whine, grovel and beg him to join his team. A bit less ruthless than you'd expect.
There are various twists and turns ahead but by now you get the idea. There's not so much a plot but a string of episodes supposed to convince us of Powell's legal genius which we never actually see on display in the courtroom.
There's also Joan Blondell in a familiar role as the loyal secretary whom everyone in the world but Powell can see is madly in love with him, and both Claire Dodd and Helen Vinson, a bit of overkill, in their typical roles as amoral sexy blonde man-traps. For a two-fisted cynic who worked his way up from the streets, Powell's character has all the savvy of a five-year-old in dealing with women.
Strong cast, snappy dialogue, fast pace, but a bit hollow at the core. Slightly racy in parts but not real hard-core pre-code. You know the type.
The Invisible Wall (1947)
Could have been really good with a little more budget
Promising premise: Soldier Harry Lane (Don Castle) returns from WW II seeking his old job working for gangster Marty Floyd (Edward Keane). This disgruntles Floyd's lieutenant Al Conway (early Jeff Chandler), a plot theme that fizzles out. Floyd doesn't trust Lane because of the latter's gambling problem but rashly sends him to Las Vegas to make a $20,000 payout. Lane loses $5G at a casino and another $5G to a con man, then goes on the lam trying to recoup the dough and clear his name, on the way picking up a girl friend (Virginia Christine) as so often happens in such situations, at least in the movies.
The early scenes, shot on location in Las Vegas are of historical value, Bugsy Siegel's new Flamingo Hotel sitting all by itself in the middle of the desert in what's now some of the world's highest-priced real estate, looking as majestic as a mid-priced motel.
After that the film reverts to the low-budget B movie it was meant to be, reflected not only in the no-name cast and dull settings, but in a script full of implausible actions and people tracking other people down with no explanation of how or why.
Still an enjoyable little time killer. The cast all do a good job even if most are forgotten today and the plot's resolution is almost convincing. Just too bad the rest doesn't live up to the first twenty minutes or so.
Bad Girl (1931)
Somewhat schizophrenic pre-code romantic comedy
This film starts out as pre-code as it gets. Dot (Sally Eilers) is a fashion model in a New York City where every man is as grabby as a certain current NYC-based politician and any woman on the street, in the subway or on the Staten Island ferry is bound to be subjected to ogling, groping, propositioning or worse. As a result Dot is a bit soured on men in general.
Eddie (James Dunn) is apparently the only straight man in NYC who behaves himself. He's a radio repairman back in the days before TV and computers when that was a serious career. He grew up in poverty and is determined to be financially secure before getting involved with women. You can guess what happens when Dot and Eddie get together, if we're to have any sort of plot to this movie, and you're right.
Thus the rapacity of other men becomes less part of the plot than a device to set Eddie apart. Once that's been accomplished, the film becomes more of a romantic comedy, save for accusations, apparently prevalent in that era, that any unmarried working-class woman was a "tramp" or "impure" or whatever else you'd like to call it.
Still, even as the film becomes less steamy, there are a few twists and turns, some more credible than others.
The title is misleading, but not nearly as much as the illustration in the movie's poster as seen here, which has absolutely nothing to do with the movie.
Disgraced (1933)
Good solid pre-coder
Unlikely to make anyone's top ten list, but a fine example of fast-paced pre-coder with adult content and unexpected twists.
It's a tale of two couples. Helen Twelvetrees and Ken Murray play working-class types who've been friends since childhood. He wants to marry her, she's lukewarm. Adrianne Ames and Bruce Cabot are two spoiled rich kids without responsibilities and not much in the way of morals. They're engaged but don't take it too seriously. Twelvetrees is a model and Cabot is smitten when he sees her modeling outfits for Ames.
He claims he's serious, but is he? A big question in many such films. To complicate things her father is a fiercely protective cop.
As in any good story, the characters are not one-dimensional. Their actions are unpredictable and there motives unclear. For instance, is Twelvetrees a naive innocent or a gold digger? Is her father protective of women in general, or only his daughter? And of course, who, if anyone, will end up with whom?
The film is very pre-code in its attitude that there's one set of rules for the very rich and another for everyone else.
Well, that's enough without spoiling it. A definite watch for pre-code fans that, like many of its genre, makes you reflect on things afterwards.
The Secret Call (1931)
Creaky melodrama rife with coincidences
"City Commissioner Frank Kelly commits suicide after political boss Jim Blake frames him in Blake's own grafting racket. Kelly's daughter Wanda, who is in love with Blake's son Tom, vows revenge against Blake when he insists innocent men do not commit suicide." Since this is on the film's title page it isn't a spoiler.
This revenge involves so many coincidences and implausibilities as to be ridiculous without creating much suspense. It's more like a Victorian melodrama than a pre-code. Leading man Richard Arlen is wooden, rest of the cast does the best they can with the material.
There are just too many fast-paced vital pre-coders to waste time on this one.
The Stolen Jools (1931)
Lightweight comedy, fun for old movie fans
I saw this on a CD that presented it as a Laurel and Hardy short. Early on I recognized Buster Keaton and thought "That's strange, I never heard of Keaton working in a Laurel and Hardy short." Of course, it turned out not to be a Laurel and Hardy film at all. It's one big in-joke with seemingly every Hollywood star of 1931 making a cameo appearance. I recognized many but was surprised, watching the closing credits, how many I had missed. In that light, it's great viewing for fans of that era. Otherwise you can easily take it or leave it.
6 Hours to Live (1932)
Starts as a thriller, ends as a religious tract
This first third of this film is a political thriller/romance that anticipates some of Alfred Hitchcock's work. The second third switches gears to a mad scientist/sci-fi mode, with the requisite flashing lights and bolts of electricity that may have excited audiences in 1931 but may seem cliched and overlong to today's crowd. Then it switches gears again and the final third is basically a commercial for religion. This is great if you believe that what we do in our actual lives doesn't matter because things will be so much nicer after we're dead. Some might say that a work of fiction does not count as evidence of a theory but some people feel differently.
So if this last part reaffirms your beliefs, you're likely to be charmed and delighted. If it doesn't you may feel you're being subjected to a long and unasked-for sermon. But even then you might find it an interesting curiosity, and it's certainly well acted and directed despite moments of overly stage-y dialogue.
The Great Lover (1931)
Would-be racy pre-code opera film chickens out about halfway
Of some interest to opera lovers. Irene Dunne shows off her real-life operatic talents which I'm unqualified to judge. Herman Bing, brother of opera impresario Rudolf Bing, plays a comic Wagnerian tenor and sings a little. Some comic bits about typically temperamental opera stars.
Plot revolves around a romantic triangle with Menjou as an aging opera star in New York, Hamilton as his understudy, and Dunne trying to break into the business. Turns out Dunne and Hamilton had a warm but chaste relationship while studying in Europe.
IMHO this started out to be a bit racier than your average opera flick but the studio got cold feet. Early on, Dunn seeks Menjou's mentorship and possibly more. People keep warning her about his reputation as a womanizer and she keeps saying she doesn't care, she'll do anything to get ahead even though, in the language of the day, she's maintained her "purity." Then this thread disappears and it becomes a tepid battle for her hand in matrimony between the two male leads.
Cliff Edwards has a Lee Tracy type role as a fast-talking PR man that fades away without connecting with the plot too much. Ernest Torrence plays Menjou's manservant as an effeminate sort whose only interest in life seems to be arranging and spying on his employer's love life. Kind of creepy.
Hot Saturday (1932)
Vintage Hollywood small-town America with a pre-code twist
Here we are in 1930s Hollywood's version of an American small town. Everyone is white and middle class and lives in a house with a lawn and maybe even a white picket fence. One expects Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland and the gang to pop out any minute and put on a show to raise money to save the old something or other. Maybe he'll even get to kiss her on the cheek if the show is a hit.
But no, this is pre-code, and the protagonist is bank clerk Ruth (Nancy Carroll), Depression-era sole support of two unappreciative parents who, like most of the town's old folks, seem to have little to do but sit in judgment on her love life.
Two potential suitors are two bank tellers, Archie, a dumb jock (surely the only time pudgy whining Grady Sutton was cast as an ex-football star) whose crude advances she's previously spurned, and Conny (Edward Woods), an average Joe whose intentions are mostly honorable.
Then there's Bill (Randolph Scott), local boy made good, who went off to college and became a geologist, back in town for a visit. Turns out he's long worshiped Ruth from afar. Ruggedly handsome, he's also shy and inept at dealing with women. Plus he mentions that his oil company job keeps him working in the field twelve months a year.
More exotic is Romer (Cary Grant), a millionaire playboy who strangely lives on the outskirts of this town instead of the Riviera or Park Avenue. Well, he does have a lakefront mansion and a motorboat. The townsfolk think he's bad news but since he seems to import his girl friends and leave the local talent alone they tolerate him. Except he does have a thing for Ruth, who in turn seems to blossom in his presence, showing unsuspected talent for banter, flirting and coquetry, while remaining wary and vigilant.
Well, there's the setup, without giving away the plot, which contains various twists and turns, misunderstandings, local tongues wagging, comedy, drama, and all the good stuff one expects from a good pre-coder. Cast, direction, etc. all fine.
Fast Workers (1933)
If you're a pre-code fan just watch this and avoid any spoilers
I'm not saying there are any killer spoilers out there. It's just that this is an almost perfect example of a snappy pre-code movie with sex and violence (mostly hinted at), snappy dialogue, comedy, and drama all moving at lightning speed. So the less you know about it, the greater your enjoyment.
But if you must know, it's about two construction worker buddies, Gunner (John Gilbert) and Bucker (Robert Armstrong) and the woman who comes between them, Mary, a gal of easy virtue (Mae Clarke).
Kudos to the film's portrayal of rowdy blue-collar workers ribbing and playing practical jokes on one another, good-naturedly and not so good-naturedly, and to the excellent rear projection work making their high-girder work look convincing.
Gilbert, as you probably know by now, was not at all a squeaky-voiced ham who couldn't transition from silents to talkies, as some have portrayed him. In fact, he's very much in the mold of William Powell and expert in the same sort of fast-talking con man roles. Clarke seems to relish getting to play a tough cookie, an amoral gold digger, instead of her usual victim roles.
If you're still reading this, the gist of the plot is that Mary, one of Gunner's rotating cast of girl friends, becomes engaged to Bucker who, though no sap, is an easy mark for women, and Gunner, well aware of her past and present, tries to break it up without being too obvious about it.
In typical pre-code fashion there's no moralizing and everyone is basically out for whatever he or she can get, plus there's a little social commentary about Prohibition and the Depression. OK, that's enough. Go watch it. Only 66 minutes with, in pre-code fashion, more plot than today's 3-hour epics.
Sinners' Holiday (1930)
textbook example of a snappy pre-Code film
They just knew how to get down to business without wasting time in the early 1930s. In one hour flat this one has more plot and snappy dialogue and makes more sense than many films twice as long.
The film is set in a sleazy amusement park, mostly girlie shows, run by low-level grifters who tell the truth about anything only if it suits their purposes. Most are fairly innocuous but there are some hard cases ultimately leading to violence.
Although Grant Withers as drifter Angel Harrigan gets top billing, the central character is really elderly and unattractive Ma Delano (Lucille La Verne), who's in charge of the place. Though no more ethical than the others she at least tries to keep things under control while looking after her three grown children.
The eldest, Joe (Ray Gallagher in a small part) is a solid citizen but younger brother Harry (early James Cagney) is running around with hoodlums and virtuous but hot-to-trot daughter Jennie (Evalyn Knapp) wants to marry Harrigan over Ma's objections.
In a few years Cagney would be a big star while Withers' star would be fading. Whoever had the idea that in this film Withers should deliver his many wisecracks in a mock-effeminate voice did his career no favors. Cagney leaps out at you in his over-the-top hyperactive style that might have been annoying in a less talented actor but set the pace for leading men of the decade.
Knapp is fetching and convincing despite having to plow through occasional sappy dialogue. Warren Hymer is effective as a bad guy, as are Joan Blondell as Cagney's cynical girl friend and Purnell Pratt as a hard-boiled but sympathetic police detective.
Many similar films have a happy or unhappy ending that seems arbitrarily chosen but this one has a cynical finale that you won't see coming.