Lady Killer (1933) :
Brief Review -
Another crime drama by Roy Del Ruth in fast and furious mode, again boosted by the same new man, James Cagney. I gotta admit that Roy Del Ruth's movies from the early 30s were really interesting. He made Blonde Crazy with Cagney, which put the star in the sky, and then there was The Maltese Falcon (1931), hampered by the code but still a fantastic crime noir. Cagney and his pair actually made it to a two-man show for 70-80 minutes, and you just can't think of anyone else while watching their films. I mean, you just get to see James Cagney doing his job just fine from the first train to the last one, and it's all Ruth's that presents him like that. Lady Killer is more like a comedy in the beginning, and then turns into a drama, followed by some crime events. It's not a full-on crime drama, but it just has slight touches of it. Based on the story "The Finger Man" by Rosalind Keating Shaffer, the film is about Dan Quigley, a small gangster who makes it big in Hollywood. The old friends who betrayed him when he was in need come back to poke at him. What's lacking here is the powerful characterization of the protagonist. When they return to bring him into the old game again, he just doesn't do anything and lets them have money. How simple it was for him and he didn't have a brain at all. He looked so silly there. I can't understand how the writer finalised this part, or was it the screenwriting only to make it just a little longer? Anyway, it ended well, and that's all that matters. James Cagney is flawless as Dan, again. First as a gangster, then as a movie star, he just doesn't lose his bearing. The Frankenstein girl, Mae Clarke, has a baddie's figure to play here, and yet she made it look lovable. Lindsay looked good too, and the others were fine. Ruth's direction has saved an ordinary story, owing a big thanks to his quickie outing.
RATING - 6.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.
Another crime drama by Roy Del Ruth in fast and furious mode, again boosted by the same new man, James Cagney. I gotta admit that Roy Del Ruth's movies from the early 30s were really interesting. He made Blonde Crazy with Cagney, which put the star in the sky, and then there was The Maltese Falcon (1931), hampered by the code but still a fantastic crime noir. Cagney and his pair actually made it to a two-man show for 70-80 minutes, and you just can't think of anyone else while watching their films. I mean, you just get to see James Cagney doing his job just fine from the first train to the last one, and it's all Ruth's that presents him like that. Lady Killer is more like a comedy in the beginning, and then turns into a drama, followed by some crime events. It's not a full-on crime drama, but it just has slight touches of it. Based on the story "The Finger Man" by Rosalind Keating Shaffer, the film is about Dan Quigley, a small gangster who makes it big in Hollywood. The old friends who betrayed him when he was in need come back to poke at him. What's lacking here is the powerful characterization of the protagonist. When they return to bring him into the old game again, he just doesn't do anything and lets them have money. How simple it was for him and he didn't have a brain at all. He looked so silly there. I can't understand how the writer finalised this part, or was it the screenwriting only to make it just a little longer? Anyway, it ended well, and that's all that matters. James Cagney is flawless as Dan, again. First as a gangster, then as a movie star, he just doesn't lose his bearing. The Frankenstein girl, Mae Clarke, has a baddie's figure to play here, and yet she made it look lovable. Lindsay looked good too, and the others were fine. Ruth's direction has saved an ordinary story, owing a big thanks to his quickie outing.
RATING - 6.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.