Must See Movie...

Absolutely brilliant

A Major Disappointment

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Jimmy the Gent (1934)As an old-film lover, I'm going to have to disagree with the majority of reviewers here and say this film is too flawed and formulaic to rise above its peers. Even its star, James Cagney, is a bit rote and predictable, taking on a harsh edge that prevents any depth to his supposedly complicated character. The other star is in retrospect—this is an early Bette Davis appearance, and she's wonderful to see so unformed, but she, too, is playing a common role.All is not disaster here, for sure. The pace is terrific, and turns of plot, which are a problem overall in their quick succession, keep you on your toes. There are stock characters in secondary roles who will be familiar to early Warner Bros. fans, and the filming is generally solid, if bright and a bit dull, too.Yes, there are hesitations at every turn. Director Michael Curtiz has been cranking out films by the dozen for Hollywood by now, after emigrating from Europe, and many of those are frankly better and worth seeking out. But he's a long way from the mastery of "Casablanca" or "Mildred Pierce," as a director above all. The story here seems workable—Cagney and Davis play characters who scheme a complicated scam involving a huge inheritance. The twists are basically a farce because there are so many and they happen without warning. In fact, I think the style of the film is to have everything just "happen" in a madcap way, and the audience is to be dazzled and impressed by the audacity of the writers. But there is a little sense of involvement that would help very much, a wanting the characters to win or lose at their efforts. One example is how two court cases are reduced to a single sentence each: the judges reading their conclusion.That seems dandy in a way, a hugely streamlined plot. But it defines superficial, too. In these two cases, there is time spent watching the courtroom crowd reacting to the news, but we don't really care about that. We aren't made to care.Not that this should be a drama, of course. It's a comedy plain and simple. And a slip of romance sneaks in as our two leads brush past each other now and then. All of it is interesting, and it's never quite boring. But for a fast pre-Code or early Code era movie, there are many examples that are fast, funny, and engrossing and inventive, too. Expect only the effects here.

Keep an ear out for the ton of New York style double-talk in this pre-code comedy about a charming but sleazy private detective for estate inheritance and missing heirs, played by James Cagney. Rival agency secretary Bette Davis is in love with him, but after crying and taking dictation at the same time remains loyal to her employer (Alan Dinehart). The two agencies lay claim to an estate of an old female miser who died as a result of a poisoned cheese sandwich and left an estate of $200,000, with stocks, bonds and jewelry found on her corpse when she went to that great big bank vault in the sky, This fast-moving top bill of a "double feature" (at only 67 minutes) is a standard but speedy representation of what Warner Brothers was producing in the early-mid 1930's prior to the installation of that intrusive production code. Cagney and Davis both sparkle, although this is before she hit super-stardom and started collecting Oscar Nominationswith her own pair of bookends. Allen Jenkins is very funny as Cagney's dim-witted assistant, with Arthur Holh as the wanted murderer facing the electric chair who is first in line for the inheritance. Alice White and Mayo Methot as the two women of limited intelligence are utilized by Cagney in his scheme, and White's character in particular, is the dumb Dora of all time.The screenplay is filled with the most delightful sardonic dialog, with Cagney and Davis deliciously squabbling, making up, and starting all over again.

Jimmy Corrigan is an unpolished, unmannered, unscrupulous con man specializing in finding bogus claimants for the unclaimed fortunes of wealthy people who die without an heir. Charles Wallingham, his chief rival, has stolen away his "Girl Friday," Joan Marsh, with whom Corrigan is still smitten. When he goes to Wallington's office to try to win her back, he is struck by its contrast to his own organizational style. Instead of the herd of crude and ugly "mugs" he has working for him, Wallingham's operation boasts a gaggle of beautiful, well-mannered, cultured secretarial hostesses who serve clients tea and crumpets with friendly smiles. Unlike Corrigan, Wallingham is well-dressed, cultured, and erudite. In order to try to win back Joan, as well as improve his operation, Jimmy decides to transform himself into a "gent." Cagney and Davis are in top form in this early example of the new screen genre that would be soon known as 'Screwball Comedy." Cagney draws upon all the vocabulary in his unique body language: his arching back and idiosyncratic walk, to great comedic advantage, and there are smaller examples of the Davis mannerisms that would later inspire impressionists for decades. Both Cagney and Davis had a great affinity for fast-paced dialog, and this 1934 effort contains a similar premise to "His Girl Friday," the high water mark of the genre, as an unprincipled con-man tries to woo back his business partner/girl friend.It's interesting that the two stars' only other collaboration would be eight years later in "The Bride Came C.O.D.," another fast-paced Screwball Comedy. Too bad they didn't make more together. They could have been Warners' answer to MGM's William Powell and Myrna Loy.

This is slightly superior to Blonde Crazy in that the stars have been given slightly livelier dialogue and that Bette Davis glows as a wise-ass blonde rather than Joan Blondell's put-upon blonde. Both are great, but some of the rip offs in this film are truly great and Allen Jenkins adds ten points to any film he's in. These golden age films have the writers that current day movies lack. No one steams anymore unfortunately. Cagney is a cock rooster and the world's a better place for seeing him go through his paces. I hope dvd brings all these movies back.