LADY KILLER is a film of surprises. Cagney indeed plays a gangster in the film, yet LADY KILLER does not really fit into the gangster cycle of the 1930's. It's more of a light comedy filled with in-jokes than anything dark or dramatic like ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES or SCARFACE.
Cagney and Mae Clarke team up again after the success of the "Grapefruit Incident" in THE PUBLIC ENEMY. Cagney's role as movie usher-turned gangster-turned film star appears to be a send-up his Tom Powers role in the previous film. Cagney and Clarke share plenty of knowing looks as her character reads out a list of the fruit in Calofornia "Oranges, pineapples..." and pauses on "Grapefruit". Fantastic! More fruity fun occurs later when Mae, having betrayed Cagney's character, has a pineapple plonked unceremoniously in her lap.
Clarke, a sexy Pre-Code girl who is sadly forgotten today, deserves special mention here. It is unfortunate her career never really took off, as she did some terrific work in early talkies such as WATERLOO BRIDGE. She plays moll and partner-in-crime to her crooked chums in LADY KILLER and does a fine job of it. In a fun early scene, Cagney finds out that Mae is more than just an innocent doll who daintily dropped her purse on accident. She is revealed to be have a drawer full of purses, and is in cahoots with gangsters! Cagney once again kicks poor Mae around again in LADY KILLER, yet this time it's oddly fun. After Clarke breaks into Cagney's room and spoils his evening with his film-star girlfriend (the pretty Margaret Lindsay, much better here than in DANGEROUS), Cagney grabs her by her hair, kicking and screaming, and throws her out into the hall. Great Pre-Code fun!
LADY KILLER possesses a good script and the plot, whilst largely unbelievable, is quite fast-paced and offers some good surprises. In no other Cagney film will you see him donning Indian headdress and face paint, unleashing a cage of monkeys on a room full of Hollywood big shots and acting as an absurd Italian lover, chomping garlic and being pushed into a water fountain by Lindsay. There are some truly outrageous, off-beat classic moments in this film, with Cagney receiving a slap on the buttocks from a possibly homosexual film executive who then proceeds to take a good long look down at Cagney's...ahem...nether regions!
An absolute gem of a film.
8/10.
Cagney and Mae Clarke team up again after the success of the "Grapefruit Incident" in THE PUBLIC ENEMY. Cagney's role as movie usher-turned gangster-turned film star appears to be a send-up his Tom Powers role in the previous film. Cagney and Clarke share plenty of knowing looks as her character reads out a list of the fruit in Calofornia "Oranges, pineapples..." and pauses on "Grapefruit". Fantastic! More fruity fun occurs later when Mae, having betrayed Cagney's character, has a pineapple plonked unceremoniously in her lap.
Clarke, a sexy Pre-Code girl who is sadly forgotten today, deserves special mention here. It is unfortunate her career never really took off, as she did some terrific work in early talkies such as WATERLOO BRIDGE. She plays moll and partner-in-crime to her crooked chums in LADY KILLER and does a fine job of it. In a fun early scene, Cagney finds out that Mae is more than just an innocent doll who daintily dropped her purse on accident. She is revealed to be have a drawer full of purses, and is in cahoots with gangsters! Cagney once again kicks poor Mae around again in LADY KILLER, yet this time it's oddly fun. After Clarke breaks into Cagney's room and spoils his evening with his film-star girlfriend (the pretty Margaret Lindsay, much better here than in DANGEROUS), Cagney grabs her by her hair, kicking and screaming, and throws her out into the hall. Great Pre-Code fun!
LADY KILLER possesses a good script and the plot, whilst largely unbelievable, is quite fast-paced and offers some good surprises. In no other Cagney film will you see him donning Indian headdress and face paint, unleashing a cage of monkeys on a room full of Hollywood big shots and acting as an absurd Italian lover, chomping garlic and being pushed into a water fountain by Lindsay. There are some truly outrageous, off-beat classic moments in this film, with Cagney receiving a slap on the buttocks from a possibly homosexual film executive who then proceeds to take a good long look down at Cagney's...ahem...nether regions!
An absolute gem of a film.
8/10.