Roy del Ruth directed this early pre-code Cagney film, "Lady Killer" from 1933, also starring Mae Clarke, Margaret Lindsay, and Douglas Dumbrille.
Cagney plays Dan Quigley, a movie usher who, after he's fired, find a woman's (Mae Clarke) purse. He tries to catch her but can't. So he goes to her house and returns it. She's Myra Gale, and she invites him in for a drink. Turns out some men are at her place gambling, so Dan joins them and loses $50. As he's leaving, he sees another man coming up the stairs with a purse. Dan says he's related to Myra and will return it. When Myra sees him at the door, she tries to shut it but he forces his way in, goes into the back room and demands his money back. Then he offers to expand the operation so they can all make money. The guys agree.
Soon the dough comes rolling in, and the gang go to a society woman's house, where Dan pretends to have had an accident. He's carried into the house and cases the joint. The ambulance (his cohorts) picks him up and takes him to the hospital. Then they rob the house. Unfortunately they do it the same day, and soon the cops are onto the gang. They all take off, and Dan is picked up in LA on a New York warrant. When he asks Myra to bring him his money so he can post bail, she splits with the money, leaving Dan to fend for himself. He's finally released due to lack of evidence.
After the police threaten to arrest him as a vagrant, Dan finds a job as a film extra. He and a friend write dozens and dozens of fan letters and the studio notices, and he becomes a film star! He falls for fellow film star Lois Underwood, but runs afoul of the old gang. Now that he's making good, they hold his bad deeds over his head and want help casing Hollywood mansions.
Interesting film with lots going on in something like 76 minutes. Cagney is terrific, and he and Mae share an in joke when she reads the fruits grown in California, one of which is "grapefruit." We see a bit of behind the scenes movie making. Also, "Lady Killer" has some noirish touches, though this is a decade or so before noir.
Fun film with a nice mix of humor and drama carried by Cagney's strong performance, ably assisted by Clarke and Lindsay.
Cagney plays Dan Quigley, a movie usher who, after he's fired, find a woman's (Mae Clarke) purse. He tries to catch her but can't. So he goes to her house and returns it. She's Myra Gale, and she invites him in for a drink. Turns out some men are at her place gambling, so Dan joins them and loses $50. As he's leaving, he sees another man coming up the stairs with a purse. Dan says he's related to Myra and will return it. When Myra sees him at the door, she tries to shut it but he forces his way in, goes into the back room and demands his money back. Then he offers to expand the operation so they can all make money. The guys agree.
Soon the dough comes rolling in, and the gang go to a society woman's house, where Dan pretends to have had an accident. He's carried into the house and cases the joint. The ambulance (his cohorts) picks him up and takes him to the hospital. Then they rob the house. Unfortunately they do it the same day, and soon the cops are onto the gang. They all take off, and Dan is picked up in LA on a New York warrant. When he asks Myra to bring him his money so he can post bail, she splits with the money, leaving Dan to fend for himself. He's finally released due to lack of evidence.
After the police threaten to arrest him as a vagrant, Dan finds a job as a film extra. He and a friend write dozens and dozens of fan letters and the studio notices, and he becomes a film star! He falls for fellow film star Lois Underwood, but runs afoul of the old gang. Now that he's making good, they hold his bad deeds over his head and want help casing Hollywood mansions.
Interesting film with lots going on in something like 76 minutes. Cagney is terrific, and he and Mae share an in joke when she reads the fruits grown in California, one of which is "grapefruit." We see a bit of behind the scenes movie making. Also, "Lady Killer" has some noirish touches, though this is a decade or so before noir.
Fun film with a nice mix of humor and drama carried by Cagney's strong performance, ably assisted by Clarke and Lindsay.