Anyone in the mood to see William Powell as a bad guy? If your answer is no, which makes sense since he usually plays fun, classy guys, you're going to want to steer clear of The Hoodlum Saint. He plays an unscrupulous cad who treats the women in his wife, Esther Williams and Angela Lansbury, without respect, and who values money above all things.
After WWI, Bill comes home to find his newspaper job is obsolete. He crashes a wedding and impersonates a wealthy man to get close to another wealthy man to get a job, and in the process he kisses Esther without permission or an introduction, merely to distract the bouncer from throwing him out. She tells him he's not behaving respectfully, but it doesn't matter to him. Soon, he rises to the top of the food chain, while stringing along nightclub singer Angie. Speaking of her, the studio dubbed Angela's singing voice! It doesn't make sense, since she later made her greatest fame on the stage.
I didn't find the protagonist likable in this one. I enjoyed seeing his group of "hoodlum" friends, since they seemed to be the only characters capable of knocking sense into him and reminding him of human emotions. James Gleason always turns in a solid performance, and you'll also see Frank McHugh and Slim Summerville.
After WWI, Bill comes home to find his newspaper job is obsolete. He crashes a wedding and impersonates a wealthy man to get close to another wealthy man to get a job, and in the process he kisses Esther without permission or an introduction, merely to distract the bouncer from throwing him out. She tells him he's not behaving respectfully, but it doesn't matter to him. Soon, he rises to the top of the food chain, while stringing along nightclub singer Angie. Speaking of her, the studio dubbed Angela's singing voice! It doesn't make sense, since she later made her greatest fame on the stage.
I didn't find the protagonist likable in this one. I enjoyed seeing his group of "hoodlum" friends, since they seemed to be the only characters capable of knocking sense into him and reminding him of human emotions. James Gleason always turns in a solid performance, and you'll also see Frank McHugh and Slim Summerville.