Lady Killer
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Movie Reviews of Lady Killer
Movie Review: Gangster film based somewhat on a true story
Summary: 5 Stars
The product information on this film lists everyone in the cast but the real star and the reason to watch this film - James Cagney.
1933's "Lady Killer" reteams James Cagney with Mae Clarke, their previous teaming being in Cagney's star vehicle "The Public Enemy". Cagney plays Dan Quigley, a movie usher who gets fired and then falls in with a gang of hoodlums to make ends meet and plus he likes the excitement. However, when a robbery at a mansion goes very wrong, Quigley leaves town and heads for California. There he does well as an actor in the movies until his old gang hears about his success and his past deeds come back to haunt him. Here poor Mae Clarke gets slapped around again, just as she had been in "Public Enemy". No wonder that she looks so worriedly at that grapefruit in the California travel brochure. For those of you who have seen "Public Enemy" you know what I mean. The extra features on this DVD are:
Two exclusive WB shorts: The Camera Speaks and Kissing Time
Original theatrical trailer
WB cartoon: The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives
I'd tell you about the true story this film is based on, but it might be perceived as giving away the ending. This film is part of the larger third volume of The Warner Gangsters, which is a boxed set that is released on the same day as this movie.
Movie Review: Unbeatable pre-code Cagney - great package
Summary: 5 Stars
"Lady Killer" is now available on DVD and what an entertaining film it is. This film was released just before the imposition of the Hays Code and we can be grateful. The film stars magnetic Jimmy Cagney as a bellhop who becomes a con man, flees the police and winds up in Hollywood as a film star. This gives the script the opportunity to satirise a number of genres and the swipes at the studio system are hilarious. Mae Clarke, of the grapefruit from "Public Enemy", stars opposite Cagney as a moll and she is terrific. The film is very well directed by Roy del Ruth and the pace never lets up.
The print is excellent and the DVD comes with some entertaining extras. Drew Casper's commentary centres fully on Cagney and rightly so but he also makes some enlightening remarks about the filming techniques, illustrating how the Warner's product was able to maintain such hectic pacing without spoiling the narrative. Warner's Night at the Movies is included too and for those who may be interested, the musical short is an awful mini operetta starring Jane Froman, immortalised later by Susan Hayward in the musical "With a Song in My Heart".
The DVD is good value but even better if purchased as part of the Gangster Collection Volume 3.
Movie Review: As pre-code as it gets
Summary: 5 Stars
Between becoming a star in 1931, and the enforcement of the production code in mid-1934, James Cagney starred in a number of fast-paced little movies which are all enjoyable but relatively forgotten today. Of these, Lady Killer is easily my favorite. It's a crime thriller, it's a comedy, it's satire, it's a romance - and it moves like lightning. It's definitely a movie that contributed to the enforcement of the production code just a few months later, as it's pretty risque even for pre-code. Mae Clarke, whose career seemed to fade when the code crackdown came along, is once again a perfect foil for Cagney's brash character.
I wish my enthusiasm could extend to the DVD extras. Unfortunately, the Night at the Movies is a bunch of dull shorts, including an interminable operetta. And the commentary is both pretentious and dull, although if you manage to stay awake you can learn a lot, particularly about the ways this movie stretched the production code past the breaking point. Do not listen to the commentary until you've seen the movie, as it has spoilers galore. But definitely see the movie.