Lady Killer (1933) was one of five films James Cagney starred in 1933, and I don't think it's his best of that year. However the tough-guy persona showed through in what to me was somewhat of a convoluted plot. Other cast members including Mae Clarke, Margaret Lindsay and Douglass Dumbrille help give the film some substance. Fans of Cagney will remember that Mae Clarke played Kitty in The Public Enemy, the woman whose face was the recipient of a Cagney-shoving grapefruit.

When Dan Quigley (Cagney) loses his job as a theater usher, he's out of a job. But when a pretty woman (Mae Clarke, The Public Enemy) in a department store drops her purse, he's hot on her tail to return it and follows her home. Actually Myra (Clarke) is part of a scam to reel unsuspecting dupes into a poker game at her house where the players cheat to get the money.

Dan catches on real quick and wants in on the deal to keep quiet. Dan convinces the team to open a nightclub with back room gambling and business is booming. It's Dan's job to keep reeling in the clients so he plans an accident where he get hit by a wealthy widow's car. She takes him inside where he scopes out the house so his team can rob it. But when he and the guys (Leslie Fenton, Douglass Dumbrille, Russell Hopton, Raymond Hatton, Henry O'Neill) are under suspicion, Dan and Myra leave New York for California.

Douglas Dumbrille

The other boys follow and Spade (Dumbrille), who also likes Myra, constantly tries to entice her away from Dan. Ultimately the plot becomes a matter of who is chasing whom and who is telling the truth. Dan, however, rolls with the punches better than anyone. Even the cops can't arrest him for this quick wit and charisma, which Dan uses to become an actor.

This is where the plot gets goofy. Now we're watching a movie about Dan as a Hollywood star getting small parts in one movie after another. Watching some of these scenes it almost feels like the movie should star Groucho Marx. But Cagney also proved over this career that he could be funny as well as sing and dance.

Margaret Lindsay & James Cagney

Cagney continues the tough-guy persona that he established in The Public Enemy (1931) and Hard To Handle (1933), and won that became his calling card in many of his pictures. Other cast members of Lady Killers were regulars in films of the 1930s and 40s and could hold their own in their character portrayals.

While this may not be a favorite movie, anyone who likes Cagney will have to watch it at least once to admire how he stayed so true to his character, regardless of the shallow script.

Special Features:

€¢ Commentary by Film Historian Dr. Drew Casper - Casper talks with exuberance as he details scenes, set descriptions, character motivations, Cagney's other movies and bits about other cast members. This is lengthy and fast information Casper throws out and while interesting seems too much at times - like the explanation of spitting out gum.

€¢ WB cartoon: The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives

Lady Killer is part of Warner Bros. Pictures Gangsters Collection Volume 3 released on March 25, 2008 that starred some of Hollywood's top tough guys - James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart - and featured six new to DVD gangster flicks, three of which make their first home video appearance: Picture Snatcher, Smart Money, Black Legion, Mayor of Hell and Brother Orchid.

Director:  Roy Del Ruth  

Writers: Rosalind Keating Shaffer (story), Ben Markson (screenplay), Lillie Hayward (screenplay)
 

Cast: James Cagney, Mae Clarke, Margaret Lindsay, Douglass Dumbrille, Leslie Fenton, Russell Hopton, Raymond Hatton, Henry O'Neill  

Run Time: 75 Minutes

Rating: Not rated €“ suggested for 13 and older

Classic Movie Guide Rating: 3 our of 5 stars

DVD Release Date:   3/25/2008  

Studio: Warner Home Video

Format: B&W €“ Standard Version  

Photo credits: Warner Home Video