Whew" - here's the kind of early Jimmy Cagney picture where he pulls out all the stops as a fast talking con man, and even if he has an ultimately noble intention of winning back his girl in the end, you're never really quite sure how things will work out. Bette Davis is that girl by the way, and she shares the kind of snappy dialog with Cagney that was honed to a razor wit by the time of 1940's "His Girl Friday" with Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Joan Martin (Davis) once worked for Jimmy Corrigan (Cagney) in the 'Personal Contacts' business, but left for competitor Charles Wallingham (Alan Dinehart) who runs a more refined enterprise, including daily tea breaks with the staff. But no matter which way you slice it, both operators are in it for the money, tracking down wealthy patrons who have passed on leaving sizable fortunes.
You'll have to be really attentive to stay on top of the main plot involving a two hundred thousand dollar inheritance from a deceased heiress. The only problem is, Monty Barton (Arthur Hohl) is on the run from a murder rap, and Cagney's character has to come up with a way to make the will stick until he can get his share of the dough. Getting his former gal pal back would be a bonus, and if you can keep things straight, the final payoff is a winner.
I've seen Allen Jenkins in enough Cagney films now to actually expect him to be there, so I wasn't disappointed this time. He's around as Corrigan's right hand man, but the first time they come in contact on screen you'll want to consider how political correctness wasn't a factor in films of the Thirties. When Lou (Jenkins) enters Jimmy's office he's greeted with "You dumb Guinea dope, you silly lookin' ape"! It's the kind of stuff that makes you go for the re-wind button on your remote.
As for Miss Davis, I kept looking for those Bette Davis eyes but they hadn't quite matured yet. Her performance here wasn't that exceptional, but what a difference a couple of years made; her role as the wistful dreamer Gabby Maple in the 1936 movie "The Petrified Forest" was remarkable.
Cagney of course started right out of the gate in roles that featured him as a con man or gangster and this was no exception. He plays a similar fast talking character in 1933's "Hard To Handle" where he's quick to turn a buck from a gullible public. Unfortunately a lot of his earliest films aren't available commercially, so you have to be in the right place at the right time to catch them on one of the classic movie cable channels. For my money, Cagney found just the right tempo and pacing in a few more years to portray Rocky Sullivan in one of my all time top ten films - "Angels With Dirty Faces".
You'll have to be really attentive to stay on top of the main plot involving a two hundred thousand dollar inheritance from a deceased heiress. The only problem is, Monty Barton (Arthur Hohl) is on the run from a murder rap, and Cagney's character has to come up with a way to make the will stick until he can get his share of the dough. Getting his former gal pal back would be a bonus, and if you can keep things straight, the final payoff is a winner.
I've seen Allen Jenkins in enough Cagney films now to actually expect him to be there, so I wasn't disappointed this time. He's around as Corrigan's right hand man, but the first time they come in contact on screen you'll want to consider how political correctness wasn't a factor in films of the Thirties. When Lou (Jenkins) enters Jimmy's office he's greeted with "You dumb Guinea dope, you silly lookin' ape"! It's the kind of stuff that makes you go for the re-wind button on your remote.
As for Miss Davis, I kept looking for those Bette Davis eyes but they hadn't quite matured yet. Her performance here wasn't that exceptional, but what a difference a couple of years made; her role as the wistful dreamer Gabby Maple in the 1936 movie "The Petrified Forest" was remarkable.
Cagney of course started right out of the gate in roles that featured him as a con man or gangster and this was no exception. He plays a similar fast talking character in 1933's "Hard To Handle" where he's quick to turn a buck from a gullible public. Unfortunately a lot of his earliest films aren't available commercially, so you have to be in the right place at the right time to catch them on one of the classic movie cable channels. For my money, Cagney found just the right tempo and pacing in a few more years to portray Rocky Sullivan in one of my all time top ten films - "Angels With Dirty Faces".