Another Cagney Bad Man Makes Good

Harsh Treatment Meted By Jim --- To a Movie Critic!

Lady Killer Lauds Precode Survival Of The Fittest

Every now and then, Hollywood would devise a "get even" scene involving some group that writers couldn't abide: in the case of Lady Killer, it was snide critics who panned movies just to hear themselves be clever (a blight still with us). Jim Cagney's address to the problem is his usual straightforward, making the offender scribe eat a bad notice on threat of a men's room beating, with shove into a toilet for the capper (which we hear flush after him). It's a precode squaring of accounts and a Lady Killer highlight. Caveman Cagneys that followed Public Enemy were a schizoid lot. He skirted law in them all, was an outright crook in but few. Lady Killer falls to latter category, Jim deep in a burgling mob that does murder during commission of one crime ... so how to cleanse our soiled hero from that? Lady Killer being precode makes it easy. Just ignore the inconvenience and figure on viewer forgiveness of likeable pug Cagney.

Lady Killer is priceless for opener reel where Cagney serves on usher staff at Warners' legendary Strand Theatre in Gotham. He wears the uniform but lightly, and mocks military discipline imposed by manager Edwin Maxwell. I covet the cap with snappy brim and WB logo that Jim wears. Was it such a leap from ushering to the rackets? Patrons might have had cause to wonder over Strand personnel seating them, but as so many identified with Cagney in any case, this might have been an asset for the theatre. Lady Killer goes "Inside Hollywood" for succeeding acts, JC drafted off LA streets (having beat it out west) to star in movies. Biz artifice is exposed, Jim on his hobby horse in front of a process screen a standout laff. Lady Killer switches gears so frequent as to strip them, but that was nature of hurry-up Warner work. The Cagney persona was well embedded with grapefruit, JC and the citrus having winked at knowing audiences in Hard To Handle and again here. He'd also give Mae Clarke another workout, this time dragging her by hair with a kick to the rump for punctuation.