An ex-gangster tries to resist his old cohorts' criminal activities after he accidentally becomes a movie star.
James Cagney Mae Clarke Margaret Lindsay Leslie Fenton Douglass Dumbrille Russell Hopton Raymond Hatton Henry O'Neill Robert Elliott Marjorie Gateson Willard Robertson William B. Davidson Douglas Cosgrove Lowden Adams Luis Alberni Joseph Belmont Brooks Benedict Harry Beresford Herman Bing Harry C. Bradley Ralph Brooks James Burke George Chandler Spencer Charters Ray Cooke Ralph Dunn Harrison Greene Lew Harvey Grace Hayle Show All…
Le Tombeur, Der Frauenheld, 猎艳杀手, Убийственная леди, スター悩殺
USA
Washington, D.C.
USANR
USANR
USA
A common occurrence in my home is my girlfriend will fall asleep on the couch with her legs across my lap. Pinned down, knowing I'll have 60-80 minutes before I need to get up and therefore wake her, I'm at the mercy of streaming services to entertain me. Usually I can quietly make it through half or all of a movie without bothering her, but there's a scene in LADY KILLER in which Cagney, a conman turned A-list actor, unleashes a cage full of little monkeys at a high society party. As the monkeys were landing (very clearly tossed from just off camera) into bowls of food and tossing chandelier lightbulbs at the bald pates of Hollywood elites, I started violently convulsing unable to contain my laughter. "What's going on?" I heard mumbled from the other end of the couch. "Monkeys," I said. "Monkeys."
LADY KILLER is available to stream on Film Struck.
This wasn't half-bad, but it felt like the George Raft story since it's about a gangster who aims to make it in Hollywood. James Cagney stars as Dan Quigley and he is a much better actor than George Raft. Cagney plays a tough guy very well. His love interest(s) were played by Mae Clarke and Margaret Lindsay, both of whom are significantly underrated.
All in all, it was an entertaining watch, but nothing elevates it to a "classic" level.
Vegan alert:
-Lady with fur stole
-Lady wants mink coat but Dan offers her a rabbit coat
-Someone calls the police on the monkeys
Theoretically something of a satire on movies and stardom, from the moment Lady Killer arrives in Hollywood, what had been a sprightly gangster picture devolves into a series of barely connected scenes, alternating gags (Monkeys!!11!!!) and offensive humor (redface) with frustratingly lengthy misunderstandings and deception. It's a big disappointment, particularly after a much more dynamic first half built entirely upon Cagney's ferocious charisma as a performer. While he remains a ray of light whenever he's on screen even in the film's second half, in the Hollywood segments he's reduced largely to reacting to situations rather than driving them. He does look surprisingly good with a neat little mustache, tho.
Not as tightly constructed or satisfying as others I've seen, but I'm always up for seeing James Cagney as a silver-tongued rascal.
A gambling/con man movie that oddly changes into a movie about Hollywood. The contrast between the first half and the second half feels weird, it feels like two separate movies, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless.
A crackling early Cagney vehicle, directed at Del Ruth's usual breakneck speed, and featuring jokes about drugs and sex, and a bit where Jimmy kisses Mae Clarke's boob (that'll make up for the time he used her face as a grapefruit squeezer).
The plot is complete nonsense - with two-fisted conman Cagney storming the picture business - though the film knows it some of the time, and there are as many salty, nifty one-liners as dated ones. There's also a scene where some monkeys invade a birthday party, and another where Cagney plays a Native American with a sore bottom. Incidentally, I think his tyrannical Teutonic action director is patterned after Warner's own Michael Curtiz.
The star is clearly having…
Pretty entertaining tale of James Cagney as a crook who gets out of New York while the heat's one and makes his way to Los Angeles. When there he ends up becoming a movie star! His gang comes back and tries to get him in the racket again which gets him in hot water.
It's very well written, there's some pretty funny situations and a few twists in the story. Director Roy Del Ruth is not well known, but everything I've seen from his has been really good.
This was weird. Started out as a possible awesome James Cagney gangster movie, then they turned it into a wonderful spoof on Hollywood life with Cagney looking superbly ridiculous as a indian and monkeys crashing parties!
And James Cagney was on top! The man is on no matter what he does. And he sure enjoyed himself shooting this picture! Specially since he got to have more fun with Mae Clarke playing off their grapefruit spot in The Public Enemy (1931) and brutally throwing her out of his apartment by the hair! A class act! And credit to Clarke, she could sure take it!
Lady Killer is a movie that doesn't take itself very seriously which is why it's so great. Just a bunch of great actors having a blast!
LADY KILLER (1933) USA, b/w, 15m.
Directed by Roy Del Ruth.
A small jewel of rapid flowing pre-code GANGSTER film, incorporating a juvenile deliquent Jimmy Cagney going on to bigger and more lucrative things when he is employed in Hollywood to make films.
Wildly satirizing Hollywood itself when making fun of a director that should be Cecil B DeMille and making even more fun of his earlier role together with Mae Clarke in THE PUBLIC ENEMY 1 (1931) .
Lots of nods to Hollywood, like cinema posters and it is open to anyone to decide which stars and directors that are thinly disguised in this fast, funny and tough film that is still a comedy. Everything in the Hollywood bubble is so wondrous over-the-top.
One of the better Cagney roles in my opinion.
Typical James Cagney gangster movie that transitions into James Cagney playing James Cagney half an hour in by lucking into becoming a Hollywood star by writing fanmail to himself, proceeds to get cast in the least Cagney role possible as an Italian Lover with long curly hair who eats raw garlic; which at that point I just looked at the movie and went "are you fucking with me here?"
I'm still so fucking mad about Babylon shitting all over early sound era and this little film (with its little industry satire btw) just proves once again how awesome 1930s period is.
I really liked “The Lady Killer”. It’s a gangster movie with everything. It’s got all the typical crime elements that you would expect from a gangster picture. However, it also delves into movie making, with the Cagney tough-guy character becoming involved in the Hollywood scene.
There are some nice throwbacks to Cagney’s acting career, with a particularly funny line around grapefruit coming from a concerned female companion (in relation to the classic moment in “The Public Enemy”). The script is smart throughout, with a number of these meta lines and instances.
My favourite moment comes when a director asks Cagney if he can throw a punch. Cagney confirms and the director calls “Action!”. Cagney lashes out at the stuntman. “Cut!” the director yells, complaining to Cagney that it looked fake and unconvincing. Turns out the stuntman is out cold.
