Adventures of a cocky con man and his beautiful accomplice.
Larceny Lane, Безумная блондинка, Gente viva, 腕の男, La bionda e l'avventuriero, 金发痴狂
USANR Los Angeles, California 
UK USANR UK USA
When did language become so boring? When did people start saying "I'm single and looking" instead of "I'm very much in circulation"?
This breezy pre-code (turning more dramatic towards the end) has Cagney in top form as a cocky conman and Blondell is both feisty and touching as his lovely accomplice. Pre-code proof include sexual innuendos and knowing looks, a lot of skin, and a memorable scene with Blondell scrubbing herself clean in the bathtub while Cagney is looking for money hidden in her bra. There's some serious face slapping and nobody says ho-neeeeey like Cagney does. Love the ending too.
I found myself so enamored of the dialogue in this film that I used a Twitter thread just to keep track of it. As I said there, the best dialogue is the way they say "honey," elongated and slightly mocking. It sticks in your ears. It's playful and absurd. I bet people hate it.
The best thing about this film is that Anne never really takes Bert's shit. Right from the start, she's slapping every scoundrel who tries to make free with her, and Bert's charms just don't work. She's not just a prop for him; she makes her own decisions. He pines for her, but the set up for it isn't an instance where he's shown to be entitled…
"You sound like Santa Claus in wolf's clothing!"
"Honey, I'm Santa Claus, Robin Hood and the goose that laid the golden egg all in one."
"Pretty big package, aren't you?"
When hotel bellhop Jimmy Cagney set his big sapphire eyes on linen room chambermaid Joan Blondell's own baby blues, sparks were bound to fly. Where else but in pre-Code will you hear Cagney constantly saying hoooooney in the longest drawl possible and evidently getting his kicks from repeatedly prompting his lady to slap him, our gal Joanie slipping a handful of loose pearls down Guy Kibbee's pants before smacking him on the ass, hunkiest of hunks Nat Pendleton playacting in a cop's uniform as part of a con game (an…
“Say, that dame’s a pip.”
You haven’t lived until you’ve seen Joan Blondell stuff jewels down the back of Guy Kibbee’s tros and slap him on the ass. Speaking of, James Cagney definitely checking out Joan Blondell’s. And Blondell doing a bit of looking up and down of short king Cagney herself. Blondell the chambermaid turned con woman is in absolute firecracker mode—slapping men (and women), pulling faces, petting fake colonels for a trick. Ending isn’t a cop out, but evidence that everyone’s crooked, from top to bottom, from white collar to blue. Our two honest thieves at least have a code. And each other. Fly, Cagney, fly.
Precode beauty! Loved it!
I adore Joan Blondell, I really do! I want to be her when I grow up. I haven't seen all of her movies, but in the ones I have seen she's always so spunky and tough and sure of herself. She stands up for herself, takes care of herself. Speaks her mind. I wonder if she was like that in real life... I hope so.
I was impressed with James Cagney. I haven't seen many of his films, but he was good here.
Going on my DVD wish list!
james cagney is a complete asshole in this and i'm in love with him
James Cagney is a conman who gets Joan Blondell to him. She won't do anything romantic with him as he has no heart. He's too greedy though and gets taken. They then try the double cross on Louis Calhern. More stuff happens. Very entertaining pre-code. I love Joan Blondell (as does every classic movie fan) and she is just a joy to watch here. She really gets to show some range and acting skills. I'm so glad Criterion Channel has a collection of her films now. I sure hope I can get them all watched before they go away.
This movie really doesn’t have a plot. It just moves forward without it. It’s sometimes funny, sometimes not. It’s truly an enigma of a film.
47
Shrek
"All right honey, where is it?"
"In my brassiere."
"Where?"
"In my brassiere!"
"You got pockets in that?"
3.3/5
Cagney and Blondell—two beautiful, agile actors—trade grope for slap and one verbal barb for another, spitting slang like bullets from a Tommy gun. They rise from hotel to ritzier hotel, from Bumblefuck to Chicago to New York as their bankroll allows, pulling con within con within love story, all of it encomed by Cagney's limitless id. This is the Depression by way of Warner Bros. and Roy Del Ruth: everyone's greedy, every man is horny, but nothing's taken seriously until Blondell falls for Ray Milland (who's not yet Ray Milland, not yet much of anyone) and breaks her partner's heart.
"My, but you're a tough guy," says a pawnbroker to Cagney. "Not tough," says Cagney. A beat. "Just mercenary." Other…
Featuring an incredible amount of faces slaps.
Via a DVR recording of a Turner Classic Movies airing from, I checked out this frothy bit of entertainment where the strong praise from various sources (not just Letterboxd) made me check this out… although the biggest draw was of course this starring James Cagney and Joan Blondell. Naturally, those two magnetic figures were dynamite together.
The plot is simple: Cagney is a bellhop at a nice hotel “in the American Midwest”; Blondell starts working there. Ol’ James runs various scams to earn his share of cash; as it’s the Great Depression, why not? Actually, audiences probably would enjoy such things at the time. He convinces her to be a part of his…
