New York criminal (James Cagney) takes it on the lam and winds up in Hollywood. There he gets a job working in movies, first in bit parts and eventually as a leading man. But when his old gang hears about his newfound success, they come knocking on his door and risk ruining everything for him.I hesitate to call this a gangster picture like everybody else seems to be doing. Cagney's character starts out the movie joining a gang but it's a gang of confidence men. Then they graduate to robbing houses before someone is shot and they have to leave town. These aren't racketeers or guys shooting it out with tommy guns. So, in my view, they're criminals for sure but not what I would call gangsters. Not that it matters much in the end. This movie reunites Cagney with his Public Enemy costars Mae Clarke and Leslie Fenton. Clarke is a treat to watch and has great chemistry with Cagney. Lovely Margaret Lindsay plays the movie star Cagney falls for. I'm a fan of hers so of course I enjoyed her in this. Highlights include Cagney dragging Clarke out of his room by her hair and Cagney forcing a movie critic to eat his own review. A fun crime comedy from Warner Bros. with another great Cagney role.

Roy del Ruth directed this early pre-code Cagney film, "Lady Killer" from 1933, also starring Mae Clarke, Margaret Lindsay, and Douglas Dumbrille.Cagney plays Dan Quigley, a movie usher who, after he's fired, find a woman's (Mae Clarke) purse. He tries to catch her but can't. So he goes to her house and returns it. She's Myra Gale, and she invites him in for a drink. Turns out some men are at her place gambling, so Dan joins them and loses $50. As he's leaving, he sees another man coming up the stairs with a purse. Dan says he's related to Myra and will return it. When Myra sees him at the door, she tries to shut it but he forces his way in, goes into the back room and demands his money back. Then he offers to expand the operation so they can all make money. The guys agree.Soon the dough comes rolling in, and the gang go to a society woman's house, where Dan pretends to have had an accident. He's carried into the house and cases the joint. The ambulance (his cohorts) picks him up and takes him to the hospital. Then they rob the house. Unfortunately they do it the same day, and soon the cops are onto the gang. They all take off, and Dan is picked up in LA on a New York warrant. When he asks Myra to bring him his money so he can post bail, she splits with the money, leaving Dan to fend for himself. He's finally released due to lack of evidence.After the police threaten to arrest him as a vagrant, Dan finds a job as a film extra. He and a friend write dozens and dozens of fan letters and the studio notices, and he becomes a film star! He falls for fellow film star Lois Underwood, but runs afoul of the old gang. Now that he's making good, they hold his bad deeds over his head and want help casing Hollywood mansions.Interesting film with lots going on in something like 76 minutes. Cagney is terrific, and he and Mae share an in joke when she reads the fruits grown in California, one of which is "grapefruit." We see a bit of behind the scenes movie making. Also, "Lady Killer" has some noirish touches, though this is a decade or so before noir.Fun film with a nice mix of humor and drama carried by Cagney's strong performance, ably assisted by Clarke and Lindsay.

Lady Killer (1933)I love these multi-part stories, where one set of scenes shifts to a whole new set, and then they eventually intertwine. And I also love movies that show the inside of Hollywood, with actual recreations of movie sets and movie shoots.Lady Killer has both, and James Cagney, too. It's fast, furious, funny, and shot with a bright, glinting intelligence. Not quite a gangster film, it does have crime and some crooked thugs. And not quite a comedy, it pulls out quite a few laughs, mostly because Cagney is a card. There are two fabulous first ladies (and they naturally must view for our man), Mae Clark and Margaret Lindsay, and a slew of second men who hold up their characters with caricature. In all, there is no Warner message here, except maybe the virtue can sometimes prevail. It's just a lot of great scenes, witty dialog, and a play of good guys against bad guys. Look for some stunning rain scenes in California (yeah, I know), and for a huge range of interior and exterior set ups, fairly elaborate for Warner Bros. budgets. For Cagney fans, it's a riot to see him take on, briefly, a series of roles as Indian chief, Italian lover, and prisoner on work detail. The latter, of course, is close to the real roles that made him famous, and his role here is actually a little lighter than that, a bad guy who is all wisecracks and cheerfulness. Look for some insider jokes, like the poster (and mention) of the Edward G. Robinson film, and the movie ushers wearing hats all with the Warner Brothers logo on it.Great stuff. I loved it even as I knew it wasn't quite a masterpiece. Oh, and the new (2010) Warner DVD is sparkling, a first rate print!

Hustler gets hustled, goes to Hollywood and hits big.Hustler's friends arrive to hustle him again... and get hustled in return.All this and the boy gets the girl too.Very simple Cagney gangster type film, but lighter on the bullets. It rolls along at a fair pace and sews itself up pretty well.With revisits from some 'Pubic Enemy' cast-mates, Cagney does a great job turning out 'A' list material in a 'B' list film, just as his career was built on.If you're an Cagney fan or a fan of 'Dream Factory' old school films, bring some popcorn.