The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)

Director:

Archie Mayo

Writers:

Bertram Millhauser (based on a play by) &
Beulah Marie Dix (based on a play by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

3 June 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Drama

Plot:

Prizefighter Jimmy Dolan accidentally kills a man at a party and escapes. He hides out at a health farm...

Plot Keywords:

Farm | Party | Cynicism | Detective | Train

Cast

Douglas Fairbanks Jr.	...	Jimmy
Loretta Young	...	Peggy
Aline MacMahon	...	Auntie
Guy Kibbee	...	Phlaxer
Lyle Talbot	...	Doc
Fifi D'Orsay	...	Budgie (as Fifi Dorsay)
Harold Huber	...	Reggie Newman
Shirley Grey	...	Goldie West
George Meeker	...	Charles Magee
John Wayne	...	Smith
Arthur Hohl	...	Herman Malvin
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edward Arnold	...	Inspector Ennis (uncredited)
Joan Barclay	...	Well-Wisher (uncredited)
Robert Barrat	...	Sheriff (uncredited)
Joseph Belmont	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Don Brodie	...	Man on Stairway Giving Directions (uncredited)
George Chandler	...	Boxing Handler (uncredited)
Billy Coe	...	Fight Timekeeper (uncredited)
Arthur Dekuh	...	Louie Primaro (uncredited)
James Donlan	...	Man Offering Jimmy a Drink (uncredited)
David Durand	...	George Lewis (uncredited)
Adolph Faylauer	...	Fight Spectator (uncredited)
Sam Godfrey	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Allen 'Farina' Hoskins	...	Sam (uncredited)
John Kerns	...	Fight Opponent (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Reporter in Ring (uncredited)
Larry McGrath	...	First Referee (uncredited)
Clarence Muse	...	Masseur (uncredited)
Bradley Page	...	One of Dolan's Backers (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Last Fight Ring Announcer (uncredited)
Mickey Rooney	...	Freckles (uncredited)
John Sheehan	...	Fight Manager (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock	...	Reporter in Ring (uncredited)
Anne Shirley	...	Mary Lou (uncredited)
Sammy Stein	...	King Cobra (uncredited)
Arthur Vinton	...	Matt Lenihan (uncredited)
Huey White	...	Handler (uncredited)

Directed by
Archie Mayo

Writing credits
Bertram Millhauser		(based on a play by) (as Bertram Milhauser) &
Beulah Marie Dix		(based on a play by)
David Boehm		(screen play) and
Erwin S. Gelsey		(screen play) (as Erwin Gelsey)

Cinematography by
Arthur Edeson		(photography)

Film Editing by
Herbert I. Leeds		(edited by) (as Bert Levy)

Art Direction by
Robert M. Haas

Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly		(gowns)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	conductor: Vitaphone Orchestra
Cliff Hess	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Bernhard Kaun	....	composer: title music (uncredited)

Other crew
Hal B. Wallis	....	supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1933) (USA) (theatrical) (present) (as Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.)
• Vitaphone Corporation, The (1933) (USA) (theatrical) (present) (as The Vitaphone Corp.)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

88 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2607-R, 3 September 1936 for re-release) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Norway:16 (1933)

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

The film was shot over a period of 28 days.

Goofs:

Continuity: The police broadcast the license number of Dolan's car in which Woods and Goldie are fleeing (1U-42-91), but it's not the same as the actual license plate of their Lincoln which is visible in several shots (4B72-47); when the car is wrecked, it suddenly changes from a Lincoln to a Ford, and now bears the same license number as the one originally broadcast.

Quotes:

King Cobra:Then why'd ya come here and fight me for?
Jimmy Dolan:I saw yer picture in the papers, I thought I might like ta be alone with ya.

Movie Connections:

Version of They Made Me a Criminal (1939)

Soundtrack:

How Deep Is the Ocean?

A Pre-Code Version of They Made Me a Criminal

Despite the miscasting of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. as prizefighter and Light Heavyweight Champion Jimmy Dolan, The Life of Jimmy Dolan makes for good entertainment. After all, a film where you can see Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Loretta Young, John Wayne, and Mickey Rooney in the same film is worth catching.

I'm a big fan of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. who to me always epitomized class and elegance. And because of that, try as he might, he just doesn't come across as a pugilist. John Garfield would have faired no better taking on Fairbanks's kind of roles.

In those early days John Wayne was starring in his own B westerns, but occasionally he would support in another film. The Life of Jimmy Dolan gives you a rare glimpse of the Duke, not as the Duke. He plays an amateur fighter who is with the on-the-run Fairbanks. His scene is in the arena dressing room with Fairbanks as he's trying to psyche himself up for the upcoming bout.

Mickey Rooney plays one of the kids at the ranch run by Loretta Young and her aunt Aline McMahon. In They Made Me a Criminal the ranch was a camp for city kids, in The Life of Jimmy Dolan it is for kids who have infantile paralysis. It was originally started by Young's father who was a doctor and he's passed on, leaving her with kids and a mortgage. Of course in seeking screen properties for the Dead End Kids while they were under Warner Brothers contract, someone had the good idea to dust this one off which they already owned. The Dead End Kids are a little older than the youths here.

Loretta Young does well in her part and I'm convinced she probably helped John Wayne get the part he got. She and her sisters were friendly with the Duke and his first wife. He did a couple of films with Loretta in their salad days. They never worked together once Wayne hit it big in Stagecoach.

Even with the Code restrictions that They Made Me a Criminal had to operate under, I think it is better than The Life of Jimmy Dolan, because of the casting. But they really should be viewed side by side for comparison.