Jimmy the Gent (1934)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Laird Doyle (story) &
Ray Nazarro (story) ...

Release Date:

17 March 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Unscrupulous investigator of lost heirs Jimmy Corrigan loses his love Joan Martin to apparently upright competitor James Wallingham...

Plot Keywords:

Heir | Justice Of The Peace | Judge | Trial | Wedding

Cast

James Cagney	...	'Jimmy' Corrigan
Bette Davis	...	Miss Joan Martin
Allen Jenkins	...	Lou
Alan Dinehart	...	Charles Wallingham
Alice White	...	Mabel
Arthur Hohl	...	Monty Barton
Phillip Reed	...	Ronny Gatson
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	Fake Worthingham
Mayo Methot	...	Gladys Farrell
Renee Whitney	...	Bessie
Ralf Harolde	...	Hendrickson (as Ralfe Harolde)
Merna Kennedy	...	Jitters
Philip Faversham	...	Intern Blair
Nora Lane	...	Sarah Posy Barton
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mary Treen	...	Nurse (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Always a Gent (USA) (working title)
The Heir Chaser (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

67 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Passed (PCA #2691-R, 22 September 1936 for re-release)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Quotes:

Miss Joan Martin: Make me respect you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Goodfellas (1990)

Soundtrack:

My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night

Cagney has some wrong ideas about class

This pre-code film starring James Cagney has him playing Jimmy Corrigan who is a private detective specializing in finding heirs to large fortunes. He's in competition with Alan Dinehart who calls himself a "geneologist" and has just about the same set of ethics Cagney has. The only difference is Cagney lacks the polish of Dinehart and is less a hypocrite.

Now no one ever confused James Cagney with Ronald Colman on the screen and I daresay they probably were never up for the same parts, but Cagney dumbs it down to Leo Gorcey levels in order to contrast himself with Dinehart. It's effective though.

What makes this film special is that the leading lady is Bette Davis who was a year away from finally getting Jack Warner to give her a role with substance in Of Human Bondage. Speaking of class, you can see that Ms. Davis has it in abundance and that she wasn't going to be held down with supportive leading lady roles. Later on Cagney and Davis were given The Bride Came COD when both were big box office names.

Cagney is quite the operator here and I won't tell you exactly what he does, he does bend our legal system over backwards though. And if he's not exactly reformed, he does learn the difference between class and manners.