Directed by Raoul Walsh
Written by Arthur Korber
1932/US
Fox Film Corporation
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
Pop Riley: Another bank robbery yesterday.
Danny Dolan: Oh? Who’d the bank rob now?
Pop Riley: Nobody, someone robbed the bank.
Danny Dolan: Ah, turned the tables on ’em, eh? Smart!
I liked this better on a second viewing but I still don’t understand why I needed to see it before I die.
A rookie Irish-American policeman (Spencer Tracy) falls for a wisecracking lunch counter waitress (Joan Bennett) while solving crime on the waterfront.
There is nothing wrong with this movie that elimination of the looong unfunny “comedy” drunk schtick by Will Stanton could not fix. Fortunately, he only mars the first half of the movie. On the other hand, the two leads acquit themselves admirably and Joan Bennett makes a beautiful blonde.
I watched this one a few times and I do find it endearing. Cannot say exactly why. There is a lightness to it that is refreshing when so many other movies are dark and drab, but not in that upper class wealthy beyond care manner .
This one did grow on me. I just don’t find anything funny about a staggering drunk and it kind of turned me off the rest of the movie the first time. The other standard of the thirties is using stutterers as comic figures. Bugs the hell out of me.