Product Details

• Actors: James Cagney, Mae Clarke, Margaret Lindsay, Leslie Fenton, Douglass Dumbrille
• Directors: Roy Del Ruth
• Writers: Ben Markson, Darryl F. Zanuck, Lillie Hayward, Rosalind Keating Shaffer
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Language: English, Yiddish
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: September 1, 1998
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302208874
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,123 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Roy Del Ruth's Lady Killer is light fare, with James Cagney as a movie-theater usher who falls victim to a con game, then joins in the scam and soon is running the outfit. When one ornate caper results in a bystander getting hurt, Cagney has to hop a train two steps ahead of the law. At the other end of those train tracks is Hollywood, where he catches the eye of someone from Central Casting who thinks he'd make a good gangster type in the movies. Full-fledged stardom is only a reel change away--whereupon that old gang of his comes sniffing around. Some of this is diverting, some is just sloppy; the film gives the impression of having had different writers assigned from scene to scene. However, the satiric jabs at Hollywood are fun, and Cagney, as always, has his lyric moments. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poor Mae Clarke (Again), July 7, 2002

By 

James L. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady Killer [VHS] (VHS Tape)

James Cagney stars as a conman that winds up a Hollywood star trying to escape his shady past. The story begins with Cagney first getting conned by a group of con artists, then joining them and moving them on to much bigger games. When they turn on him, Cagney ends up in Los Angeles, where he works his way up the "extra" ladder to becoming a top star. Of course, his criminal "friends" want the bigger game that he can now bring them, possibly bringing an end to the life he has made for himself. This is the perfect kind of role for the young Cagney. It allows him to display the cocky attitude, intelligence, aggressiveness, and humour that made him the immortal screen character he became. The two elements of the story mix well. The con game aspect is fun to watch as people cross and double cross each other. But it's also fun watching the fish-out-of-water Cagney adjusting to life in movies, giving us a glimpse of life behind the camera in 1930's Hollywood. Margaret Lindsay is competent as usual as Cagney's actress-girlfriend, while Mae Clarke is fun as one of his partners in the con games. Once again, Clarke gets pushed around (and pulled by the hair!) in a Cagney film, providing some of the film's highlights. Like most of the Warner Brothers films directed by Roy Del Ruth in the 1930's, Lady Killer moves along quickly, with plenty of in-your-face action and laughs, giving you a prime look at vintage Cagney.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SNAPPY PRE-CODE COMEDY., January 29, 2003

By 

"scotsladdie" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady Killer [VHS] (VHS Tape)

A cinema usher turns to crime, flees to Hollywood and becomes a movie player: a hectic slam-bang action comedy with melodratic moments. Great fun. Cagney play Dan Quigley, a man who finds he's been the victim of a confidence set-up. Dan threatens the gang with exposure unless they cut him in on the profits. Quigley works the racket so well, they are able to open a swank gambling club which is patronised by wealthy customers. Eventually the cops suspect illicit dealings and the gang leave town en route to Los Angeles, where Dan gets arrested. Because there isn't enough evidence in order to hold him, the police release Quigley. Looking like a hobo, he's hired for work as a movie extra...A thoroughly enjoyable thirties spoof of gangsters and Hollywood, in this one poor Mae Clarke is pulled by Jimmy - by him grabbing her hair! The original working title for the film was THE FINGER MAN...

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic--but overlooked--vehicle for Jimmy Cagney, January 31, 2008

By 

Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Lady Killer [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Lady Killer is a marvelous, much overlooked vehicle for the great Jimmy Cagney to showcase his numerous talents. Cagney does comedy, his typical gangster type role, a little bit of drama and more in this snappy motion picture.

The action starts when Dan Quigley (Cagney) gets fired from his job as a movie theater usher; and when he gets taken by a group of small time con artists he joins them rather than getting even with them. Soon we meet Mae Clarke as Myra Gale, Duke (Leslie Fenton) and Spade Maddock (Douglas Dumbrille) along with a few more shady characters in the group of con artists.

Things go bad when an accidental murder takes place during a jewel heist; and they eventually all flee to California to escape the heat. Things aren't easy; the cops are still after them but at least in California they have a little breathing room. Just by chance, a couple of studio headhunters find Quigley and offer him a bit part in a movie. Things get even more interesting when Dan Quigley rises to stardom and meets a woman he truly loves, Lois Underwood (Margaret Lindsay).

Of course, the plot can go anywhere from here. Will Quigley and Underwood become a couple? Will the police catch Quigley and his former con artist friends? What if the con artist group catches up with Quigley after he becomes a Hollywood star? No spoilers here, folks--you'll have to watch the movie to find out!

The choreography is very well done in the scenes where Cagney is acting in a film within the film; and the cinematography works well, too.

Overall, this fine Jimmy Cagney vehicle stands the test of time as a very good and underappreciated movie. I highly recommend this film for fans of the great Jimmy Cagney; and people who enjoy classic movies will love this one, too!