Frisco Jenny

Not as 'notorious' a Pre-Code, as Chatterton's 'Female', released the following year, but anyway a highly entertaining film, that tells the story of 'fast-talking' 'Jenny Sandoval', who after the big San Francisco 1906 earthquake (great special effects in these sequence), 'rises' from the slums to the 'heights' of being the most powerful Brothel Madam of the whole city, with all kinds of 'useful' connections.

Nice to watch a 'young' Louis Calhern as a politician who is Chatterton's pal (23 years before his highly amusing role as Grace Kelly's bon-vivant uncle in MGM's 'High Society'). Also good performances by Helen Jerome Eddy as Chatterton's Chinese maid and Donald Cook as Chatterton's grown-up illegitimate son.

Somewhat reminiscent of Chatterton's 1929 MGM flick 'Madame X' aka as Absinthe, but better, and much swifter.

Give the great Ruth Chatterton credit for continuing to play leading roles in films into her forties. It's easier to do that today but back then, with Joan Crawford not even being walked to her car when she left MGM at 40, it wasn't so easy.

People always say, well, that's not true, those actresses worked. Really? Did they work like Harrison Ford works today? Clint Eastwood? Or were they playing character parts that weren't leads and starring in B, black and white movies?

Chatterton here stars in "Frisco Jenny" from 1932. After the San Francisco earthquake, she and her baby are left destitute. She becomes the boss of a thinly-disguised bordello and rakes it in.

During a soirée one night, her friend and partner Steve (Louis Calhern) catches someone cheating him at craps and kills him. Jenny helps him cover it up and winds up in prison. He bails her out.

Hearing social services is going to take the baby, Jenny's housekeeper takes her to her family in Chinatown. Steve advises her to let the child live with friends of his who have money and will be good parents. She relents.

When the heat cools off, a few years later, she decides to take her son and move to Europe. But when she meets him again, he doesn't know her and wants to stay with his parents. She can't bear to take him and make him miserable, so she gives him up.

She carefully monitors his growing up, and even is an unseen hand in helping him. Years later, their paths cross again.

Ruth Chatterton is excellent as Jenny, a strong, loyal woman who is unapologetic about what she has to do to survive. Former matinée idol Louis Calhern gives a polished performance as Steve. Donald Cook plays her grown-up son.

Similar in many respects to Madame X. Directed by William Wellman, who gives the film extra flair.

A great film in which to see Ruth Chatterton.

I love William Wellman's films. Frisco Jenny is a beautifully sad film played brilliantly by Ruth Chatterton. I'm gonna keep this review short and sweet. Give it a watch. It will keep you enthralled until the end.

Ruth Chatterton was a fascinating early '30s leading lady - she was quite average looking and somewhat chubby, with a brittle, theatrical acting style that hasn't dated very well. And yet, there's something in every one of her performances that's worth watching. She specialized in hard-edged, independent women of the type that Bette Davis would later do with much more depth and sympathy. "Frisco Jenny" was typical of Chatterton's Warner Brothers vehicles, with a shopworn "women's picture" storyline that gave her plenty of opportunities to grit her teeth and snap off at characters who got in her way. Nice direction by William Wellman, with a well-placed earthquake to add

Another Pre-Code Entertainer from Prolific Director William Wellman. This One Stars an Actress that is Virtually Unknown Today but has a Fan Following, Ruth Chatteron. The Recycled Soap Opera Plot is for those who like Weepy Melodrama with Strong Female Sufferers in Tragic Situations.

It Spans a Generation of Time in its 70 Minutes and is Another Example of Movie Making Magic in its Most Concise Form. The Opening is the Year of the San Francisco Earthquake and the Barbary Coast is the Backdrop for that Natural Disaster as the Story Begins to Unfold a Natural Disaster of it Own.

The Pre-Code Only "Bastard Child" to a Woman of Ill Repute who must Relinquish Her Son because to Society its a Sin to Sell Your Body and the Baby must be Taken Away. But the Heart of Gold Mother Fights, in More Ways than One, to make Sure the Child is Cared for.

Overall, this is a Classic Tale Told with Class. The Costuming is Excellent, the Acting Acceptable, the Camera Work Outstanding. The Earthquake Scenes are Exceptional. It is Not Edgy like a Lot of Pre-Coders but it Makes Up for it with Style and Story.