Aggie Appleby

Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men (1933)

*** (out of 4)

Agnes "Aggie" Appleby (Wynne Gibson) is kicked out of her room when her tough guy boyfriend (William Gargan) goes to jail. Broke and out on the streets, Aggie meets the soft-spoken and kind Adoniram (Charles Farrell) who begins to fall for her but she plans to make him into a tough guy. With such an off-beat title it seems like this film would be better known to film buffs but it has pretty much been forgotten to the ages. This is too bad because it's actually a quite clever little film that has a few nice twists along the way. The film starts off as a comedy as we see Aggie trying to turn this wimp into a man. This includes getting rid of his glasses, getting him a "tough" job and then making him a fighter. She's able to turn this nice guy into the type of tough guy that she likes but things get messy once they fall in love and then her ex gets out of prison. I was really surprised by how effective the entire film was. The early scenes are full of great comedy and especially one sequence where Adoniram wins his fight by the luckiest of ways. The middle portion of the film turns into a romantic drama but this here also works thanks in large part to the two stars. Both Gibson and Farrell are so good together and so believable in their roles that you can't help but fall for both of them. Farrell was extremely impressive with the way he plays this rather soft character and he's also believable once he starts to change. Gargan is a blast as the rather dumb but tough boyfriend and Zasu Pitts is fine as the girl's best friend. I'm not going to spoil the ending but it too is something you just won't expect.

AGGIE APPLEBY, MAKER OF MEN is certainly a very fun little gem that deserves to be rediscovered.

Why didn't she become a star? She's completely wonderful in this swell little comedy, a cross between Sylvia Sidney and Mae West with a dab of Ruth Donnelly. Gibson stars as Aggie, who's husband Red (William Gargan) gets sent up for punching out 3 cops. Broke and starving, she meets up with prissy Charles Farrell. She makes a man of him (ahem) and falls for him despite her best intentions. Nice little comedy all round with everyone turning in good performances. Zasu Pitts is fun as Aggie's sister, and Betty Furness and Blanche Fredericci are good too. Maybe Farrell's best talkie, but Gibson is certainly the STAR here, dominating every scene she's in.

The Depression era comes alive in this film about a waitress (Wynne Gibson) who falls in love with a street-fighting hoodlum, Red Branagan (William Gargan). When Branagan goes to prison for beating up some cops, Aggie is left broke and on her own, eventually meeting Adoniram Schlump (Charles Farrell), a rich sissy from Upstate trying to make it in the big city. Under Aggie's tutelage, Schlump takes on Branagan's identity and his combativeness. Then the real Branagan gets out of prison....

Gibson and Gargan are particularly good as a couple of tough New Yorkers struggling to make ends meet, and Farrell (reminiscent here of Harold Lloyd, whom he slightly resembled) comes alive as a neurotic rich boy who finds success as a brawler. The film's use of slang is especially entertaining -- dated, but colorful. (Aggie tells Schlump: "Stop talking like a lollipop. Use some words with hair on them.")

Can't help wondering whether the film's clever title would have been possible a year or two later, with the coming of the Production Code.

"Aggie Appleby Maker of Men" is a rare treat. It's a film I'd never heard of and I had very low expectations--yet the film turned out to be great fun. It also clearly is an example of a Pre-Code film, as much of the plot involves two people who are not married cohabiting. Platonic or not, this would be a definite no-no in the era of the strengthened Production Code beginning in mid-1934.

When the film begins, Aggie (Wynne Gibson) is in love with the brutish Red Branahan (William Gargan). Branahan is a tough-guy--much like Bluto from the Popeye cartoons! However, he won't work and is a schemer and gambler--not the best husband material, but Aggie loves him.

Because of Red's strength, temper and stupidity, he gets himself jailed after a fight with several cops. The fight must have been pretty bad, as it seems like he was sent away for some time. In the meantime, Aggie is broke and has no place to live. So, her goofy sister (Zasu Pitts) has an idea--Aggie can sleep in one of the empty apartments in the building where she cleans. And, as long as Aggie leaves before the man who lives there arrives, no one will know. However, he returns home early and instead of being angry, Adoniram 'Schlumpy' Schlump (Charles Farrell) is very understanding of her plight and even lets her stay with him....no hanky-panky.

Schlumpy is practically the opposite of Red. Schlumpy is a mama's boy--weak and effete. However, he's also very decent and so Aggie takes it upon herself to toughen him up. Part of this toughening process is to have him pretend to be Red. After all, Red has a reputation as a tough-guy and if Schlumpy just ACTS tough, perhaps he can learn to be tough. Well, this toughening process seems to be very effective. But when happens when the real Red is unexpectedly released from jail? Tune in and see.

This film is a delightful little comedy. While it has few huge belly laughs, it's very cute and the actors did a lovely job. Farrell was great and Wynne was so good that I agree with the other reviewer who wonders why she didn't become more of a star. Perhaps she didn't have the looks Hollywood was looking for, but she did a great job. Well worth seeing.

A brawling roughneck and a timid wimp are both whipped into shape by AGGIE APPLEBY MAKER OF MEN.

This refreshingly forthright & honest look at a Depression-era New York City female and her two problem men is a delight from start to finish. Elements both comic and tender are blended together into a very satisfying package which, whatever the situation, rings true every time. Wynne Gibson gives a remarkably unaffected performance--bold, brassy, bossy, but also unfailingly decent & loving. She doesn't waste time with either regrets or excuses, but gets on with her tough life, helping others whenever she can.

Charles Farrell, a major box office star in the early 1930's, is excellent as the diffident young fellow who changes his entire persona, thanks to Miss Gibson's efforts. Farrell lets us see how vulnerable his character still is, even after assuming his new attitude. The short scene in which he is attacked by a bully is actually painful to watch. William Gargan epitomizes the kind of loudmouthed bruiser who's actually a softy when it comes to his girl.

Wispy & almost ethereal, the enormously talented ZaSu Pitts plays the cleaning lady friend of Miss Gibson. Future consumer advocate Betty Furness portrays Farrell's surprisingly liberated hometown girlfriend, while Blanche Frederici appears as his rather frightful aunt.

Movie mavens will recognize an unbilled Jane Darwell as Miss Gibson's practical landlady.