Big City Blues

Big City Blues (1932)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A rather predictable but mildly entertaining drama from Warner about a naive boy (Eric Linden) from Indiana who heads off to New York City and doesn't last long there. His first night there sees him lose all his money but even worse is that he is at a party where a woman gets killed and soon he's getting the blame as well as another innocent woman (Joan Blondell). Plot wise there's really nothing too original here but I did like the fact that the entire trip in NYC only takes place within 24 hours and I thought this added some charm to the film because a lot of plots like this take place over a longer period of time. I also think director Mervyn LeRoy does a nice job handling everything as he keeps the film moving well and manages to have some nice drama and even a few laughs. The screenplay keeps things fairly simple as nothing over the top ever happens and instead we're told a pretty straight-forward story from start to finish. I think the biggest problem with the film is that the lead character does some incredibly stupid things that you can't help but dislike him and not really care what happens to him. Just check out the sequence where he's gambling as this scene will certainly have most people wanting to strangle him. Linden is decent in the role but one can't help but wonder why he was selected when there was surely a lot more talent on Warner's lot. Blondell gets a pretty thankless role but she does a good job with it and certainly make it a lot better than I'm sure it was on the page. There are about twelve different actors shown during the opening credits but they left out Humphrey Bogart who has a pretty good role as one of the tough guys at the party who gets a fight started. I'm not sure why the studio kept his name off the credits considering it was a bigger role in the film than some of those who actually did get a credit. Fans of these low-budget Warner films from this era will certainly want to check this out but others might want to stay clear. At 63-minutes the film moves along quick enough and is entertaining enough if you've got the time to kill.

From Warner Brothers and director Mervyn LeRoy. Eric Linden stars as Bud Reeves, a naive small-town Indiana boy who's arrived in NYC to make a name for himself. He gets taken in by his unscrupulous cousin Gibby (Walter Catlett) who tries to work the kid for every cent he's got, while Bud falls in love with showgirl Vida (Joan Blondell). However, when things take a dark turn, Bud may be left holding the bag and on his way to the hot seat.

This starts out as a rather broad comedy, with Linden playing his out-of-town Bud as a complete rube. Then it seems to switch gears and become a sweet romance between Linden and Blondell, before taking an unexpected turn and becoming deadly serious. These tonal shifts are jarring, and the movie may have worked better if it had chosen one and stuck with it. Blondell is cute and likable as always. I watched this for Bogart, who isn't even credited, although his role was a little bigger than I expected, playing a shady party-goer.

BIG CITY BLUES (Warner Brothers, 1932), directed by Mervyn LeRoy, is a Depression era melodrama without the focus on the unemployed in breadlines or the homeless struggling to survive, but a cliché story about the survival of a country boy who ventures to the big city, the "Big Apple," better known as New York. Starring Joan Blondell, her role is actually secondary but crucial to the plot, while the Eric Linden, whose name comes below hers, is the central focus.

The story revolves around Buddy Reeves (Eric Linden), a naive country boy from Hoopersville, Indiana. After inheriting $1100, he decides to fulfill his dream by coming to live in the greatest city in the world, New York. Unable to take his dog, Duke, with him, Buddy offers the pooch to a Willow Junction station master (Grant Mitchell), who accepts the animal only as a loan, knowing full well, that he will do exactly what he did as a youth, by venturing to the big city only to return home disillusioned. However, Buddy believes different, especially since he only has a one way ticket. Upon his arrival at Grand Central Station, Buddy, as he carries his suitcases, strolls down with amazement the busy streets surrounded by the "rush, tension and crowds." He registers at the Hotel Hercules, room 3663, where his Cousin Gibbony (Walter Catlett) enters the scene to teach him the ropes in becoming a true New Yorker as well as fast-talking his way in acquiring some of his money. Gibbony, a comedic con-artist who claims to know the most important people in town, ranging from Mayor Jimmy Walker to actress Constance Bennett, arranges for the young lad to be introduced to a handful of his friends by having an all night party to take place in Buddy's hotel room. That evening, Buddy becomes infatuated with an attractive show girl named Vida Fleet (Joan Blondell). During this very active party, which consists of radio background music to current hit tunes as "My baby Just Cares for Me," Lem Sully (Lyle Talbot), actor and drunk, along with globetrotter Shep Atkins (Humphrey Bogart) get into an argument over the drunken Jackie DeVoe (Josephine Dunn), a Follies girl. A physical fight ensues, leading to a whiskey bottle being thrown across the room, hitting the head of Jackie, causing her death. Suddenly the room is quiet. All the guests make a hasty departure, especially Vida, leaving Buddy to be faced with a possible murder charge. Breaking away as Hummell, the house detective (Guy Kibbee) enters to discover the body, Buddy hides amongst the crowded city, hoping to avoid being arrested by Quelkin (Thomas Jackson) of the homicide squad, who is hot on his trail.

Others in the cast consist of Inez Courtney as Faun; Ned Sparks as Stackhouse; Jobyna Howland (in her Marjorie Rambeau-type performance) as Mrs. Cartlidge, the 55 Club speakeasy "madame", along with interesting assortment of notable actors assuming no screen credit, including Josephine Dunn (Al Jolson's co-star in 1928's THE SINGING FOOL); J. Carroll Naish as a bootlegger; Herman Bing as a German waiter; Clarence Muse as the black singing waiter vocalizing "Every Day Can Be a Sunday"; and the heard but not seen Dick Powell as the radio announcer advertising Yum Yum Popcorn.

Eric Linden is ideally cast as naive but vulnerable young lad, along with Blondell in her usual street smart, tough but loyal girlfriend performance. They would be reunited once more in race-car drama, THE CROWD ROARS (1932) starring James Cagney. Of the supporting players, it is Walter Catlett sporting glasses, derby and cigar (a cross between comedians Groucho Marx and Robert Woolsey), the scene stealer who livens things up.

With so much happening during its brisk and brief 65 minutes, BIG CITY BLUES moves as quickly as any speeding cars or pedestrians depicted on screen. Along with other then current New York sounding film titles, MANHATTAN PARADE (1931), CENTRAL PARK (1932), 42nd STREET (1933), just to name a few, no other movie studio like Warners captures the feel and essence of New York City life, and BIG CITY BLUES is no exception. Not as well known as the more famous New York movies of this period, it's worth catching whenever presented during the late night hours on Turner Classic Movies.(**1/2)

Big City Blues is a marvelous reminder of the vibrancy of American cinema in the early sound days. Directed by the always reliable Mervyn LeRoy, the film features uncredited performances by a wonderful cast, including Humphrey Bogart, Lyle Talbot, Dennis O'Keefe, Dick Powell (hilarious as the voice of a radio ad-man expounding on the virtues of Yum Yum brand popcorn), and Clarence Muse (who delivers some terrific singing in a speakeasy scene), as well as Joan Blondell as the brassy showgirl with a heart of gold, Eric Linden as a smalltown rube, and especially Walter Catlett as Linden's Cousin Gibby, who's responsible for most of the trouble that takes place. Written by Lillie Hayward, the script is hilarious, intelligent, and insightful, especially when it pokes fun at the peccadilloes of big city life. Bogart has a particularly juicy line when, reading from a newspaper, he informs partygoers that the police have recently picked up a criminal with "a handgun in one pocket and a lipstick and powderpuff in the other"! The same party sequence also features the sight of a nervous young lady reading from the infamous (and much censored) lesbian novel "The Well of Loneliness" by Radclyffe Hall. In short, this is a fine example of pre-Code filmmaking and should be of interest to all fans of 30s cinema.

This comedy/drama from the olden days has quite a bit to recommend it.Young rube from Indiana moves to New York City,loses all his money,falls in love with a chorus girl(Joan Blondell),and attends a wild hotel party where the bathtub gin is flowing freely,all in the space of about 48 hours!Some interesting cinematography and that great 30's rapid-fire dialogue which seems to be a lost art these days.Joan Blondell has a very funny scene at a speakeasy craps table.Humphrey Bogart,who was still a starving actor himself at the time,appears briefly in an uncredited role,and as in most of his early roles,has that one moment of unleashed anger that served him so well in later years.Lots of fun.