Frisco Jenny

At this writing, Ruth Chatterton has been gone nearly 50 years but, as someone else here wrote, she deserves to be rediscovered.

She gives a marvelous performance in this gritty down-to-earth film that offers several lessons: Wild Bill Wellman was a great director; Ruth Chatterton was a superb actress, a woman of a different appeal than the fluffier types; vices ought not to be made crimes.

Nearly all of the problems suffered by the characters in "Frisco Jenny" would not have been there if the rowdy Barbary Coast character of San Francisco had not been changed by the blue-noses.

"Nearly all" because the terrible earthquake of 1906 wreaked its own havoc, and I believe "Frisco Jenny" presents the best motion picture version of that particular killer. Some of the footage must have been from newsreels taken at the time. Spectacular and horrifying.

Yes, some of the premises of "Frisco Jenny" had been used before and have been since, but that in no way detracts from the drama and heartbreak presented here.

There is a superlative cast, including such greats as Harold Huber and Louis Calhern in a great and mostly sympathetic role.

Two wonderful actresses don't get screen credit, but will always live in my heart: Dorothy Granger and Gertrude Astor; and Wild Bill himself also has an uncredited bit, as does Syd Saylor who is more readily identifiable.

And listen for the legendary Clarence Muse.

This is one you ought to see.

Need to see a lot more of William A. Wellman's work, but the best of it is very impressive indeed, such as 'A Star is Born' and 'Wings'. Ruth Chatterton was a fine actress with a number of great performances, even if there were cases where the performance was better than the film itself. Also wanted to see how 'Frisco Jenny' would portray such a sad event, whether it would be genuinely moving or with good intentions but heavy handed.

Fortunately, 'Frisco Jenny' manages to be the former. For me, this was a great film that is not appreciated enough and criminally underseen. Yes, there are familiar plot elements but most films did in those days. What matters though is what a film does with any familiarities and recognisable conventions, which has varied. 'Frisco Jenny' is always engaging and very powerful without over-sentimentality creeping in, while also providing some entertainment value with the pre-code material. An emotional film done with edge and tact.

Close to 90 years on, 'Frisco Jenny' still looks great. The gowns are beautiful and the photography stylish, but the standout in this regard is the visuals for the earthquake. Truly spectacular and makes for quite harrowing viewing. There are some nice uses of pre-existing songs, lovely songs that fit like a glove. Wellman directs with great confidence throughout and doesn't allow the film to drag or get too sentimental or sugary.

The script has a good deal of edge and also sincerity, there are lines that leaves one in amazement in how much the film gets away with. There are moments of wit and that entertains. The story never felt dull and treats its subject with sensitively and doesn't insult the intelligence of the viewer. Much of it is genuinely poignant and uncompromising, and it does a fine job depicting the horrors of the earthquake, the amount of devastation it caused and how it affected people.

Chatterton's performance is often a powerhouse as a very strong character, full of gusto yet not overacted and also moving. The rest of the cast are very good, with sympathetic performances from Louis Calhern and Helen Jerome Eddy.

Summing up, powerful film that is underseen, undeservedly so. 9/10

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.

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.

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