The Lady and the Mob

Technically speaking, "The Lady and the Mob" is a B-movie...though probably not in the way you think. Today, many people think that a B-movie is a bad movie--sort of like the Troma movies like "The Toxic Avenger". Well, originally the term wasn't a pejorative one--it simply meant the lesser film at a double-feature--which were common in the 1930s-50s. The A-picture was the more expensive of the two and usually ran at least 70-90 minutes. The B, on the other hand, ran between 50-70 minutes (never longer) and cost considerably less and had lesser known stars. In this sense, "The Lady and the Mob" is clearly a B--albeit a very good one.

When the film starts, a young couple (Lee Bowman and Ida Lupino) are talking about getting married but the guy says he needs his mother to approve of his choice. Now this isn't at all where the film ends up going...it's a plot line that is soon abandoned. Instead, what happens AFTER the lady meets the mother....that's the real plot.

What happens is this. The mother (Fay Bainter) learns that her dry cleaner is being shaken down by criminals offering 'protection'. So, she decides to fight fire with fire and sends in a goon (Warren Hymer) to beat up the mobster...but he gets beaten up instead. Clearly, she's going to need reinforcements. So, she arranges to have a group of criminals on probation to be sent to her....and she'll help them reform AND they'll help her beat the pulp out of the mobsters. But it's not exactly THAT easy....see the film and see what I mean.

The film has a very unusual plot and is helped by all the nice supporting actors and a well written script. All in all, a delightful little comedy that is far better than you might expect from a lowly B. And, Miss Bainter is terrific in this one!

This tidy, short little comedy starts with a romantic comedy premise: beautiful and young Ida Lupino (at the beginning of her career) has to visit her prospective mother-in-law from Hell, strong-willed Fay Bainter (at the height of her career and fame), who had broken all of her son's previous engagements. Bainter immediately begins treating Lupino as a secretary. But when Bainter learns that her dry cleaner, Henry Armetta, is being shaken down by a mob protective association, Bainter becomes determined to break the mob herself, and recruits her own mob to fight them. It's fast and funny, and has a delightful cast of character actors playing their tough-guy roles with their tongues firmly in their cheeks; its tone is captured in the telegraph Young sends to her fiancée, Lee Bowman, "Is there insanity in your family? Return at once."

As a fan of comedies from Hollywood's Golden Age, I've seen such classics as "Duck Soup,", "His Girl Friday," and "Bringing Up Baby" many, many times. Though I never tire of them, I often wonder if there are many unheralded gems still deep in Hollywood's vaults awaiting the light of day. For this reason alone, the invaluable cable television station Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is always worth visiting for a little prospecting.

Today, I found a fair-sized gold nugget there: "The Lady and the Mob" (Columbia Pictures, 1939). Ever hear of it? I hadn't, and chances are, you haven't either. Ever since TCM gained access to Columbia's vaults, some interesting films started reaching the public again, like "Ladies in Retirement" (1941), a twisty suspense film with a superb performance from Ida Lupino. I mention Miss Lupino because she's second-billed in "The Lady & The Mob." Comedy was never a big part of her career, but she acquits herself quite well in the supporting role of Lila Thorne, fiancée of Fred Leonard (Lee Bowman) who sends her to meet and be approved by his mother, Hattie Leonard (Fay Bainter) who has a track record for scaring away prospective brides.

What seems to be the set-up for a '30s Hollywood comedy of manners quickly shifts gears into another comedic sub-genre, the mob comedy, best typified by such films as "Brother Orchid" (1940) and "A Slight Case of Murder" (1938), two Warner Bros. light-hearted offerings that gave Edward G. Robinson a chance to spoof his tough guy image.

After visiting her local cleaners to complain about a $2 bill, Hattie learns that the owner, Mr. Zambrogio (Henry Armetta) had to raise prices because a "protective association" is extorting $7 a week from him and others. Outraged after the mayor assures her that the matter will be remedied eventually sometime, she sends for Frankie O'Fallon (Warren Hymer), a reformed thief whom she met when he tried to steal her purse, to lend a hand. Framkie is quickly decked by Harry the Lug (Harold Huber), the racket collector prompting Hattie to order Frankie to recruit her own mob. Before long, we are introduced to Blinky Mack, Brains Logan, Bert the Beetle, Big Time Tim and The Canary (with a voice that sounds like Curly's from The Three Stooges, though it's not) and the laughs which were decent from the beginning start coming at you with the rapidity of a tommy gun.

The film abounds in bright lines sch as when Hattie, correcting Frankie after he calls her "lady", rebukes him with: "My servants call me madam." Perplexed, Frankie comments, "Gee, that don't hardly sound respectable." I love the scene where the local hoods that Hattie has recruited stroll about her mansion looking at her artwork. Seeing a Gainsborough-like painting depicting a child on its mother's lap, one of them urges the others to "get a load of the ventriloquist here!" And wait 'til you see their armor-plated getaway car replete with smokescreen generator and dropping tacks, anticipating James Bond's Aston Martin car by a quarter of a century.

In the lead role, Fay Bainter may appear an odd choice, here looking a lot like May Robson and sounding very much like Billie Burke, two actresses who may have seemed like more natural casting for such a dizzy society matron role. After all, Miss Bainter had established a reputation as a dramatic actress, having been nominated as Best Actress for "White Banners" and Best Supporting Actress for "Jezebel," (and winning for the latter role), both for Warner Bros. in 1938, the year before. To work for Columbia (then trying to fight off its "poverty row studio" image) in what was at 66 minutes, a B-movie, seemed to be a comedown. Whatever the circumstances -- I'd like to think it was simply someone recognizing a good role in a good script --she makes the film a ton of fun.

About midway in, an interesting scene occurs that warrants special mention. After a horde of owners have come to her house, insisting she call off her campaign because the ensuing brawls between the two mobs are wrecking their cleaning stores, Hattie launches into a dramatic monologue about patriotism, quoting Robert G. Harper's "Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute." In quick succession, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Patrick Henry's most famous lines are also heard. Declaring that a real American will never tolerate a dictator, she likens Mr. Watson, the mid-level operator of the town's protection racket, to one who "doesn't believe in your rights." Don't let him take your America from you, she urges.

Warner Bros. is often credited (and rightly so) with alerting the country to the dangers of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany with its exciting, "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" in 1939. That film was released May 6. "The Lady & The Mob", first in theaters nearly five weeks earlier on April 3, stole a bit of its thunder. Granted it was only one scene and its impact can hardly be compared to this other film. But I mention it to illustrate that Warner Bros. wasn't the only studio concerned about the Nazis that was willing to make a public statement at the risk of foreign revenues, even if Hitler was never directly named. Although you might think that Hattie's plea might stop the comedy cold, the words are so well-integrated into the plot that they don't kill the mood which is quickly flowing again.

If you're a fan of gangster comedies, this film is well-worth your time thanks to a good script, several wonderful character actors at their peak, and a high-flying lead performance that will bring a smile to your face long after the movie's over. Rated 8 of 10.

Lady and the Mob, The (1939)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Slight but mildly entertaining comedy about an elderly woman (Fay Bainter) who grows sick and tired of the gangsters taking over her city so she forms her own gang to run them out of town. This film runs just 65-minutes and for the most part it moves along pretty good, although the ending gets dragged out longer than it should have. Bainter is good in her role but a young Ida Lupino seems out of place and fails at all of her comedy scenes. Seeing as when this film was released, there's some big speeches about standing up for your country, taking down dictators and other things to that nature. Joe Sawyer plays one of the woman's gang members. Another interesting tidbit is that this Columbia picture also shows off another one of their films, You Can't Take It With You, during one scene.

For some reason, this film made me laugh out loud...maybe I was just tired or maybe it is as good as that. The story line, the actors and the general goofiness of it are just so endearing.

The acting ensemble is perfect from Fay Bainter to Warren Hymer (he is the Thorndyke of the "Give 'em the tacks" line) to Ida Lupino, et al. The plot revolves around a society matron (and owner of the local bank) who decides to rid the town of the "Mob" by putting together a "Mob" of her own. The results are hilarious as she and her gang go about their job with the help of an armored sedan (which drops tacks on the road to disable the pursuing police), machine guns, a jail-break and a bank heist. It's all great fun.

There is a strange interlude when Bainter harangues the local dry cleaners who are being extorted by the bad mob. It smacks of patriotic propaganda and probably was intended as such since Hitler was running rampant in Europe at that point and the United States was still neutral.

It all ends well.....the big boss is revealed, the bad mob is run out of town and Ida Lupino gets married to Lee Bowman, son of the lady of the mob. Sit back and enjoy this little-known gem of a film.