L'affare si complica

Lefty Merrill (James Cagney) is a fast-talking scheming producer of dance marathons in California. When his partner steals all the money, he has nothing to pay the winners or the workers and he gets run out of the building. It's a scam anyways since he rigged it for his girlfriend Ruth Waters to win. His next scam is organizing a treasure hunt but the fair owner only planted two five dollar bills and the people tears the fair apart. Meanwhile, Ruth and her mother get kicked out of their room. Next, he finds them in New York City but Ruth has a new rich boyfriend. Lefty manages to get rich with more schemes and proposes to Ruth.

I like Cagney in this. His romance does need some work. Ruth needs to be an idealized girlfriend which drives him to do all these schemes. This pairing just isn't that appealing and has no juice. The mother has a more fascinating relationship with him than the daughter. Nevertheless, Cagney is the man and he is absolutely the bee's knees.

This film holds up really well and can still raise a laugh.The mother is hilarious as she sways to and from Cagney as a prospective husband for her daughter according to his financial position at the time. The film breezes along with some predictability but the sparkling script and entertaining cast more than compensate. A great pity that the film is unavailable but I recorded it on Channel 4 in the UK some years ago and was pleased that I have now finally got round to watching it! Set during the Depression era, the opening marathon dance scenes sequences capture the desperation of the poverty-stricken at that time who would do almost anything to get ahead.The power of advertising and the gullibility of the public are admirably portrayed with a tongue-in-cheek humour that constantly appearing throughout the film. I laughed out loud several times which has not always been the case when I have been watching so-called comedies of recent times!

Ignore the haters that didn't appreciate this unpolished gem from the gold digger era. It's Cagney in a romantic comedy as a low-grade con man, against a mother-daughter team in matching outfits looking to bag a rich husband. When his scams profit, mother Ruth Donnelly thinks he's a perfect mate for daughter Mary Brian, but when his fortunes turn as they often do, the ladies switch polarity. Donnelly never misses an opportunity to kick him while he's down, meanwhile Brian's passion for underdogs cools when he's in the black.

If you're looking for Cagney as a toughguy gangster this isn't it, although the film takes some timely, self-aware potshots at Cagney's image including grapefruit jokes. Here his schemes are mostly harmless like rigging a dance contest, and he's as likely to be scammed as he is to make a big score. I can see how his fans might be disappointed, but Cagney was also a song-and-dance man and a self-depricating comedian. Gold digger comedies, like crime-genre and noir, are filled with amoral characters and backstabbing frenemies but played for laughs. It's easy to forgive shady motives when the leads are wholesome Dick Powell and sunny Priscilla Lane. James Cagney on the otherhand has electricity and an edge that plays for darker characters. Here he's forced to rely on charm and guile - you may be waiting for him to bust up the joint and rub out his enemies, but gold digger heroes are lovers not fighters. This isn't his best fit, but "date movie" Cagney is the nicer guy who doesn't smash citrus in women's faces.

Ruth Donnelly anchors the meandering plot as the most gold digger-y character in a gold digger comedy. What kills the film is the casting of elegant Mary Brian who mostly stands around looking pretty. Her "inverse barometer" reactions to Cagney's ups and downs would have played better with a more sexual screen presence. She represents the female sexual urge, while mother Donnelly represents the brain, conflicted over bad-boy Cagney's tumultuous circumstances. They dress alike because they metaphorically are one woman, but also because it's funny hanging a lampshade on their mother-daughter bear trap. The clever subtext is that Cagney can't win the girl until he figures out how to appeal to both women's sensibilities at the same time.

It takes an actor of James Cagney's entertainment value and charisma, in order to make these low budget movies remotely memorable. His early work at "Warner Bros." doesn't have the variety of his later films at the studio but are great fun all the same!

"Hard to Handle" sums up Cagney to a tee! His seemingly unlimited energy helps him throughout the various complicated situations in which he finds himself. He's a lovable small time con artist who tries his luck with different "get rich quick" schemes. As in other films, he survives on his wits and determination.

The story is fairly loose but that isn't a problem. The humourous antics come thick and fast, leaving one overwhelmed by it all. Apart from James Cagney, it is Ruth Donnell who really shines as the wise-cracking mother of the decidedly dull leading lady.

See this film and have a ball.

I have seen this numerous times and loved it the same each time. Being a devout cagney fan I love all his traits and especially his laughter.

Don't get me wrong he plays the script and follows his lines but as any actor has he has his own mannerisms and quirky ways.

This is the story of a con man who teams up with the usual blonde with one exception he gets the battleaxe mother too and she is exceptionally funny with it. Cagney laughs in every scene as he goes from one con to another. His energy is big, it's like he is dancing through this film.

The usual ups and downs, dumb blondes, twists and double crossings make this a short, energetic film a good one.

Overall funny film, fun and happy times.