He Was Her Man

With James Cagney and Joan Blondell headlining the cast, what more can you want? A good screenplay, that's what! The disappointing ending had me shaking my head, especially after I finally got used to Cagney in a mustache. And I never figured out who the "he" in the title was. Either Cagney, with whom Blondell falls in love after he seduces her in San francisco and in Victor Jory's house, or Jory himself, who was going to marry Blondell knowing she used to be a prostitute. Jory plays a Portuguese fisherman, but his accent is very phony, and none of the supporting cast was exceptional. There's some good suspense at the end but the film let me down. Still, I did like watching the two stars.

The film was released a few weeks before the production code was more rigorously enforced. Blondell's character caused the Catholic Church to place the film on its "condemned" list.