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I had never heard of this movie but the only reason i watched it was because of James Cagney. Cagney had a pretty small part but i didn't mind. This movie stars Grant Withers and Regis Toomey as best friends who work as railroad conductors and Toomey is married to Mary Astor. Withers is dating Joan Blondell but he falls in love with Mary Astor instead. Withers is staying at Toomey's house but he leaves because he doesn't want to hurt Toomey. Toomey finds out why he left and they get in a fight on the train and cause an accident. After the accident they find Toomey is blind and then this big storm comes. I don't wont to spoil the ending because you can find it out for yourself. Both Withers and Toomey are good and so is Mary Astor and Joan Blondell.

I have no doubt that when William Wellman directed James Cagney in Other Men's Women he had him filed for future reference and then used him so successfully in The Public Enemy. Cagney and Joan Blondell in secondary parts outshine the leads of Grant Withers, Mary Astor, and Regis Toomey in this working man's love triangle film.

Not that the leads give bad performances, but charisma can't be kept down. Toomey is a railroad worker married to Astor and one night he brings an inebriated Grant Withers home to sleep it off. Turns out that Withers and Astor knew each other back in the day and before long the love sparks start going off.

Around this time Grant Withers was married to Loretta Young ever so briefly, but in Young's Catholic tradition, the marriage was annulled due to his real life drinking and carousing. Withers's excesses led his career on a downward spiral and he took work where he got it and in mostly lower grade films until his suicide in 1959. John Wayne tried to use him in films when he could. Withers would appear in support of James Cagney in 1954 in Run for Cover as a western outlaw leader.

Toomey was a very competent character actor, but just not lead material. Still he does well and in a few years he'd be supporting James Cagney in G-Men. Mary Astor is fine, but far from Brigid O'Shaughnessy, you'd never know it was the same actress.

Cagney as a friend to both Withers and Toomey and Blondell in an early gem of a part as a wisecracking waitress, show exactly why they would rise to the top of the Warner Brothers pecking order.

William Wellman did some very nice location photography in and around the railroad yards, very similar in fact to that done by John Frankenheimer in The Train. And Wellman got good performances from his cast.

But I'm sure he had no doubt as to who a future star was.

A fast-paced tale of love, action and sacrifice - the kind of Hollywood staple they don't make anymore. More than a little melodramatic and very much a period piece, the film is worth watching most of all for some stunning visual effects and an absolutely marvelous (supporting) performance by Joan Blondell in the kind of role that suited her perfectly: a wisecracking, hash-slinging dame - a floozy who thinks she's looking for love, but is only out for a good time. Mary Astor is convincing in the lead role, but Joan steals the show.

A curiously ambiguous ending might make you wonder what point the film was trying to make about morality. Be assured that after the Code was in effect, this picture would have ended differently.

Other Men's Women (1931)

If you only watch the first twenty minutes of this you'll get a slightly corny movie about a couple of pals and a couple of gals and a slightly mixed set of affections that is pure innocence. The acting is a little forced, but there is good fluid camera-work, bright, complex scenes, and all kinds of really rare location shooting in railroad yards (and on top of railroad cars). It's fun in its own way, but the two main male characters are so happy and glib they seem weirdly dated.

But then the first twist comes into play--and the title gives an idea there (though it shouldn't be plural, I would think). Also, remember this is a pre-code film so it plays openly with things like adultery in a way that wouldn't happen starting in 1934, three years later.

Now don't get the idea that things get too steamed up here. It's still a depression era big studio romance and it isn't going to take actual chances morally. Or aesthetically. The leading woman is a very young Mary Astor and she's terrific, more naturalistic than the men (neither of whom is well known). The male actor of growing fame (or future fame, largely) is James Cagney, and his role is very very limited, but familiar. He has an edgy intensity that is startling--and he can dance, too. Briefly. Look for Joan Blondell, as well, and though she was in endless films (50 of them just in the 1930s) she's always perky and alive.

The movie never quite rises above its plain approach and this is appropriate because it makes it possible for the movie to talk about what might go wrong between very regular people in a case of one man hitting on the other's wife. It is always rather open and accessible in its own way, you might even say modern in the way it's filmed. Director William Wellman isn't always appreciated on the highest level, but he had an unaffected touch, less art and more humanity, than some other more famous directors, and it's in full force here, easy to like.

The movie also surprised me with its effects and its high drama toward the end. I won't say more, but the rain just won't stop. Great atmosphere, lots of night shooting in the rain, and a scary climax, visually (not so compelling dramatically, I'm afraid). Great fun!

So why isn't this better than it is? One is a script that is a bit awkward or forced at times, both in the dialog and in the forced melodrama. The other is some acting (by the two men--Grant Withers and Regis Toomey) that is just weak. And the situations are highly emotional and demanding. This is another of Wellman's traits, unfortunately--even in his acclaimed and astonishing "Wings" from 1927 there is a feeling of some kind of acting and writing stiffness that brings down an otherwise brilliant kind of production.

Should you see this? If you like early talkies, yes. If you want a tight story with intelligence and depth, I'm not so sure. Enter forewarned. I liked it, I did, but I partly just got, uh, swept away by the way it was shot. And the common DVD transfer from film is first rate, clean and clear!

This film stars Grant Withers as railroad worker Bill White who becomes enamored of the wife (Mary Astor) of his close friend Jack (Regis Toomey). Both men are railroad workers, and prior to coming home to live with Jack and his wife, Bill has been romancing a tough waitress (Joan Blondell) among others, getting drunk every night to the point of almost losing his job, and finally gets ejected from his rooming house for his rowdiness. Specifically Bill ran some bathwater, passed out drunk, and the bath overflowed. At Jack's house Bill finds the kind of home he's never had, and he and Jack's wife, Lily, fall in love, but due to their mutual loyalty to Jack, do nothing about it. However, Jack does find out about how the two feel about one another and he and Bill have it out one night on the train in what turns out to be a very bad place for a fist fight. Grant Withers never made it as a leading man, and it is interesting to see him in this film, and also in his previous leading role "Sinner's Holiday", getting upstaged by the dynamic James Cagney, who has a very small role in both movies.

The story is not that original, but the gritty depression era work conditions of the rail yards and the dusty cafés juxtaposed with Jack and Lily's quaint little home and lush little garden make for great imagery. Then there's that tough precode attitude that is in its infancy over at Warner Brothers at this time. This all makes the film interesting beyond the basic paint-by-numbers plot and therefore worth a look.

Early talkies didn't always fare particularly well and some are even pretty bad, even at the time. Some though are quite good and more. While it does fall short of being a great film, 'Other Men's Women' is one of the quite good if not quite great ones. Other reasons for wanting to see it were for the cast, including seeing Grant Withers against type and James Cagney and Joan Blondell in early roles, and for that it was directed by William A Wellman, who excelled at his uncompromising approach to heavy subjects.

'Other Men's Women' is much better than the simplistic and slightly dubious title aside and actually struck me as a good film. Not one of the better early talkies, but light years away from being one of the worst either. It is not one of the best from all involved, with some flawed story execution and that the storyteling is not as inventive as the visuals. 'Other Men's Women' however piles on the invention visually and technically and there are some scenes that are very difficult to forget for a very long time afterwards.

Will start with the many great things. Visually, it moves on from the static, filmed play-like approach that some earlier talkies adopted when transitioning from silent to sound and there are some very inventive visuals and shots enhancing a film that has some of the best use of a railroad on film. Especially the blind man struggling in the rain sequence and the climax, those scenes may not have been as powerful as they were if the photography wasn't so good in those scenes. The script is as sharp as a razor, taut and very witty with some pre-code content that is quite bold for back then and is not too tame still today.

Direction from Wellman also has glimpses of real imagination, especially in the climax which showed that he was very good at directing tense dramatic action. Other films of his did better at taking difficult topics and exploring them in a way that is far from safe, but enough of the film engrosses and as said there are memorable scenes. Not before the moving struggling in the rain scene and the hair-raising climax, but also pre-stardom James Cagney's impromptu tap dance.

Acting is also good on the most part, Withers not only is in a lead role rather than in his usual scene-stealing supporting roles but it is an against type kind of role. He fares rather charmingly and doesn't seem taxed. Mary Astor has less to do but is sensual and also quite charming. Cagney is fun in his small role but my favourite performance comes from Joan Blondell in a kind of role that she played better than most actresses at the time and one of the best at.

By all means 'Other Men's Women' is not perfect. It gets very heavy on the melodrama towards the end and the melodrama is rather forced and sudsy. Reegis Toomey is another one of the male leads and he doesn't have as much presence as Withers and apart from one great scene his role needed more grit.

It is a shame that after such imagination in the technical and direction departments and some inspired scenes that the storytelling tends to be rather conventional, predictable and sometimes silly. The very end is slightly too pat, like too many pre-code films.

To conclude, quite good and not bad as far as very early sound pictures go. 7/10

I woke up early, turned on the T.V. flipped to TMC just as this movie was showing opening credits. Happy Accident! I loved it! Yeah, the plot was hokey and melodramatic, but as a whole the movie was very charming. It was a "moment" filled movie. Lot's of scenes and dialogue that was original, and fun. Like a scene where Bill,Lily, and the Peg-Leg guy are planting seeds in the garden. Or Bill's Tag line "Have a chew on me". It was made in 1931, so they were able to get away with all sorts of lines that would not have been included had the movie been made a few years later, after the code was established. For instance Bill's waitress girlfriend commenting to a customer, "I'm APO, Ain't Puttin' Out". Hee! I always find those pre-code "Talking" films interesting. The films that existed before people got bent out of shape about the things you could and could not say, do, or insinuate in a movie. Definitely a fun and entertaining viewing. Even more fun when you realize a good portion of the things they were saying wouldn't be allowed in movies again until the 1960's.

The plot is pure hokum, so it's the extras that "make" the movie: The backdrop of trains and trainyards, Joan Blondell in an extraneous role as a saucy waitress, James Cagney in an early supporting part (he has a nice bit on top of a moving train, and also does some dancing), J. Farrell MacDonald helping plant peas by making holes in the dirt with his peg leg, cool bridge and train miniatures, etc. Approach with modest expectations

Quite a watchable lo little drama but not a great one.

What makes this seem better than it actually is, isn't the story, it's the direction and the photography. It's as though William Wellman suddenly realised that he could take his camera outside of the studio and the result, even by today's standards, are pretty spectacular. Unless we're talking about Tarantino or Hitchcock, we'd normally watch a film for the story or the actors, not for the directorial style but Wellman really is the star of this. It's not just the external scenes which are so brilliant, he adds some clever and imaginative touches such as off-screen acting and close-ups which tell a thousand words, a technique picked up from his time making silent movies. As for symbolism, that's supplied in bucket-loads. The lives of the hapless characters are reflected as the giant unstoppable machines confined to doing the same thing every day, never deviating from their rigid steel tracks but also just seconds away from being dangerously out of control.

Overall however, although it's superbly made, it's a fairly predictable story so in terms of entertainment, it's hardly riveting. Also, the most unbelievable aspect of the story is that 'Jack' prefers straight-laced Mary Astor to Joan Blondell!

Depression-era movies get to me.

If it's not the plot, the locales, the characters, the old acting style, the old manner of speaking, the manners of the era, the "clean" way of thinking, the gritty realism and authentic feel of location shooting inside or outside or sometimes even the costumes...something always captivates me about the talkies of 30's and late 20's.

There may not be prodigious film-making here but two scenes will remain engraved in my memory:

1- The blind man struggling alone in the rain in the railway yard. One particular close-up was intriguing. There was no intense melodrama here, just a man in turmoil. Wonderfully done.

2- Bill's encounter at the end with an old "friend". As Bill realizes that this old friend may offer him some hope he runs out and boards a moving train. He proceeds to get on the roof to release his romantic glee by running down the entire length of the train from caboose to the engine car. His boyish joy made me smile.

Ah, that bygone era of innocence. With all of the misery that happened then, these were some of the charming highlights that linger on.

We are the richer for the preservation of every film from that era. Each contributes another chapter in the art of film and of the heart of man's growth.

The first half of the movie has humor, good characters, and some great little bits and surprises. It's a delight to watch.

At the midpoint, drama takes over, and rightly so. This is the meat of the picture, and everyone does their jobs well delivering a believable situation and how the characters respond to it.

The climax is exciting and features good special effects for the time, and delivers a payoff that feels natural for the characters.

The only nit I have to pick is that the direction was a bit off at times, resulting in the actors not being given space to reach their potential for some of the dialog.

But overall, it's a really good film, worth re-watching someday.

Director William Wellman certainly had a thing for rain and railroads. Here he has a chance to pit both elements against each other, serving as good background fodder for some romantic nonsense about a trio of pals who wind up in tragic circumstances because one man falls in love with the other man's wife.

REGIS TOOMEY is the railroad man who brings his friend GRANT WITHERS home for dinner. Withers and MARY ASTOR renew their acquaintance and fall in love. When Toomey finds out, he goes nuts, ends up fighting Withers and as a result is blinded for life. With a plot this soggy, Wellman adds lots of rain and many train scenes. Somehow it all comes together and the ending is rather touching--although telegraphed during the bridge scene accident.

Astor is sweet, Withers overacts the drunken scenes (and some tipsy moments with tough talking waitress JOAN BLONDELL), and Regis Toomey does what he can with the role of the blinded man. A young JAMES CAGNEY pops up once in awhile in a nothing role before his big break came along.

Watchable only for curiosity value. Somewhat lacking as entertainment but given some punch in the final stormy scenes with the train approaching a flooded bridge.

Blondell (badly photographed) has a classic line at the diner: "APO. Ain't puttin' out."

Grant Withers and Regis Toomey have been friends since they were boys. Now they work for the same railroad, Withers as a fill-in and Toomey as an engineer. Toomey invites Withers to rooom at his house, but his wife is Mary Astor, and soon they feel some sexual heat. So Withers walks out. Toomey suspects something, he and Withers quarrel.

It's a typically fine movie from director William Wellman, with lots of great scenes and performances. Unfortunately, Withers' is not one of them. He can manage the physical acting very well, but his line readings are adequate at best. His performance does not show there is anything going on except exactly what he is saying and doing at the moment. That lack of depth might be seen as appropriate for the Americanized version of Zola's LA BETE HUMAINE -- minus the murders and actual betrayals -- but it isn't terribly interesting.

Wellman keeps up interest with a great finale, and in between gives Jimmy Cagney a bit that shows what he could do on the screen right before THE PUBLIC ENEMY made him a star: he enters a dance hall on a pouring night dressed in a slicker like he's just come from a run as a fireman, peels off everything to reveal himself elegantly dressed, and dances Lilian Worth onto the parquet. With Fred Kohler, J. Farrell MacDonald, and Joan Blondell.

Grand film, has all the elements of a greek tragedy with a socko ending. And all ends honorably. A definite 10. Story plot, character development and even the scenery. From a dance-hall to the railroad yards to a bridge under siege by flood. And Jimmy Cagney dances! How could you go wrong. Dialogue a bit 'racy' in spots.

Bill White (Grant Withers) is an irresponsible womanizing railroad engineer. He gets kicked out of his boarding house and gets invited into the home of fellow engineer Jack Kulper (Regis Toomey). Bill starts getting too close to Jack's wife Lily (Mary Astor) and they have a relationship.

It's a pre-Code drama and the sound is pretty good. This has a couple newbies and future stars, James Cagney and Joan Blondell, in minor roles. It's a melodrama of minor importance. It does tackle an edgy subject matter without the Code. So anything goes and I have no expectations. While the ending is ambiguous, I expected a darker tone to the interaction.

"Other Men's Women" is included as part of the "Forbidden Hollywood" film collection, but compared to other pre-code films, there's not much of interest in this one.

The most shocking thing about it is probably the way it ends. Mary Astor plays a woman married to Regis Toomey, but secretly in love with Grant Withers, who plays Toomey's best friend. Without giving too much away about what leads up to the ending, let's just say that the film allows Astor and Withers to be together while maintaining a rather cold attitude toward the fate of Toomey. This would not have been allowed in later years, or if it was, we would be sure to know that the film wanted us to think of these two as bad and immoral people, but this movie makes no such judgements.

That aside, this is a really plodding, boring movie. I know early sound films moved at a different pace than films of today, but that's no excuse. There were plenty of films made at the same time as this one and made by the same director even (William A. Wellman) that managed to be dynamic and cinematic. This one, with the exception of a scene in which Toomey stumbles blindly through a rail yard in the rain and another set in a night club, shows no trace of the Wellman who gave us one of the best pre-code movies, "The Public Enemy." "Other Men's Women" only comes alive when James Cagney or Joan Blondell, in two bit roles, appear on the screen. Astor is an excellent actress, but the material doesn't give her much chance to shine.

These pre-code films have an interesting effect on me, and given the cult that has arisen around them, I'm guessing they do on others as well. There's something distinctly unsettling about them, even when nothing especially unsettling is happening on screen. Maybe it's the gritty, realistic look of them, but I think it's more due to the fact that the desperation and hopelessness felt by so many during that time period infuses the films that were made for them in ways that are hard to identify. This one is no exception.

Grade: C-

This film is about two friends that work as engineers for the railroad. One friend is a hard drinker and his other friend takes him into his home and reforms him. The trouble is, the reformed friend falls for his best friend's wife--leading, naturally, to some fireworks. In the end, there is a very melodramatic and completely ridiculous conclusion that just defies logic--but I don't want to say more since it would spoil the film.

Despite some insanely positive reviews that have given this movie scores of 9 or 10, this is not a particularly inspired film--especially since it seems to be a nearly direct copy of DANGER LIGHTS--a film that appeared about 5 months before OTHER MEN'S WOMEN. Both films concern nice guys that work for the railroad who befriend down on their luck guys--only to have their woman fall for the new guy. In fact, in so many ways, this film seems to be a deliberate attempt to virtually copy the other film. It was so close, that at first I thought they were the same movie except that I was pretty sure the film starred Louis Wolheim--and I didn't see Wolheim in this movie (though Walter Long was and he looks a bit like Wolheim). So when I looked it up, I was right--the films are so similar but DANGER LIGHTS did appear first.

Also, while Jimmy Cagney is listed in the credits, his role is small and bland, as he was not yet a star. Instead, Grant Withers and Regis Toomey (neither of which are now household names) star. However, the woman they argue over is a young Mary Astor and there is also a very early role for Joan Blondell as well in the movie.

I watched this on Turner Classic Movies(TCM)and was surprised to see Grant Withers in the lead. I had always seen him in westerns in the 40's as one of the "bad guys" that has to be defeated by the "good guys". Nice to get a new perspective on his acting with his early films. It has an excellent cast and as long as you remember it was made in 1930 and respect the morals of the time you will enjoy it as much as I did. Mary Astor as the loving wife torn between husband Tomey and best friend Withers. There is plenty of guilt to go around,as there should be in a moral play with really nice people caught up in uncontrollable passion. You want this to turn out alright and in this period,they usually did. I will always remember the Withers line he would leave with,"Have a chew on me.",throwing a stick of gum to the person in question. Watch and enjoy.

Above is the tag line that the Grant Withers character keeps using throughout the picture. It's catchy, but I keep trying to think of a real reason to recommend this picture. If you are a Grant Withers fan this is certainly his picture - in later years his screen persona was that of a dour, malevolent supporting character, often as not the heavy. Here he is easy going and effervescent, which I felt was a jolt. You can also see Mary Astor, an excellent actress with marvelously expressive eyes, before her career nearly sank in scandal and from which she only partially recovered.

It is a soaper about trains and trainmen and is watchable without being absorbing. James Cagney has a small part before he hit the bigtime. It is also 'pre-code', although nothing would tip you off as there are no objectionable segments - even by '30's standards.

I gave it a rating of 6 - Good For GW Fans and Those With Time To Kill.