Sagrado Dilema

Frisco Jenny (1932)

I found this remarkable. I can guess that some people will balk at the "oldness" of the scenes and acting. Yeah, of course it's black and white. It ahs characters that might seem like caricatures, simple and obvious. But more important is the leading woman, who is terrific, Ruth Chatterton.

And key to it all is the great San Francisco earthquake. The movie is set in 1906 (this is shown in the opening frames) and so the incredible devastation is a given. And it's really well done, with buildings falling, the ground rolling (really!), and even what looks like some actual footage of the burning. Despite a lighthearted element throughout (there is a healthy sense of humor even in some of the serious moments), the overall intention is a serious social drama. Not only do we see the difficulty brought on by the quake, but the problem of an unwed mother in the middle of it all.

Only a pre-code film could pull off this kind of crossed intentions and make a drama without all kinds of covering up. So expect something terrific.

William Wellman is a great underrated director, a little like Michael Curtiz a decade later, making mainstream films really well. Both of these directors (and throw in William Wyler) were part of the Hollywood style, and in some ways helped formulate that "style." So they seem unexceptional in some ways even if their movies are really sophisticated. Here, Wellman pulls one great move after another, with moving camera, or a slow track in on a face, or quick pans instead of cuts from one face to another, and so on. The filming and editing is unsually smart. The acting works well in every case, and sometimes works exceptionally. Besides Chatterton in the title and lead role, who is remarkable in every way, there are a few side parts, including one by the dependable Louis Calhern.

And the story moves and moves. It's like an epic novel going through many years in just over an hour.

If you are plot oriented, I think you'll also find this movie special. The first scenes lead to the quake leading to a series of different kinds of scenearios that are really unexpected. So it continually surprises. And there is a weird and wonderful conflict between utter virtue (a mother watching out for her child) and ruthlessness (a mother coolly breaking the law to do so). Not all goes smoothly, of course, and so the movie takes on still other levels.

So, watch this with fascination and visual appreciation. If you let it, it will tug on your heart strings (even if the baby is an unsympathetic shouting brat!). If you have trouble finding it, look for Warner Archive Instant, which has a ton of old movies set up a little like Netflix. Enjoy!

Not as 'notorious' a Pre-Code, as Chatterton's 'Female', released the following year, but anyway a highly entertaining film, that tells the story of 'fast-talking' 'Jenny Sandoval', who after the big San Francisco 1906 earthquake (great special effects in these sequence), 'rises' from the slums to the 'heights' of being the most powerful Brothel Madam of the whole city, with all kinds of 'useful' connections.

Nice to watch a 'young' Louis Calhern as a politician who is Chatterton's pal (23 years before his highly amusing role as Grace Kelly's bon-vivant uncle in MGM's 'High Society'). Also good performances by Helen Jerome Eddy as Chatterton's Chinese maid and Donald Cook as Chatterton's grown-up illegitimate son.

Somewhat reminiscent of Chatterton's 1929 MGM flick 'Madame X' aka as Absinthe, but better, and much swifter.

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.

I love William Wellman's films. Frisco Jenny is a beautifully sad film played brilliantly by Ruth Chatterton. I'm gonna keep this review short and sweet. Give it a watch. It will keep you enthralled until the end.

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.