Jimmy Cagney and Mae Clarke in “Lady Killer.” Believe it or not, Mae is having a great time playing this scene.
In Lady Killer (1933) Dan Quigley (Jimmy Cagney) a movie theater usher, gets fired and drifts into a life of petty crime with a gang of con men and their slinky, hardboiled gun moll, Myra, played by the incomparable Mae Clarke. On the lam from the police and the gang who betrays him, Dan flees to California where he ends up as an extra in the movies, and then, presto, he’s a high-living movie star.
Cagney and Clarke seem to be having a swell time making this movie, building on their partnership which started in The Public Enemy (1931) when Cagney smashed a grapefruit into Mae’s face, 41 seconds that, for better or worse, has given Mae, a great but emotionally fragile actress, Hollywood immortality.
Growing up on the tough streets of New York, Cagney’s friends were Jewish kids who taught the Irish lad their mother tongue. Thus, in this wonderful little comedy, Cagney unexpectedly tosses off some Yiddish which roughly translates as: “My ass is killing me.”
Tom’s old gang shows up in Hollywood with a little blackmail in mind. Mae languidly drapes herself on Cagney’s Art Deco bed fully expecting Cagney to tumble to her charms. But Cagney is having none of Mae’s old tricks. As he packs her bag, Mae Clarke idly plays with her split ends, certain she can handle this mug. It’s a wonderful little moment, a skilled actress at the height of her powers, projecting sexual confidence with a simple reaction shot — acting is reacting! — that tells us everything we need to know about Myra, a tough dame who’s made her way in life through trickery and charm, exploiting men’s weaknesses, which are legion and obvious.
But Cagney explodes the way only Cagney could explode; he grabs Myra by the hair and, cave-man style, drags her across the snow-white rug, tossing her out of his apartment.
In Featured Player, an Oral Biography of Mae Clarke by James Curtis, Clarke fondly recalls Cagney, Lady Killer, and explains how this bravura scene was played.
This was like being back on stage doing tricks. No, he [Cagney] knew how, and I knew he did. He told me, “When I get my hand on the top of your head and my fingers in your hair, you just reach up and grab my wrists with both hands and then as I walk away, you’ll pull yourself.” I pulled my own weight. He wasn’t pulling my hair at all, he was only resting there. So by holding onto his wrists, I went with him. It’s a good trick.”
A good trick made believable by superb acting.
Ariel Chaim Avrech, ZT'L, May His Righteous Memory be a Blessing.
19 Comments
Treg Brown, the revolutionary sound effects guy who did the Looney Tunes stuff, apparently grabbed a lot of his sounds from Jimmy Cagney films. When Bugs Bunny screeches to a halt, chances are the skidding sound you hear came from the tyres of a car with Cagney in it.
Brown pioneered the use of real sound effects in cartoons, instead of just using the orchestra.
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Squander Two:
Thanks so much for this information. I had no idea…
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Thanks Robert, I love these tales. Keep ‘em comin’!
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Robert:
I was attracted to Seraphic Secret by a piece or series that you wrote re Esther Ralston. And I like Cagney, but detest Public Enemy and the grapfruit scene. Would like to know more about Mae Clarke. What are the chances…?
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Barry:
More about Mae Clarke?
The chances are more than very good. She’s one of my favorite actresses. Right up there with Mary Nolan and Esther Ralston.
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Thank you, Robert.
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I can’t see Cagney succumbing to anything he didn’t want to succumb to!
And thanks for another lesson in classic Hollywood, Robert
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Bill:
Cagney was a pretty tough guy. He faced down Jack Warner over contract disputes and won. Glad you continue to enjoy my strolls down memory lane.
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Thanks for your historical pieces. I loved the Cagney and the grapefruit scene one. It even added a joke for me to the great movie “One, Two, Three” when Cagney grabs a grapefruit and threatens Piffle with it, an obvious reference to the earlier movie.
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K:
The grapefruit scene was only 41 seconds long, but it has become immortal. Amazing.
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I truly enjoy your vignettes of past Hollywood stars and movies.
Thank you.
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D_mnFinn:
You’re very welcome. Writing about politics every day is sooo depressing. Movies are a joy and I want to share my love of classic Hollywood with my readers.
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Loved it! Thank you.
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Kohana:
You’re welcome. It’s a great scene from a wonderful film.
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Mae Clarke, even if Cagney had actually pulled her hair, probably wouldn’t have been hurt too bad and could have recovered.
But in The Public Enemy when Cagney and Edwards Woods go around the corner of the building, they used real bullets from a real machine gun to put the mark on the building. The timing was as tight as could be and one little slip-up could have ended the life of one of our best actors and the name Cagney would be a small footnote to history.
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Johnny:
The scene in The Public Enemy was indeed shot with live rounds. It must have been terrifying for the cast and crew. The shooter was allegedly a marine sniper, but you can’t snipe with a machine gun.
We don’t do stuff like that anymore, sigh of relief.
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Robert, as the WRITER I think you should do more live ammo productions. the ACTORS might not appreciate it, but, hey, it’s all for the art, right?
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I would have enjoyed that movie, however, I wasn’t born yet. Is there a website where we can watch some of the old movies you tell us about?
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Kohana:
TCM shows “The Lady Killer” every once in a while. Or you can order it through Amazon or Netflix. Meanwhile, hit your refresh button, I just added a You Tube video of the hair-dragging scene.
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