Blonde Crazy

Blonde Crazy is a mildly enjoyable 1931 fi\lm that highlights the immeasurable talent of James Cagney. It reminds us that he was a great comic actor, as he plays a con man with a zest for life, particularly money. Also he has great chemistry with co-star Joan Blondell, who was a big star in the '30s but isn't all that well remembered.

Cagney stars as a bellhop who helps Blondell get a housekeeper position. He expects some sugar in return, but she's not that kind of girl. He gets his face slapped many times. But they form a partnership to pull cons, starting with an amorous traveling salesman, whom they extort. 

Some of these schemes are rather clever, as they get revenge on a crook (Louis Calhern) with a horse-racing scam, and Cagney manages to steal a necklace without anyone realizing it's been stolen..

He never stops pining for Blondell, but she marries an upright businessman (Ray Milland, very young) who turns out to be an embezzler. He is the person whom Cagney refers to as a "dirty doublc-crossing rat," a line that would be used by his impersonators for decades.

Blonde Crazy, directed by Roy Del Ruth, is not a great film, but you can't take your eyes off Cagney, and it's easy to see how he became a star. The way he moves, his facial expressions, the way he draws out the first syllable of the word "honey," all are cinema magic.