Just so...so bad

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Thanks to "Hard To Handle", I now know that the grapefruit diet dates back at least seventy five years! It's always cool to catch a movie that delivers in an unexpected way, and here, Jimmy Cagney is at his best as a fast talking con man, er..., entrepreneur as it were, capitalizing on every opportunity to turn a profit from the expectations of a gullible public. Funny, but it never seemed like he was trying to make a bundle, it just kind of worked out that way. What makes the picture so delightful is the equally versatile Ruth Donnelly, portraying Lefty Merrill's (Cagney) future, whenever we get around to it, mother-in-law. Lil Walters is one track minded to a fault; she'll marry off her daughter Ruth (Mary Brian) to the highest bidder at the drop of a dollar bill. She also has some of the film's snappiest dialog, and it's a toss up as to who's quicker on their feet, Ma Walters or Lefty. As a result, Lefty's girlfriend is almost left in the dust in most of her scenes, she just can't keep up the frenetic pace set by Cagney and Donnelly.Say now, is it really possible that those Depression era dance marathons went as long as eight weeks or more?!!! That's how the picture opens while introducing the entire cast of principal characters. I thought it was a neat touch that the occasion had it's own marathon foot specialist. Kind of makes sense doesn't it?Throughout the story, Cagney's character comes up with scheme after scheme, making lemonade out of every lemon thrown his way. The entire film is a hoot, the only problem being it's not commercially available, so you'll have to be lucky to catch it on a cable channel or source it through a private collector. It's worth it though to catch an early Cagney flick, even if you have to rewind the picture a number of times to understand all the dialog. Cagney's lines are so quick you can't catch them all the first time around!

This film holds up really well and can still raise a laugh.The mother is hilarious as she sways to and from Cagney as a prospective husband for her daughter according to his financial position at the time. The film breezes along with some predictability but the sparkling script and entertaining cast more than compensate. A great pity that the film is unavailable but I recorded it on Channel 4 in the UK some years ago and was pleased that I have now finally got round to watching it! Set during the Depression era, the opening marathon dance scenes sequences capture the desperation of the poverty-stricken at that time who would do almost anything to get ahead.The power of advertising and the gullibility of the public are admirably portrayed with a tongue-in-cheek humour that constantly appearing throughout the film. I laughed out loud several times which has not always been the case when I have been watching so-called comedies of recent times!

James Cagney is better in the Roy del Ruth movies of this period. However, he was a dynamic, unstoppable force. He is believable here as a goodhearted con artist with a good heart.He has some great scenes: In one, he runs down flight after flight of a winding staircase.Mary Brian is the nominal leading lady. She's OK. But Ruth Donnelly is really Cagney's co-star here. Playing Brian's avaricious, canny mother, she is hilarious. Nobody can put one over on her. If anyone tries, she'll bounce right back. She'll change her tune. She'll double-cross and triple-cross to get what she wants for herself and her pretty daughter.Donnelly was a reliable supporting performer in more movies than anyone could easily count. Rarely did she get such a role. She grabs it and runs with it. She and Cagney are fantastic together. It's a shame they were never teamed again.

Hard to Handle has James Cagney dusting off his role as con man that he debuted with in Blonde Crazy. That film was a bit more serious and had the virtue of Joan Blondell.Here the Blondell role is split in two and Cagney deals with a mother/ daughter duo of Ruth Donnelly and Mary Brian. Like Blondell, Donnelly gives as good as she gets from Cagney.Donnelly and Cagney were roughly the same age and Brian was about six years younger than Cagney. Ridiculous now when you think about Donnelly and Brian being mother and daughter. No film maker could get away with that casting now.There's no real story to this film, Cagney moves from one con to another, skirting ever so close to illegality. Donnelly and Brian are alternately for and against him and not at the same time either at certain points.It's a film that relies solely on the charm of Jimmy Cagney which is considerable. And it's the stuff Cagney was disputing with Jack Warner over.His last con involved the marketing of grapefruit, from the man who made grapefruit tossing a national past time at breakfast/