Truly Dreadful Film

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

"Lady Gangster" is a fun and fast B movie from Warner Brothers in 1942, and stars Faye Emerson, Julie Bishop, Frank Wilcox, Jackie Gleason, and Ruth Ford (Mrs. Zachary Scott). Emerson plays Dot Burton, who was a decoy in a bank robbery. She winds up getting arrested, and an old friend from childhood (Wilcox) believes she's innocent. She isn't. Before she goes to jail, she steals the $40,000 from her cohorts and leaves it with her landlady.This prison is like something out of Stage Door, with a common area and people knitting, dancing, and listening to the radio. Two women out to get Dot, Deaf Annie (Dorothy Adams) and her pal Lucy (Ruth Ford) have the lowdown on Dot thanks to Annie's lip-reading (total 2001: A Space Odyssey) and get her into lots of trouble.Very entertaining.

A budding actress helps a crew of bankrobbers, after which she's sent to prison, where she uses her wits to get a pardon.The 60-minutes comes across more like a Monogram production instead of the gangster experts at Warner Bros. The main problem lies with the flick's lack of grit. There's really no one to menace the audience as would be expected. As the lead player, Emerson lacks even a hint of fire, which leaves an affable blank where an igniting spark should be. The supporting players too-- with one notable exception-- are pretty bland, along with a sloppy script, as other reviewers point out. Then too, the hulking guy in drag is a hoot that should fool no one, especially canny prison guards. On the other hand, the prison's dayroom scenes are colorful and lively, and compensate somewhat. Director Florey also shows some flair with the staircase brawl, and especially with Dorothy Adams' lip-reading angles. However, to me, Ruth Ford (Lucy) absolutely steals the film. She injects real life and personality into her prison snitch role that provides a lift to the proceedings (and with a pony-tail, no less). I can see why she was an Orson Welles favorite. I'll look for her from now on.All in all, the movie's rather limp for Warner Bros. and its gangster theme specialty. Wisely, Emerson transitioned from movies to early TV where her low-cut gowns suddenly got men interested in panel shows. Too bad wardrobe missed the opportunity here. It would have been big compensation.

FAYE EMERSON was a competent actress who never became a major star during her short career at Warner Bros., but she was usually among the prominent supporting players in A-films. Here she's given the leading femme role as a LADY GANGSTER in what is a remake of an old Barbara Stanwyck film.FRANK WILCOX gets the male lead and is rather bland in the role of a radio commentator who wants to help Emerson beat the rap when the police arrest her in connection with a bank robbery gone wrong. Emerson has to serve a prison sentence--and there we get a supporting cast of female prisoners including JULIE BISHOP, RUTH FORD and DOROTHY ADAMS.VIRGINIA BRISSAC (Miss Seiffert with the hearing aid in THE SNAKE PIT) is a prison supervisor and DOROTHY VAUGHAN is a kindly matron, among the supporting role players.Moves swiftly but is a routine B-film with a gangster element. JACKIE GLEASON has a bit role as one of the bank robbers but it's ROLAND DREW who is the chief villain among the robbers, ludicrous when he's in drag disguised as a woman to visit Emerson in jail.Forgettable little item interesting only for Emerson's performance.

Was the concept of a female criminal so odd at the time? What about Bonnie Parker? This is a gangster story with the sexes reversed, in any case. The criminal who goes to the slammer is a woman. The prison is nothing compared to the one in "Caged." Julie Bishop, who's very good, wears a rather glamorous uniform.The movie trots right along, though. It has an excellent cast. Of course, it's fun to see the young Jackie Gleason as a bank robber. He looks kind of naive and cuddly.Faye Emerson was an excellent actress. She adorned many a B-picture. She wasn't a great beauty: Maybe that's why she never became a major star of movies. She was versatile -- sweet, wisecracking, or evil. One thing that always comes across in her performances: intelligence.