LADY GANGSTER (1942)

I do not know the odds of this happening but the premise of the film has an aspiring actress getting involved with bank robbers at the suggestion of an elderly woman friend with poor character judgment. Expect routine double-crosses, misunderstandings, prison gossip, a climactic car chase and that distinct, muffled-in-a-box Warner Bros. Pictures gunfire. The film was directed by Robert Florey aka Florian Roberts. Not much new that had not been seen before since the mid-1930s. There is adequate cinematography and music score, and at sixty-two minutes, it rolls by quickly with one’s attention kept intact by the cast’s fine performances. Script credulity, however, is challenged on more than one occasion.

Faye Emerson possessed a photographic flair with expressive eyes. Apparently not enough to get noticed on B-movie lots. Garnering the moniker of “gangster” is a stretch yet the film wastes no time launching as Emerson, very lady-like and with an irresistible small terrier in her arms, cons her way into a bank before opening hours. The dog is simply a prop, thrust on her by one of her partners in crime. The gang comes through the bank’s unsecured doors and after all the excitement, she plays it cool with seemingly all the right answers. Except that the name she gives the dog does not match the name on the dog tag. She is taken into custody. The DA suspects she is guilty but with no evidence to convict her, she is released.

Affecting the script’s credulity is radio news announcer, Frank Wilcox, and his long-standing disgust for the “crooked” DA. He surmises he is railroading the lady for political gain. There is no character development or evidence to substantiate this. Fed up with Wilcox’s accusatory broadcasts, the DA wants him to question her. This pseudo-subplot lacks any real substance because the battle between the two men is suddenly dispensed with, and never addressed again. It is the script’s device to simply reunite school sweethearts, Wilcox and Emerson. Thinking of the girl he once knew, Wilcox cannot believe she is guilty and vouches for her. Not taking the whole robbery thing too seriously, she wrongly thinks it will not change their relationship if she confesses. He cannot abide by her sudden honesty. Bygones are not bygones. Her deception qualifies her for up to ten years of free room and board. A prison where security and visitation standards are very lax.

Emerson is befriended by one inmate who admires her spunk—she is not ‘all sawdust inside.’ Another inmate knows the pulse of the prison by reading lips, whether from a front or side view. As played by Dorothy Adams, “Deaf Annie” is however able to talk and her wide-eyed craziness and an unearthly command of lip-reading help elevate the prison segment. An annoying performance by Ruth Ford will be remembered as the prison snitch. How she has stayed alive during her tenure is a wonder. But neither can hold a candle to the gang leader, Roland Drew, who visits Emerson as all-woman in full makeup. Some pretty sharp prison guards. The whereabouts of the bank’s forty grand is “Madame Drew’s” only interest. He did have the presence of mind to shave off his mustache. Strangely, she is not a bit surprised by his transformation and recognizes him immediately. Even stranger, in his very next scene, he has grown a full caterpillar again!

Nearing her early release from prison, she gets duped by the lying snitch about Wilcox’s intentions for her. After learning the truth, however, Emerson casually escapes prison to prevent his demise at the hands of the gang. Something she feels pretty bad about since it was her idea. There is an attempt by the robbers to grab the leather bag full of money which subsequently involves a three-on-one fistfight with Wilcox. It is a fairly exciting, choreographed climax and only worth mentioning for the “shoddy home construction” in Vera “Ma” Lewis’ apartment house. The entire stairway railing breaks away as if each post is secured by a single thumbtack. The loot gets recovered and returned with script credulity once again challenged by a final contrived hospital scene with Wilcox and Emerson.

Notes: Perhaps this film’s most note-worthy details, in hindsight, are the coming together of four future television personalities. A couple of them working together in the medium. After a decade-long film career in films like this one, Emerson became more famous by getting in on the early days of television as the first lady to host a talk and variety series, all fifteen minutes worth, called, “The Faye Emerson Show.” This led to “Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town.” She also became a regular on a number of popular game shows.

Frank Wilcox had about a ten-year jump in films over Emerson. This may explain their unlikely romance in this film. He co-starred in many notable films of the 1940s going on to become a familiar face to television audiences during the 1960s and beyond with roles on many popular series, including a recurring role on The Beverly Hillbillies.

This film was an early visible role for William Hopper, playing Wilcox’s assistant. He struggled through many uncredited roles for two decades, four films of which were with Errol Flynn. Hopper and Wilcox started their careers about the same year, with the former ending his career in the iconic role of Paul Drake from the Perry Mason series. In several episodes of which, Wilcox played a judge.

Finally, John Herbert “Jackie” Gleason, for unknown reasons, used the letter “C’ to start his hit-and-miss film career. Perhaps thinking “Jackie C” would catch on as he tried to find his niche in Hollywood. The young Gleason, with a balloon-smooth face, plays the wheelman for the robber’s car. Of course, he gained fame on the golf course, as an orchestra leader, after a fashion, and from a groundbreaking television sitcom.