Blondie Johnson (1933)

In this before the Code drama Joan Blondell steps into Barbara Stanwyck territory playing a woman who we see rise to the top of the rackets and is pretty ruthless about it. As the film shows us Blondell had it pretty rough as a kid and now she's going to acquire the only thing that matters in this life, money.Along the way she teams up with another racketeer played by Chester Morris on loan from MGM who's also not a squeamish guy, but wants to settle down with Blondell as long as he leads when they dance. Blondell is not about to let anyone else lead in her life.I'm surprised this film is not better known if for no other reason than the acclaim that Blondell has received for her performances in those Warner Brothers gangster films. Usually she's just a leading lady for James Cagney etc. but her she's the lead, it's her film and she makes a fine job of it.If TCM ever broadcasts this, don't miss it. A must for Joan Blondell fans.

Joan Blondell plays a down-on-her-luck lady who turns to crime. Specifically being a con artist. She hooks up with gangster Chester Morris and before too long she's leading the gang herself. Joan's really the whole show here. She's a big-eyed curvy beauty but she's also smart and tough as nails. She's impossible to dislike and gives an effortless performance. It's a good role for the period, playing a woman who uses her brains instead of her body to get ahead. Chester Morris is good but his part here isn't exactly Boston Blackie. His chemistry with Joan is lacking, as well. Allen Jenkins is fun, which should come as no surprise. Arthur Vinton, who plays a big shot gangster here, sounds just like Ralph Bellamy. I thought maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me. It's a good little gangster picture. Fans of the terribly underrated Joan Blondell will like it a lot.

Here is a Pre-Code Gangster Movie with, wait for it, a Female Mob Boss. There is an Interracial Couple (Japanese/White), a Low-Cut Peek at Joan Blondell, and some Bullet Blood. That's about it for the Pre-Code Highlights although there is some Bedroom Banter that would Later become Taboo. A Friend asks "Blondie, why don't you give him a tumble?" for Example.It's got typical Warner Bros. Snappy Patter and Chester Morris' forever present Dangling Cigarette is Stereotypically "charming". The Script Employs a Clever Con on a Jewelry Store, some Hard-Boiled Inner-Gang Violence and Always has Blondie with the Upper Hand.Another Highlight in this Atypical Depression Era Movie is when Blondie gets Frisked by a Cop "Woman", She finds a small caliber pistol Tucked Away very close to a Forbidden Location, that even in a Pre-Coder is Rarely Referenced or given any Attention, and the Scene does not Shy away from the Search as the Dyke like Cop has Her Hands right where they don't Belong.Worth a Watch for its Decisively Differentness and the Always Pleasing to the Eye Joan Blondell, where She, not Only Her Character, more than Holds Her Own with Her Tough Guy Companions.

Character actress/star Joan Blondell makes the most of Blondie Johnson, appearing first as a down-and-outer fired from her previous job because she wouldn't put out for the boss and then developing as an assertive, sassy, gang leader. She's is determined to get ahead in a man's world, and uses her snappy sense of humor, and both her sensitivity and her sensuality to move to the top and earn the respect of her fellow mobsters--simultaneously shooting for romance with (boring) Chester Morris. After the film is over, it really doesn't seem like we've watched a gangster movie, simply because Warner Brothers knew how to be topical by suggestion, and in the period when this film was made, a good deal could be broadly hinted at that was frowned upon in later years: making money the easy way through prostitution, evoking fear in others through protection rackets, and particularly in this film, making a woman boss of the mob. It all looks like great, harmless fun. But after about 1934 and the Production Code, for most actresses it was back to domesticity and the kitchen for almost thirty years!It's a zippy 67 minutes with a familiar Warner's cast, including silent star Mae Busch, the ubiquitous comedy relief Allen Jenkins, and as the "other woman," cynical Claire Dodd. Today there's more than enough menace in a gangster film, another brutal murder just around the corner, another bloodbath waiting; if there's any fun to be had, it's happening elsewhere. But once upon a time one could easily sit through an escapist double feature with this, essentially a gangster romp, as a starter, and perhaps an Edward G. Robinson or Cagney film as the longer main feature. Now you can enjoy this whenever you want a little break!