We're in the Money (1935)

EARLY Joan Blondell.. LOVE HER in Desk Set, but that was about twenty years after this. She and Glenda Farrell were silly working girls in all those black and whites in the 1930s and 1940s... Ginger and Dixie are process servers, and are trying to get out of such a dangerous business. Their boss has one last assignment for them, and after being offered a huge amount, this will be their last caper, serving the big mob boss who doesn't want to be served. Ginger has a beau Carter, played by Ross Alexander. Sadly, Alexander offed himself a couple years after this film was released. The Hays film code had just started being strictly enforced, and this clearly was not good news for Alexander, as his lifestyle could not be kept quiet, and this clashed with the studio big-shots. Silly, vaudeville man Hugh Herbert is the goofy attorney, and is clearly here for the laughs. Some fun cameos, or almost cameos... a young Lionel Stander (Max.. from Hart to Hart) has several spoken lines. Walter Brennan is a guest at the wedding, and according to IMDb, Mayo Methot's scene was deleted. Also several songs by actor/singer Phil Regan... he had quite the adventures after his acting days, if you look him up on wikipedia. This one is fun, and scurries right along. Story is pretty straight forward, and has some clever lines. I recommend this one. Pretty surprised at the low rating... only a 6.. but of course, only 140 votes so far. Hopefully TCM will show this one more often.

Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell play process servers who are very, very creative when it comes to giving subpoenas to people in breech of promise suits. One tramp, Ms. LeClaire, has about a dozen to have served just for her! And, for $1000, the two agree to serve these summonses for their shyster boss (Hugh Herbert). Seeing them scheme to meet men and give them these legal documents was pretty funny--such as how they served the pro wrestler and the crooner (Phil Regan). However, a problem develops when it turns out all these people are being served for one case--the very rich Mr. Courtney (Ross Alexander)...and he turns out to be Blondell's boyfriend! The idea is very clever and enjoyable...to a point. Unfortunately, the movie has as much to dislike about it. The worst was Hugh Herbert. While he was a popular supporting character actor in the 1930s, he was a strictly one-not actor and his shtick was VERY heavy-handed and annoying. And, combining this AND horrible rear-projected chase scenes, the film is darn hard to watch at times. Watchable but not nearly as good as it could have been.

All I can say is any Warner film that has ROSS Alexander and PHIL REGAN in supporting roles is already in trouble. Ross has no sparks as a leading man running away from a process server (Joan Blondell) and Regan's high-pitched tenor is hard on the ears. For comic slant we have HUGH HERBERT in another one of his stereotyped roles to gather whatever laughs there are from a motorboat out of control.Then we have JOAN BLONDELL and GLENDA FARRELL fast talking their way through an "Okay, toots" kind of script and we have more trouble ahead as the two leading ladies blunder their way through one mistake after another in search of good comedic results. The script is no help, with Blondell getting dumped overboard from a yacht several times in a row.Mercifully, the programmer is only 66 minutes in length, but seems longer than that. Not recommended to anyone but die hard Joan Blondell fans who apparently think she's great in everything, no matter how ridiculous the plotting is or how slim the material.

a minor warner studio output using up its contract players. blondell and farrell spark off each other like an early version of thelma and louise as they serve witness summons on a range of male lugs: a crooner, a wrestler and a wiseguy. an interesting film for the potential it offered for female leads, a potential that hollywood has always underexploited.