Introduced by Matthew Kennedy
Matthew Kennedy is the author of Joan Blondell: A Life Between Takes, as well as Marie Dressler: A Biography and Edmund Goulding's Dark Victory.

“The age of chivalry is past. This, honey, is the age of chiselry,” declares James Cagney to Joan Blondell, and he should know, being both chiseler and chiselee in a brisk, twisting comedy of cons. Cagney plays a hotel bellhop who runs crooked craps games and sells bootleg hooch while dreaming of hitting the criminal big time; Blondell is his reluctant but game accomplice, trustworthy in her sarcasm and all too familiar with men on the make. Blondell described her work with Cagney as “fast and to the point.” Blonde Crazy, their fourth film together, gets its points across with time to spare for bits of business like Cagney toying with Blondell's bra and panties while the camera casually ogles her in the bath, and a series of scenes exploring the full expressive potential of the slap. Even when things look dire, the characters crack wise to the end.
—Juliet Clark