“Oh, that dirty, double-crossin' rat. I'd like to get my own hooks on him. I'd tear him to pieces.”

“When a cheeky bellhop (a young James Cagney, the same year as he made his blistering appearance in The Public Enemy) meets a dishy blonde (the effervescent Joan Blondell) and gets her installed in his hotel as a chambermaid through nefarious means, the pair set a criminal scheme into motion. Here’s the grift: they entrap and blackmail married men who are caught up to no good. The problem is that they’re wide open to being conned by a bigger fish, and Louis Calhern is precisely that fish.

Released under the title ‘Larceny Lane’ in Great Britain, Cagney and Blondell’s fiery and frank chemistry is only made sexier by the uncertainty of their loyalty to each other, both criminally and romantically. Although initially there appears to be a more respectable suitor in the mix (no less than Ray Milland), he, too, shows a penchant for the felonious.

In spite of a rather unexpectedly sweet conclusion, it’s pretty obvious no one who made this movie was interested in ‘respectability’....whatever that word’s supposed to mean. “ Christina Newland

National Lottery Cinema Day: Saturday 3 September, all tickets £3! Discount will be added to your basket automatically

Special Offer

When you buy a ticket for Pre-Code Hollywood: Blonde Crazy (PG) or any other movie in the Pre-Code season, you will get 50% off a ticket for the screening of a‘ A Free Soul’.

To claim the offer, both films must be booked at the same time and this offer can only be claimed over the phone via our Box Office on 01324 506850 or in person at The Hippodrome Bo'ness. (Not available for online bookings. Offer must be claimed at the same time as booking the other title/s).