"The Life of Jimmy Dolan" was the second movie in a row I watched in which a celebrity had a public persona that was very different than his/her private persona. I just watched "Professional Sweetheart" in which Ginger Rogers's character was the "purity girl" for the public, but behind closed doors she wanted to "go to the devil." In TLoJD, Jimmy Dolan (Douglas Fairbanks) was all about sobriety and his mom in public, but behind closed doors he was a boozer with no mother at all.
One night after winning a title fight he was getting drunk with his female company for the night when a party of guests arrived at his home. In his inebriated state he began going on about how he had no mother and that all the public talk about his mother was an act. His manager, Reggie Newman (Harold Huber), couldn't shut him up in time because Jimmy didn't know that a reporter was among the guests.
The reporter had enough to get going and run a story. Jimmy tried a few tactics to prevent the reporter from printing what he said. When none worked he punched him in the face which made the reporter fall, hit his head, and die. Jimmy passed out from drunkenness immediately after punching the reporter. Reggie then jumped into action to make it look like someone else killed the reporter then he took Jimmy to his training camp.
At the training camp Reggie laid Jimmy down, took his watch, and then scrammed with Jimmy's girl, Goldie West (Shirley Grey). By the time Reggie and Goldie hit the road the police knew that Jimmy had killed the reporter and there was an APB on the car Reggie was driving. Both, he and Goldie, died in a fiery crash as they were trying to outrun the police. The only way to identify the male carcass was by the watch on his arm which belonged to Jimmy, hence they concluded that Jimmy was dead.
This was a very simpleminded way to advance the plot because I don't think that even in 1933 they were that presumptive in identifying burned bodies. I don't know how advanced crime scene investigation was at that time, but I doubt the police used jewelry as a definitive means of identification.
In any case, Jimmy had to split. His last act before leaving town was to visit his lawyer, Doc Woods (Lyle Talbot). He had his lawyer go to his lockbox for his money--$10,000--only for his lawyer to bilk him. Doc gave Jimmy $250 and told him to change his name and beat it. Jimmy went with the alias Jack Daughtery (I know, real original. Both initials are JD). He would only have to stay out of the papers and stay out of the ring.
Jimmy left the city with $250 in his pocket and a new name. He made that $250 stretch as far as possible. When it ran out he found himself staggering onto a school ground where he passed out. There to help revive him and tend to him were Mrs. Moore (Aline MacMahon) and Peggy (Loretta Young).
I knew that he and Peggy would fall in love. That was a given. I also knew that his identity would be revealed somehow because an old cagey detective named Phlaxer (Guy Kibbee) was not convinced that Jimmy Dolan was dead.
Phlaxer got a break in his one-man case when he saw Jimmy's picture in a paper for helping kids at the school he stumbled upon. Phlaxer chose to go to Utah to follow up on his new lead to see if this Jack Daugherty guy was really Jimmy Dolan.
Jack couldn't avoid his picture being printed in a newspaper, and apparently he couldn't avoid re-entering the boxing ring. Mrs. Moore's school for handicapped children was in financial straights and if they couldn't get money soon they'd have to close their doors. Fortuitously enough there was a chance for Jimmy to make a good sum of money by fighting King Cobra (Sammy Stein). He could earn $500 for every round he could last. It was just like the James Cagney movie "Winner Take All" (1932) when he fought for money in Arizona to help the woman he loved. Jimmy Dolan got in the ring to fight for money for his new love Peggy. Knowing that he could possibly get arrested and go to jail, Jimmy still fought for his woman and the kids.
It was enough for his redemption. Because of his selfless act Phlaxer let him go. I didn't agree.
Jimmy killed a man and not for any kind of noble reason. He didn't kill a man to protect his life or his honor, he didn't kill a man to protect another person's life or another person's honor--he killed a man because he was drunk and angry. Even if he didn't mean to kill the reporter, he did mean to punch him which resulted in the reporter's death. He doesn't get absolved from that because of love or because he helped some kids. Sure, the good deed goes a long way at establishing his humanity, but it doesn't absolve him of manslaughter.
Free on Odnoklassniki.
One night after winning a title fight he was getting drunk with his female company for the night when a party of guests arrived at his home. In his inebriated state he began going on about how he had no mother and that all the public talk about his mother was an act. His manager, Reggie Newman (Harold Huber), couldn't shut him up in time because Jimmy didn't know that a reporter was among the guests.
The reporter had enough to get going and run a story. Jimmy tried a few tactics to prevent the reporter from printing what he said. When none worked he punched him in the face which made the reporter fall, hit his head, and die. Jimmy passed out from drunkenness immediately after punching the reporter. Reggie then jumped into action to make it look like someone else killed the reporter then he took Jimmy to his training camp.
At the training camp Reggie laid Jimmy down, took his watch, and then scrammed with Jimmy's girl, Goldie West (Shirley Grey). By the time Reggie and Goldie hit the road the police knew that Jimmy had killed the reporter and there was an APB on the car Reggie was driving. Both, he and Goldie, died in a fiery crash as they were trying to outrun the police. The only way to identify the male carcass was by the watch on his arm which belonged to Jimmy, hence they concluded that Jimmy was dead.
This was a very simpleminded way to advance the plot because I don't think that even in 1933 they were that presumptive in identifying burned bodies. I don't know how advanced crime scene investigation was at that time, but I doubt the police used jewelry as a definitive means of identification.
In any case, Jimmy had to split. His last act before leaving town was to visit his lawyer, Doc Woods (Lyle Talbot). He had his lawyer go to his lockbox for his money--$10,000--only for his lawyer to bilk him. Doc gave Jimmy $250 and told him to change his name and beat it. Jimmy went with the alias Jack Daughtery (I know, real original. Both initials are JD). He would only have to stay out of the papers and stay out of the ring.
Jimmy left the city with $250 in his pocket and a new name. He made that $250 stretch as far as possible. When it ran out he found himself staggering onto a school ground where he passed out. There to help revive him and tend to him were Mrs. Moore (Aline MacMahon) and Peggy (Loretta Young).
I knew that he and Peggy would fall in love. That was a given. I also knew that his identity would be revealed somehow because an old cagey detective named Phlaxer (Guy Kibbee) was not convinced that Jimmy Dolan was dead.
Phlaxer got a break in his one-man case when he saw Jimmy's picture in a paper for helping kids at the school he stumbled upon. Phlaxer chose to go to Utah to follow up on his new lead to see if this Jack Daugherty guy was really Jimmy Dolan.
Jack couldn't avoid his picture being printed in a newspaper, and apparently he couldn't avoid re-entering the boxing ring. Mrs. Moore's school for handicapped children was in financial straights and if they couldn't get money soon they'd have to close their doors. Fortuitously enough there was a chance for Jimmy to make a good sum of money by fighting King Cobra (Sammy Stein). He could earn $500 for every round he could last. It was just like the James Cagney movie "Winner Take All" (1932) when he fought for money in Arizona to help the woman he loved. Jimmy Dolan got in the ring to fight for money for his new love Peggy. Knowing that he could possibly get arrested and go to jail, Jimmy still fought for his woman and the kids.
It was enough for his redemption. Because of his selfless act Phlaxer let him go. I didn't agree.
Jimmy killed a man and not for any kind of noble reason. He didn't kill a man to protect his life or his honor, he didn't kill a man to protect another person's life or another person's honor--he killed a man because he was drunk and angry. Even if he didn't mean to kill the reporter, he did mean to punch him which resulted in the reporter's death. He doesn't get absolved from that because of love or because he helped some kids. Sure, the good deed goes a long way at establishing his humanity, but it doesn't absolve him of manslaughter.
Free on Odnoklassniki.