Maybe that's a tribute to Cagney. He always seemed so human and vulnerable. I was supposed to feel sorry for Etting, but I just didn't.
"Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?"
acc to what we see at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Etting ,
they used each other.
theoretically, the story was toned down for the benefit of D.D., as well as the censors.
He bullied her, beat her, raped her, and whored her out to further *his* career.
No, I don't feel sorry for him. Why would I? All of his troubles with her were self-inflicted. How she reacted to him is almost completely beside the point. He treated her like an object. Any resistance she put up was just a temporary obstacle to his ego.
Yes, Cagney is great in the role. It's Cagney. But the character is still a monster.
Even if this film were historically accurate (obviously, it's not), women in that industry at that time couldn't get anywhere without a male manager/patron, whom they not-infrequently married. Restricting such women from getting ahead on their own and them blaming them for "using" the men who kept them in a box and used *them* makes no sense. How else was she supposed to move up the ladder?
Innsmouth Free Press http://www.innsmouthfreepress.com
He's a complete psycho in this. He deserved to be mowed down.
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