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Penthouse

1933, Movie, NR, 90 mins

Penthouse: Review

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Pendleton shines as a powerful but sympathetic gangland chief, a pragmatist with a sense of humor, whose self-constructed empire is threatened by rival gangster Gordon. Baxter is a successful corporation lawyer who, bored with the legalistic doings of the high and mighty, craves the company of criminal clients. He takes on the defense of Pendleton, who has been accused of murder. He wins the case, but as a result loses both his prestigious position with a firm of Harvard attorneys and his fiancee, Clarke. Pendleton--fearful that his new-found barrister buddy's life may be in jeopardy as a result of his successful courtroom battle--appoints two goons, Raymond Hatton and Arthur Belasco, to safeguard his legal savior. Clarke's new high-society romantic attachment is the victim of a murder frame-up at the instigation of bad gangster Gordon, and so Baxter defends his rival in romance. When Clarke is killed also, Baxter tries to solve the continuing series of crimes, this time with the help of Gordon's wisecracking moll, Loy. Wise to her betrayal, Gordon abducts his ex-mistress, holding her in his hideout. Baxter races to Loy's defense, arriving at the hideout to a tune of machine gun fire. He is greeted by his smiling hoodlum pal Pendleton, who has raided the place and pulled off the rescue. Pendleton then slumps to the floor, mortally wounded, having given his life on behalf of his new high-society friend. This interesting melding of bourgeoisie and lumpenproletariat presaged things to come in the THIN MAN series which began a year later, featuring the same director, W.S. "One-shot Woody" Van Dyke, the same team of scriptwriters, and the same leading lady. Loy was just breaking away from her ethnic "you touch me, I keel you" roles, which had her using her universal ethnic accent for every characterization ranging from East Indian to Egyptian. From now on, she would play high-society roles herself, albeit still with wisecracks. leave a comment
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