Marvelously crude melodrama dished up with generous portions of undiluted West in her first starring vehicle. Re-creating her bediamonded demimonde,
Diamond Lil, for the screen, she wriggles her way through some lowdown dirty blues ditties, seduces young Cary Grant's righteous Salvation
Army crusader, kicks asses and takes names. Little-known director Lowell Sherman ably evokes the gaudy squalor of the Bowery at the turn of the century, and West establishes herself as a persona happiest squabbling among the chiselers and moneylenders.
West already reigned supreme on Broadway when Hollywood beckoned her at around age 40 (West was hazy about age) to support...
Released:
1933
Rated:
NR
Length:
66 mins