Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men (1933)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Highly Overrated But Still Good

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The tough Wynne Gibson is the live-in girlfriend of brutish William Gargan who goes to prison for beating up cops in a riot at the restaurant where Gibson works. Now fired, she is kicked out of her room by landlady Jane Darwell. Pal Zasu Pitts, a maid, allows Gibson to sleep in one of the rooms where she works while its tenant, Charles Farrell, is out. Gibson, sort of a modern day Snow White (who obviously drifted), is sound asleep when Farrell comes in, and feeling sorry for her, Farrell allows her to stay. In return, she decides to help him find a job by becoming tougher. But when Gargan gets out of prison, the two are in for trouble! This is the prototype for what made movies so fun before Will Hays came in with his scissors, filled with innuendos throughout and so many witty lines. The script basically burlesques the tough dialog of depression era New York, and Gibson goes to town with lines like "Life begins and ends in the bed. And then some." and "Quit talking like a lollipop. Put some words with hair on them." Even the hand-wringing Pitts gets into the act, quipping with "I figure men are like trees. The more you tap them, the faster the sap comes out." Pitts sums up Gibson's situation with "You may think you're in love with two men, but one of them is just indigestion." Gibson, who stole her brief scene in the all-star "If I Had a Million" as an obvious prostitute who chooses to take her millions, rent a darkened hotel room, and sleep alone, has a presence of nobody else from this era, although it is obvious that she was modeled on Mae West. Farrell, free from those sunny Janet Gaynor musicals at Fox, gets to explore two sides of his character, and Pitts makes the most of every moment she is on screen as well.The opening credits of the elevated train going through the lower east side of Manhattan are a visual treasure. You won't run into Leo Gorcey or Huntz Hall in this part of the Bowery!

Why didn't she become a star? She's completely wonderful in this swell little comedy, a cross between Sylvia Sidney and Mae West with a dab of Ruth Donnelly. Gibson stars as Aggie, who's husband Red (William Gargan) gets sent up for punching out 3 cops. Broke and starving, she meets up with prissy Charles Farrell. She makes a man of him (ahem) and falls for him despite her best intentions. Nice little comedy all round with everyone turning in good performances. Zasu Pitts is fun as Aggie's sister, and Betty Furness and Blanche Fredericci are good too. Maybe Farrell's best talkie, but Gibson is certainly the STAR here, dominating every scene she's in.

"Aggie Appleby" sounds like the name of a character that should be in a series, like "Torchy Blane" or "Maisie Ravier." But, alas, this is it. It makes one wonder how playwright Joseph Kesselring came up with such a name for this character in the first place, and if it was a tribute to somebody he knew.This film occasionally betrays its stage play origins, but that's not bad. If you're a fan of this genre and time period, you've seen this story many times. Yet, there are just enough variations and plot twists to keep this interesting, which is a credit to the script. It's always interesting to see how a script writer gets out of seemingly dead end plot threads.There are many well-known actors in this movie; but I watched it in part because I was unfamiliar with the female lead, Wynne Gibson, who does credit to her part. And there's a close-up of her with co-star Farrell which brings out the beauty in her hair and helps define the term, "silver screen." I'm always surprised when I watch Charles Farrell in one of his early films. He was so different -- in appearance, in voice, and in mannerisms -- than the mature actor I watched in "My Little Margie" on TV. Here, he plays the romantic lead, the naive youth educated by Gibson's woman of experience.And Jane Darwell...how many times did she play The Landlady (or The Ma, or Mrs. So-and-So)? Too many to count! She had the part, however small, down pat.Finally, nobody can twitch her nose (indeed, half her face) as Zasu Pitts does here. She gives Elizabeth Montgomery (and now Nicole Kidman) a run for the money. (Look for it in her scene with Farrell on the stairs, or you may miss it.) My only complaint with this movie is one I have with many from its time (and even with some from today), i.e., jerky editing. There are a number of scene transitions where the break between takes is all too obvious -- characters out of position and out of look.I gave this movie a middling score. Had I rated it when it was made, I might have assigned it a point higher, but I'm too spoiled, perhaps, by advances in movie-making that have developed since. Still, in my opinion, this movie is well worth the seventy-some minutes it takes to watch.

A brawling roughneck and a timid wimp are both whipped into shape by AGGIE APPLEBY MAKER OF MEN.This refreshingly forthright & honest look at a Depression-era New York City female and her two problem men is a delight from start to finish. Elements both comic and tender are blended together into a very satisfying package which, whatever the situation, rings true every time. Wynne Gibson gives a remarkably unaffected performance--bold, brassy, bossy, but also unfailingly decent & loving. She doesn't waste time with either regrets or excuses, but gets on with her tough life, helping others whenever she can.Charles Farrell, a major box office star in the early 1930's, is excellent as the diffident young fellow who changes his entire persona, thanks to Miss Gibson's efforts. Farrell lets us see how vulnerable his character still is, even after assuming his new attitude. The short scene in which he is attacked by a bully is actually painful to watch. William Gargan epitomizes the kind of loudmouthed bruiser who's actually a softy when it comes to his girl.Wispy & almost ethereal, the enormously talented ZaSu Pitts plays the cleaning lady friend of Miss Gibson. Future consumer advocate Betty Furness portrays Farrell's surprisingly liberated hometown girlfriend, while Blanche Frederici appears as his rather frightful aunt.Movie mavens will recognize an unbilled Jane Darwell as Miss Gibson's practical landlady.