Die Frau meines Freundes

When Bill slaps the waitress's rear in the opening scene, we know the flick's definitely pre-code. Wow, director Wellman and Co. sure make scary use of the freight yards and locomotives; it's about as realistically a grungy background as I've seen. It's almost like a strange breeding ground for iron monsters. In fact, the star of the show may well be these roaring creatures from the steel lagoon.

The premise may not be cutting edge-- two buddies both in love with same girl (Astor) who's also the wife of one. Still, we wonder how it will play out as the buddy-rivals muscle around a big locomotive cab. So which will come first: the buddies or the girl. The acting is not too restrained, especially the drunken Bill (Withers). But then this is 1930, just a couple years into talkies. And catch the abundant slang of the time as the working guys talk like they're just that. No parlor-room dialog here. Then too, there's Blondell as Blondell, a sassy waitress who could take my order any day. And early Cagney has a supporting role that doesn't yet show his killer stuff. But then, Public Enemy is still a year or two away.

Nonetheless, it's Warner Bros. hitting on all eight and showing why it was the studio of record during that turbulent decade. All in all, the early programmer remains a riveting 71-minutes.