Stubs - We're in the Money

 

We’re in the Money (1935) starring Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell, Hugh Herbert, Ross Alexander. Directed by Ray Enright Screenplay by F. Hugh Herbert, Brown Holmes Producer Not Credited. Run time 61 minutes. USA Black and White. Comedy.

Warner Bros. had two young blonde comedic stars that they decided to pair together in a series of comedies. Together, Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell, billed as the blonde bombshell comedy duo, appeared in five films, including Havana Widows (1933), Kansas City Princess (1934), Traveling Saleslady (1935), Miss Pacific Fleet (1935) and We’re in the Money (1935). If the last one sounds familiar, it is named after the song "We're in the Money," music and lyrics by Al Dubin and Harry Warren, which first appeared in The Golddiggers of 1933.

The film was shot in a little over a month, between May 8 to June 12, 1935, the film was released on August 17, 1935.

When the film opens, Ginger Stewart (Joan Blondell) and Carter (Ross Alexander) are making out in a park. They appear to be very much in love even though they know nothing about each other except their first names. Ginger thinks Carter is a chauffeur, and he only knows that she is charming. While they know virtually nothing about each other, both tell the other that they plan to change jobs in the very near future.

Actually, Carter is wealthy C. Richard Courtney, who is one of several men being sued for breach of promise by Claire LeClaire (Anita Kerry). He’s pretending to be a chauffeur to hide in plain sight. Ginger and her friend Dixie Tilton (Glenda Farrell) are process servers working for the lawyer Homer Bronson (Hugh Herbert), handling LeClaire’s cases.

Both Ginger and Dixie want out of the business, to do what is never explained, but Homer convinces them to stay, promising a big payday if they serve four more subpoenas to witnesses in Claire LeClaire's suit. Because these are rough characters, the other process servers have been beaten up trying to do their jobs. Ginger and Dixie, of course, can really use the money. And time is of the essence because in a few weeks a state law prohibiting breach of promise suits will be enacted.

Ginger Stewart (Joan Blondell) manges to serve a summons
to nightclub singer Phil Logan (Phil Regan) during his act.

Dixie and Ginger successfully serve papers to nightclub singer Phil Logan (Phil Regan), gangster Leonidus Giovanni "Butch" Gonzola (Lionel Stander) and wrestler Man Mountain Dean (Man Mountain Dean), with Ginger doing most of the heavy lifting.

Meanwhile, Courtney's lawyer, Stephen Dinsmore (Henry O'Neill), convinces him to leave on a cruise until the new law goes into effect. While Ginger and Dixie wait in front of his apartment, Courtney and Dinsmore sneak out the back. They try to hail a cab, but the befuddled Homer, who doesn’t recognize the man he’s suing, gets involved and even offers them a ride to the docks. It turns out he has no license and the car he takes isn’t his.

It is only at the docks and after Dinsmore and Courtney are being taken to his yacht that Homer realizes who Courtney is and calls for the girls, who are still waiting in Courtney’s apartment. In the meantime, Homer borrows a motorboat, which he can’t figure out how to stop, and races around the harbor in circles. Ginger and Dixie leap into the passing boat, but can’t get off. That is, until Ginger jumps overboard and pretends to be drowning.

She is rescued by the crew and brought on board. However, when Dinsmore thinks she’s a gold digger, he has her thrown overboard again. This time, Courtney sees her and rescues her himself. When she discovers that Carter is really Courtney, she angrily serves him with the subpoena. Dinsmore advises Courtney not to let her back ashore so she can’t register that the subpoena has been served.

Ginger's love for Courtney (Ross Alexander) wins out.

She ends up a prisoner of sorts on the boat. She refuses to eat, but her love for Carter wins out and she and Courtney reconcile and plan to get married. She sends a message to Dixie, which she misinterprets, and upon arriving back on shore, Courtney is served. Thinking that Ginger planned it, Courtney angrily leaves her behind.

Dixie Tilton (Glenda Farrell) misunderstands Ginger's intentions.

Homer shows the jury a photo of Courtney and LeClaire in a compromising position and the witnesses at the trial only bolster his case. Seeing no other way out, Courtney agrees to marry Claire.

Ginger and Dixie at Courtney's trial.

Later, Ginger discovers that Homer had faked the photo that convinced the jury of Courtney's guilt. Hearing that Courtney’s on his way to Greenwich to be married, they chase after him and manage to stop the wedding in the nick of time.

Ginger and Courtney kiss and make up.

The focus of the film is Joan Blondell.

The only reason to really watch this film are stars Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell. Farrell is in more of a supporting role here, so the big focus is on Blondell, which is fine by me. The biggest problem is that the story seems rushed from start to finish.

As an audience, we have no idea how Ginger and Carter met and fell in love; you have to wonder how they would have met in the first place. Was there was a process server chauffeur dance? While romance can be enticing when the lovers know very little about each other, Casablanca comes to mind, you still want a little background to the relationship and really none is offered here.

Ginger and Dixie are hot to get out of process serving, but to do what? This just seems like a device to build some tension into the story. $1000 dollars, while nothing to sneeze at now, was a much bigger prize during the depression, which is when this story is set.

And, of course, they just happen to be working for the lawyer handling the case against Courtney. While part of Hugh Herbert’s claim to fame as an actor are his comedic roles and his unforgettable laugh, you can’t imagine someone that befuddled would have been able to get a law degree, let alone have a business that can employ multiple process servers.

The story races from one incident to another so fast that you almost wonder if they had a timer going in the background. You never really get invested in any of the characters and before you know it, the film is over.

Joan Blondell is one of my favorite actresses from this time in Hollywood, but this is not one of her more memorable performances. I hope that her other films with Glenda Farrell play better than this one. An actor is only as good as their material and this seems like a real quickie from Warner Bros. It’s too bad that she and Farrell were only given this to work with. We’re in the Money finishes outside the money for me.