1937 Lady Killer Lobby Card with James Cagney, Mae Clarke AKA Gueule d’Amour
The film is an all-out attack on hetero relationships and women in particular – beautifully made, but too obvious in its agenda. Madeleine is more than a
femme fatale, she’s pure poison. The last straw is when she messes with Gabin’s bosom buddy, and the final scenes of the two chums’ teary swooning in
each others’ arms reveals the film’s true sensibility with surprising transparency. No doubt a gay classic.
https://cinemacahiers.wordpress.com/gueule-damour-1937/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Killer_(1937_film)
‘Lady Killer’ Jean Gabin, resplendent in his Spahi cape and knickerbockers, rides into town. The women swoon. Confident, cynosure, the smug grin is all
over his face. Then he hooks up with high-class dame Madeleine (Mireille Balin) in a casino. She soon wipes the smile off his face and his wallet. From
there it’s all downhill as he becomes victim of the woman’s breathtaking caprice and effrontery. A couple of devastating put-downs wrecks his spirit
completely. Broken and depressed, he washes up in a seedy bistro, only for Madeleine to turn up once more…
The film is an all-out attack on hetero relationships and women in particular – beautifully made, but too obvious in its agenda. Madeleine is more than a
femme fatale, she’s pure poison. The last straw is when she messes with Gabin’s bosom buddy, and the final scenes of the two chums’ teary swooning in
each others’ arms reveals the film’s true sensibility with surprising transparency. No doubt a gay classic.
Lucien Bourrache, a good looking non-commissioned officer at the Spahis, is used to charm many women. He met Madeleine Courtois at Cannes. She is
beautiful and lives in luxury. He lends her a large amount of money, which she loses gambling. Then she drops him. But Lucien is now in love, and once
demobilized, he goes to Paris to find her again. But he’s not so sexy without his uniform, and Madeleine and him do not belong to the same milieu.