Not your father's Spencer Tracy...

Actually, it is. Or maybe your grandfather's Spencer Tracy before he matured into the Judgment at Nuremberg-type roles we know him best for. All I'm saying is Newt Gingrich likes Boys Town... probably wouldn't like this one. Unions! Dames falling for the tough guy instead of the rich guy! Wotta nitemare.
Anyway, ... any of you notice I haven't done my auteur and month's end post yet? If not, maybe I'll just skip it more often! Ungrateful ba... The point being, I gotta keep up on these movies a little faster to stop the backup. The main thing is: it's Tracy doing James Cagney... something like that. A strange departure. Not much to write home about, but then, what do you expect from the average MGM picture? A tepid Jean Harlow. Damn you, Hayes Code! To make matters worse, I missed the first fifteen minutes or so, but I think I get the idea: Boy meets Girl: Boy disses a nice Brunette for the hot Blonde. Boy steals Blonde from Rich Dope. Boy wins big at dice against Big Dope. Boy and Blonde kiss. Boy and Blonde fight. Blonde wonders if Boy wants to marry Blonde just to stick it to Big Dope... well, they had to put SOME character into it, didn't they? Boy and Blonde get married. Boy meets Blonde's family... another good scene. I think they're an answer to Capra's group of misfits in You Can't Take It With You... damn! Riffraff came first. Nix to that, then. Anyway, I don't want to spoil the plot further, but they try to fake that epic feeling. Tracy's character goes through some bad times and stops being as brash as he once was. It's also a period piece, as it deals with being in a union: the fisherman's union, in this case. When was the last time you saw union workers in a Hollywood movie? Oh, right... North Country. Hubba hubba! John Schneider... what a shmuck.

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-so sayeth The Movie Hooligan