We're in the Money (1935)

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

EARLY Joan Blondell.. LOVE HER in Desk Set, but that was about twenty years after this. She and Glenda Farrell were silly working girls in all those black and whites in the 1930s and 1940s... Ginger and Dixie are process servers, and are trying to get out of such a dangerous business. Their boss has one last assignment for them, and after being offered a huge amount, this will be their last caper, serving the big mob boss who doesn't want to be served. Ginger has a beau Carter, played by Ross Alexander. Sadly, Alexander offed himself a couple years after this film was released. The Hays film code had just started being strictly enforced, and this clearly was not good news for Alexander, as his lifestyle could not be kept quiet, and this clashed with the studio big-shots. Silly, vaudeville man Hugh Herbert is the goofy attorney, and is clearly here for the laughs. Some fun cameos, or almost cameos... a young Lionel Stander (Max.. from Hart to Hart) has several spoken lines. Walter Brennan is a guest at the wedding, and according to IMDb, Mayo Methot's scene was deleted. Also several songs by actor/singer Phil Regan... he had quite the adventures after his acting days, if you look him up on wikipedia. This one is fun, and scurries right along. Story is pretty straight forward, and has some clever lines. I recommend this one. Pretty surprised at the low rating... only a 6.. but of course, only 140 votes so far. Hopefully TCM will show this one more often.

Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell play process servers who are very, very creative when it comes to giving subpoenas to people in breech of promise suits. One tramp, Ms. LeClaire, has about a dozen to have served just for her! And, for $1000, the two agree to serve these summonses for their shyster boss (Hugh Herbert). Seeing them scheme to meet men and give them these legal documents was pretty funny--such as how they served the pro wrestler and the crooner (Phil Regan). However, a problem develops when it turns out all these people are being served for one case--the very rich Mr. Courtney (Ross Alexander)...and he turns out to be Blondell's boyfriend! The idea is very clever and enjoyable...to a point. Unfortunately, the movie has as much to dislike about it. The worst was Hugh Herbert. While he was a popular supporting character actor in the 1930s, he was a strictly one-not actor and his shtick was VERY heavy-handed and annoying. And, combining this AND horrible rear-projected chase scenes, the film is darn hard to watch at times. Watchable but not nearly as good as it could have been.

Two lady process servers will stop at nothing to do their job - but then one falls in love with the man they are stalking...WE'RE IN THE MONEY was the sort of ephemeral comic frippery which the studios produced almost effortlessly during the 1930's. Well made & highly enjoyable, Depression audiences couldn't seem to get enough of these popular, funny photo dramas.Joan Blondell & Glenda Farrell are perfectly cast as the fearless, fast-talking females who will try anything to serve their subpoenas. Although Joan gets both top billing and the romantic scenes, both gals are as talented & watchable as they are gorgeous.Ross Alexander plays Blondell's love interest and he does a very nice job. Remembered now chiefly for his appearance in the classic A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (1935), this talented young man from Brooklyn was gifted with the good looks & acting skills which should have made him a major Hollywood star. Instead, Alexander ended up in mostly forgettable parts in obscure films. Tragically, Ross Alexander died a suicide in 1937, at the age of only 29.Hugh Herbert, whimsical & wacky as ever, appears as the girls' boss. Whether driving a stolen car or piloting a speeding motorboat, he is equally hilarious. Behind him comes a rank of character actors - Henry O'Neill, E.E. Clive, Lionel Stander, Hobart Cavanaugh - all equally adept at wringing every smile out of any situation. Sharp-eyed movie mavens should spot an unbilled Walter Brennan as a witness at the wedding.While never stars of the first rank, Joan Blondell (1906-1979) & Glenda Farrell (1904-1971) enlivened scores of films at Warner Bros. throughout the 1930's, especially the eight in which they appeared together. Whether playing gold diggers or working girls, reporters or secretaries, these blonde & brassy ladies were very nearly always a match for whatever leading man was lucky enough to share equal billing alongside them. With a wisecrack or a glance, their characters showed they were ready to take on the world - and any man in it. Never as wickedly brazen as Paramount's Mae West, you always had the feeling that, tough as they were, Blondell & Farrell used their toughness to defend vulnerable hearts ready to break over the right guy. While many performances from seven decades ago can look campy or contrived today, these two lovely ladies are still spirited & sassy.

a minor warner studio output using up its contract players. blondell and farrell spark off each other like an early version of thelma and louise as they serve witness summons on a range of male lugs: a crooner, a wrestler and a wiseguy. an interesting film for the potential it offered for female leads, a potential that hollywood has always underexploited.