Other Men's Women-1931-William Wellman

Reminiscent of Renoir's La Bête Humaine (and not shamed by the comparison), this kicks off as fast, fluid, wisecracking comedy, then unexpectedly turns into a touching little tragedy about three people caught up in an unhappy triangle. The outcome is familiar, even conventional, with one rival being heroic and the other outdoing him; but the treatment is so rooted in reality and the acting so good (a bizarre trio of Astor, Withers and Toomey) that the result is a small masterpiece. Above all it is a film to be revelled in for its documentary detail: the sleepy little town with its quiet suburbia, its grimy hash-joint and steamy dance hall (where Cagney, in a supporting role, has a characteristically marvellous moment), and its vast, smoky complex of railway lines, shunting yards and railway sheds, always a major character in the film and swelling to malevolent proportions for the dark, rain-soaked finale.



Cast:



Grant Withers - Bill

Mary Astor - Lily

Regis Toomey - Jack

James Cagney - Ed

Fred Kohler - Haley

John Farrell MacDonald - Pegleg

Joan Blondell - Marie

Walter Long - Bixby

Joan Bennett - Marie

Pat Hartigan - Railroad worker

Lee Morgan - Railroad worker

Bob Perry - Railroad worker

Lillian Worth - Waitress



Wellman's Wild Boys of the Road next week