User reviews

The Beast Of The City finds Walter Huston cast as a crusading and honest cop, possibly too rigidly honest. His character is a whole lot like Kirk Douglas's detective in Detective Story that would come out a generation later.

The film also borrows a lot from westerns at the time. Huston's unknown western city is ruled by gangster Jean Hersholt who is apparently untouchable as far as the law is concerned. A whole lot like real life gangsters Al Capone and Lucky Luciano who were coming into prominence.

Huston's family life is secure enough, wife Dorothy Peterson, a few kids among them a young Mickey Rooney. He also has his younger and weaker brother Wallace Ford living with them. Ford's got a real good deal, no rent and he apparently chases a lot of skirts. That proves to be his downfall and eventually Huston's.

The skirt that did them in belonged to Jean Harlow. Jean was never a better mantrap in her career than she is The Beast Of The City. Wallace Ford turns out to be putty in her hands.

Also note another good performance in The Beast Of The City is that of Tully Marshall who plays Hersholt's lawyer. The word shyster was invented for lawyers like Marshall, but he's good to have on your side especially if you're guilty as sin.

The climax is an unforgettable one and one more typical to a western than a modern drama. It's what makes The Beast Of The City a classic that is too rarely seen today.

I would classify this early 1930s gangster flick as "ordinary" but that's better than you think, because these kind of movies ordinarily are fast-paced, a bit edgy, have unique language to them and generally are pretty interesting...and they are short films, which isn't always bad, either.

This one features Walter Huston as the hard-nosed committed cop trying to clean up his crime-ridden city with the eventual goal getting to the number one guy: the "beast" of the city. The ending is a wild one and commented on by a number of reviewers, here and elsewhere.

A subplot involves Huston's younger brother (Wallace Ford), also a lawman, who is corrupted and then, after being exposed, tries to atone for his sins at the end. Jean Harlow also stars in this film. Frankly, I never found her as sexy as her reputation, but she is excellent in here and very interesting to view. Finally, we also get to see a very young Mickey Rooney, as one of Huston's children. He didn't have many lines but you knew it was him with that smile and all those teeth!

Let's hope someone puts this out on DVD. It's too good to be a secret.

The blond bomb shell, Jean Harlow,(Daisy Stevens),"Reckless",'35 gave an outstanding performance and some of her outfits showed off all the wonderful things males love in a woman during the 1930's and still DO ! Walter Houston,(Capt. Jim Fitzpatrick),"The Great Sinner",'49, played a rough and tough Irish Captain who did not mess around with the mob and especially Jean Hersholt, who really did not fit very well in this role. Jean Hersholt played very few roles as the bad guy during the 1920's and 30's and was a good actor in the radio days. J. Carrol Naish,(Pietro Cholo),"The Beast With Five Fingers",'46, was very young and gave a great supporting role on his way to a fantastic career on the Silver Screen. The ending of this film is great and I thought it was very well directed and produced.

MGM tried to go for the hard edged style of Warner Brothers gangster films with this drama about a strict DA (Walter Huston making an amazing turn as a tough guy) looking to clean up the city. The film is stolen by Jean Harlow, as a loose woman luring Huston's rookie cop brother (Wallace Ford) down the highway to sin. Her `koochie-dance' she performs for Ford is quite the eyeful! And dig that vicious, mind bending ending!

THE BEAST OF THE CITY (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1932), a Cosmopolitan Production directed by Charles Brabin, is not a story about some wild gorilla loose in New York. King Kong would take care of that in 1933. The movie, in general, is MGM being, or at most, outdoing Warner Brothers crime dramas with gangsters as leading attractions. For something completely different, an opening statement written by President Herbert C. Hoover is brought forth on screen: "Instead of the glorification of cowardly gangsters, we need the glorification of policemen who do their duty and give their lives in public protection. If the police had the vigilante, universal backing of public opinion in their communities, if they had the implacable support of the prosecuting attorneys and the courts, I am convinced that our police would stamp out the excessive crime - which has disgraced some of our great cities." In other words, THE BEAST OF THE CITY is more than a crime story. It's a tribute to the crime fighting men in blue.

Taken from a story by "Little Caesar" author, W.R. Burnett, the fade-in follows the daily routine of the New York City police department through its camera tracking starting with police operators(one being Edward Brophy) taking, receiving or gathering information from phone calls before "calling all cars" to policemen in their siren blazing patrol cars racing down the streets to their latest assignments. James J. Fitzpatrick (Walter Huston) is introduced as a police captain whose failing methods in putting gang leader, Sam Belmonte (Jean Hersholt) in prison due to lack of evidence, assisted by a corrupt lawyer (Tully Marshall) who gets him released on technicality, gets himself demoted to desk job at a quieter precinct at the other side of town by his chief commander (Emmett Corrigan). Fitzpatrick, a family man with wife, Mary (Dorothy Peterson), twin daughters (Betty Mae and Beverly Crane) and son, Mickey (Mickey Rooney), redeems himself by capturing a pair of robbers, that reinstates his position as police chief. As Fitzpatrick continues his attempt to put an end of Belmonte's racketeering activities, Ed (Wallace Ford), his younger brother and detective in the police force, who, while on assignment, falls victim to Daisy (Jean Harlow), Belmonte's "stenographer" and mistress, Unable to obtain a promotion, Ed foils his brother's chances with his fight against crime.

Other members of the cast include: John Miljan (District Attorney); Sandy Roth (Lieutenant John "Mac" McGrowski); J. Carroll Naish (Pierre Choco, one of Belmonte's mob); Murray Kinnell (The Judge). There's also those familiar faces of character actors as George Chandler, Clarence Wilson, Arthur Hoyt and Nat Pendleton appearing in smaller roles.

Virtually forgotten following its very limited television broadcasts since the 1960s, this pre-code crime melodrama, which surfaced decades later in the wake of cable television on Turner Network Television (TNT) in the late 1980s before becoming a prominent fixture on Turner Classic Movies (1994 onward), THE BEAST OF THE CITY, being Walter Huston's movie from start to finish, is recognizable mostly for its presence by the second-billed Jean Harlow, still early in her career. For her second MGM film, the studio where she would remain until her untimely death in June 1937, is basically secondary than a major presence. She does make the most of it doing her part of a tough talking blonde. Harlow's character is introduced briefly in Belmonte's office with no spoken dialogue before coming forth minutes later in the police line-up where she captures the attention of the weakling brother (Ford) to a crime fighter (Huston). Though the Danish-born Hersholt may seem miscast as the Italian ring-leader, possibly John Miljan, probably tiring of his bad guy image by this point (cast as a gray-haired attorney), might have been better suited. Or Tully Marshall switching with Hersholt. Of its assemble, much of the cast is well placed in their roles, especially Walter Huston who can play bad guys, good guys or anti-heroes with conviction without any chance of being type-cast.

Once seen, whether on DVD or TCM viewing, it's hard to forget some of the violence (by 1932 standards) attached to THE BEAST OF THE CITY, along with its offbeat and dark method to Fitzpatrick's fight against crime. This is his story. This is MGM's contribution to the American policemen. This is Hollywood's participation to crime wave on the city streets, quite different, quite atypical from anything else regards to cops and gangsters up to this level. (***)

This is an exciting Pre-Code cop film from MGM. When I say "Pre-Code", I am indicating that it was made just before the adoption of the Hollywood Production Code that was intended to clean up movies and eliminate sex, violence and other adult-only content in films. Because of this, the film is much more violent than films made in the mid-30s and later. It also features a lot of seamy dialog and content. A few examples of these taboos that were in some Pre-Code films would include:

Police radio reports of "a nude woman on the corner of Elm and Berry" and an "indecent exposure".

Memorable lines such as "the back of his head was blown out" and referring to the coroner's vehicle as "the meat wagon".

These sleazy elements actually helped make the movie more exciting and seem more like a real police story. And it was exciting throughout until a very, very disappointing and silly ending. Yes, this ending WAS violent and satisfying on a baser level, but it just made no sense at all. This helped to make this movie a good time-passer with some sleazy elements, but not much more. Exciting but not all that satisfying.

In addition to all the excitement, look for a very young and pretty adorable Mickey Rooney as Walter Huston's son.

This story of a tough cop turned chief of police is an uneven mix of entertaining and very clunky moments.

Walter Huston did a lot of very good work in his career, but here, as the 'hero' (almost an anti-hero), he's pretty flat and one note. It's interesting in theory to see a cop in a film this old who's bends the law to get 'justice', but the lack of electricity in the writing and the performance make a number of his scenes a bit of a chore to sit through.

Also, the much discussed climatic gunfight, while impressively violent for the day, is also pretty silly on anything but a symbolic level. I find it hard to believe a real gunfight in the 1930s (or ANY time) could have looked anything like this.

On the plus side, Jean Harlow is a lot of pre-code fun in a supporting role as a gun moll, seducing the chief's cop brother in an extended scene that's both sexy and funny. When Wallace Ford as the brother asks her 'you don't like to be hurt, do you' after he accidentally grabs her too hard, she comes back with "I don't know, it can be fun if it's done in the right spirit", said with a gleam in her eye hot enough to melt an ice cube at the north pole.

There's also some very interesting and evocative photography sprinkled through the film. Moving the huge blimped cameras was never easy in these early sound films, but there are some nice tracking shots here, along with good use of shadows.

That said, there are many better films from this era than MGM's awkward attempt to get into Warner's patented cops and robbers territory, but with a almost proto-fascist, slant. But if you're interested in pre-code films, and the subject matter, you could also do worse for a piece of film and period history.

This is one of the grittiest of the pre-Production Code features. It is important to realize that just two years later, with the implementation of the rewritten Production Code in 1934, this film could not have been made.

As with any piece of popular entertainment that is nearly 70 years old, there are going to be dated elements. What is more important is how relatively modern this film feels, especially compared to the films made under the Production Code after 1934. The story is a hard slice of life, and it will not suit all tastes. This is especially true for those who have been too conditioned by Production Code features and television.

The ending has been compared to Sam Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH and Don Siegel's DIRTY HARRY, and not without cause. However, try to imagine yourself as a member of the original theatrical release audience in 1932. There would have been very little to prepare you for it, apart from DOORWAY TO HELL, LITTLE CAESAR, PUBLIC ENEMY, and SCARFACE. The difference here is that the story is told from the point of view of the men in law enforcement. It focuses on something that was common knowledge at the time, that prohibition had corrupted law enforcement far beyond the scope of anything the public had ever known.

The remedy for corruption that this film prescribes is very strong medicine indeed. You may not like it, but I defy you not to think about it for a long time after you've seen it.

Overblown antique that would be forgotten except for fans of Huston were it not for the presence of Jean Harlow in the cast. In her last supporting role before Red Headed Woman moved her to the top of the MGM pecking order she is cheap, brassy and sexual in a way that would disappear once the Hays Code went into effect in a few years. As for the rest of the film, it has pieces of dialog that are wildly inappropriate in both racial and feminist context but were standard at the time. Huston's performance is variable, mostly good but with some ham-fisted touches but he is subtlety itself compared to Tully Marshall as the defense attorney who is so florid during one of his speeches it's impossible to keep a straight face. The climax is another piece of over the top absurdity but if you're a Harlow fan the film is worth watching.

Let's start at the end.....without giving anything away, the ending is so stupid, so really, really stupid that you are very likely to yell out at the screen: 'You stupid idiot!'

Why you'll feel so animated and annoyed to do this is because by the end you will have bonded with these people. They two main characters are brilliantly portrayed by Walter Huston playing New York's most honest, sincere and earnest crusading policeman and Wallace Ford playing his kid brother. The younger brother is overshadowed by 'the great man' so cannot compete with him in terms of status, respect and especially salary. He is easily corrupted by the tartiest of tarty gangster's molls ever - Jean Harlow, who leads him down the route to fun, easy money - and because it's an MGM film, ultimate destruction! For once, Jean Harlow's acting is actually not too bad, I personally can't see why anyone could be attracted to her but whatever she does she does it pretty convincingly to poor, unsuspecting Wallace Ford.

The story behind why this motion picture was made and the opening quotation from hapless Hoover almost deterred me from watching. President Hoover, WR Hurst (who financed this) and LB Mayer annoyed that gangsters were seen almost as celebrities (and WB not MGM/Hurst were making money from gangster movies) decided to make a film which glorified the authorities instead of the criminals (although none of the WB actually glorified the gangsters). It may originally have had those high ideals but since it ended up showing corruption in the courts, corruption in the police, corruption in society, it is essentially just another gangster movie. The grey and grimy, sleazy streets of the city are just as unwelcoming yet also just as enticing and exciting as in any of its Cagney contemporaries.

The 'beast' here is corruption and because we're used to watching good guys fight bad guys, when the bad guy is a concept rather than an actual person in a black hat, maybe we can't get as emotionally engaged? However, with a pretty decent story, a believable script, a decent MGM budget and good, fast-moving direction from Scouser Charles Brabin, veteran of the silent days, this is surprisingly good....but what a stupid, stupid ending.

I love pre-code gangster movies! While Warner's is the indisputable king, MGM threw out all the stops in what appears as an attempt to go head to head with Warner's in making a crime drama. The results are remarkable. The stars here are the cops, something WB didn't focus on until 3 years later with G-Men. Walter Huston does a remarkable job as a police captain whose badge is on the rise but whose not afraid to get his hands dirty. His career is endangered by his reckless, irresponsible younger brother (well played by Wallace Ford, very early in his career), also a cop, who's got an eye for hard-bitten gangland moll Jean Harlow. There's several fantastic scenes: Harlow's memorable line-up, Harlow's hoochie koochie dance, running outdoor gun battles and an outrageous final face-to-face confrontation between the cops and Hersholt's gang in a restaurant. Judging by the 1930's police tactics depicted, it'd be a miracle if anyone on the force survived till retirement. Cops continuously run fearlessly headlong into hails of lead without a thought to taking cover. Look for a young Mickey Rooney and those twin girls (the 14-year old Crane twins) that briefly announced Hal Roach's opening Our Gang credits as Huston's kids. Huston probably drew upon this role for the extremely weird Gabriel Over the White House the following year. Seeing Jean Hersholt (by all accounts one of the most lovable guys in Hollywood--- yeesh, he's got a humanitarian award named in his honor) playing a greasy Capone-esquire crime lord stretches disbelief, but at this point in his career he was considered a 'heavy,' and image that would drastically change over the next decade when he became synonymous with kindly Dr. Gillespie. Beast of the City gives you all this plus creative pre-Miranda police interviewing techniques--- it's cool to see those great 1929-31 Lincoln police cars racing around chasing bad guys with their blaring one-way radios. Beast of the City ranks with the best of the genre and thanks to TCM and TiVo I've seen it a dozen times... this is excellent! Rates a 10!

I popped this in one day not really knowing what to expect out of it. I came in with no prior knowledge of what the movie was even about. I didn't' expect all that much, so i was pleasantly surprised.

I think the thing that stuck with me the most about this picture was that, although slightly dated, it still holds up quite well today. The film attempts to tell the classic cops .vs. gangsters story from the cops point of view, and the measures they needed to go to wipe out gang violence and crime at that time.

The film starts out fresh but gets bogged down in a tedious, and borderline pointless courtroom trial. The ham factor is through the roof here. The performances throughout the rest of the picture, particularly Huston and Harlow, are very good however.

The ending, like so many of my reviewing compatriots mentioned, is pretty shocking for it's time, but is hurt by the terribly lame lines before the action starts.

The Bottom Line - Nothing too special about the movie, but strong performances, a decent script, and some great scenes warrant ***/****

This is a film that is for the most part mundane, tedious, and pretentious, and the only reason to watch it is to see the Jean Harlow, who is anything but those things.

Walter Huston plays a police officer who is Ivory Soap pure, and who vows to clean up the city after he's promoted to chief of police. Unfortunately, a major problem with the film is there is no effective counterbalance to his role. There are 'bad guys' of course, and a few requisite chase and shootout scenes, but their presence is tepid, and there certainly is no 'beast of the city' that the title would suggest.

Harlow, on the other hand, is sensational in the roll of the gangsters' moll who seduces the brother of Huston's character, who is also a cop. The scenes of her reclining back on a chaise lounge, and later swaying her body in an eastern style dance are absolutely electric. In a prelude to 'The Red-Headed Woman' which would appear later in the same year, when he grabs her by the arm and says "You don't like to be hurt, do ya?", she slowly drawls, "Oh I don't know … it's kinda fun sometimes if it's done in the right spirit."

Unfortunately, that's just about it. There's police procedure, we see Huston at home, we see him lecturing fellow officers (zzzz), and we have a typical courtroom trial near the end. Oh, if you're a Mickey Rooney fan, you may like to see him in a small part at age 11; that was somewhat cute.

I won't spoil the ending but have to say it's horrible, not just because of what happens, but because of how illogical and inconsistent it is. It's also highly melodramatic, and a bookend to the beginning of the film, which has a quote from President Herbert Hoover extolling the virtues of the police and their need for better support. If you think about the actions of the police in the film however, you may find yourself a little puzzled. It's just a bad movie with one bright spot, Harlow.

Beast of the City, The (1932)

*** (out of 4)

MGM gangster film shown from the point of view of the police. Capt. Fitzpatrick (Walter Huston) is out to bring down gangster Sam Belmonte (Jean Hersholt) but is sold out by his brother (Wallace Ford) who has fallen for the gangster's girl (Jean Harlow). This film is certainly a lot different than the Warner gangster pictures as it doesn't glamorize the gangsters but instead puts the spotlight on the public for allowing gangs to rule the streets. Huston is his usual fiery self and both Ford and Harlow shine in their supporting roles. The subplot between Ford and Harlow is a bit weak but it leads to a highly powerful ending, which is among one of the best scenes from all the gangster films from this period.

As was popular in the early 1930s, Hollywood made another film to celebrate the dedicated police force who tried to clear up crime and violence created by gangsters and bootleggers. Most of these movies had opening dedications, intended to make the audience appreciate and understand the risks our boys in blue take every day. In The Beast of the City, there are so many vices the film warns against, it's unsure which is actually the "beast": violence, alcohol, or bombshell blondes.

Jean Harlow made a splash hit in this film as a hardened moll, quick with a wise crack and even quicker with her men. This is a pre-Code film, so all bets are off, as far as making every man in America fall in lust with Jean. She tells her main squeeze that she likes violence, when it's "in the right spirit." She gives him a lap dance, famously filmed by director Charles Brabin through the window, and she thumbs her nose at cops and drinks gin at wild parties. She may have been introduced to American audiences in Hell's Angels, but she became a star with The Beast of the City.

Walter Huston stars as the police chief, determined to bring down the crime syndicate. As you might expect, you'll be torn between rooting for his honesty and decency and the raring good time had by Jean and the gangsters. There's no scrimping on the violence in this film, and since it's pre-Code, when men get shot, they don't just clutch their unstained breast pocket. This flick is gritty, even though it's more remembered for Jean's lap dance than for anything else.

This is a classic example of those pre-Hays Code movies of the 30s, gritty and violent steeped in a general sort of sleazy atmosphere. Harlow is terrific, especially in her first scene with Wallace Ford; sexy, funny, tough. The movie is fast-paced and has a certain style and an engaging toughness.

Entertaining most of the way through, it begins to run out of energy towards the end, and also out of intelligence. While the other comments here laud the stylish, incredibly violent ending, it's really dumb, contrived and completely unconvincing. For some reason people here are so taken with its visceral effect that they ignore its utter ridiculousness. But overall this movie holds up very well for something from the 30s, and is well worth watching.

Jim Fitzpatrick (Walter Huston) and his police squad are tackling criminals using all means possible especially gangster boss Sam Belmonte. Fitzpatrick brings in Belmonte once again but his bosses release the criminal almost right away. With so much failure, the mayor promotes the heroic Jim to be the new chief. Jim refuses to promote his younger brother Detective Ed Fitzpatrick (Wallace Ford). Ed turns to his girlfriend Daisy Stevens (Jean Harlow) who is actually Belmonte's gun moll.

Supposedly, this is an effort between the studio and Herbert Hoover in trying to make the cops as tough and as celebrated as the criminals in all those gangster movies. It's violent and it has Jean Harlow. It's a cop drama. I would probably change the final shootout but I understand the visual style of the premise.

Grim and gritty pre-Code crime drama about a tough-as-nails police captain (Walter Huston) with a hard-on for wiping out crime. His brother (Wallace Ford) falls for a vampy bad girl (Jean Harlow). Through her, he gets involved with gangster Sam Belmonte (a miscast Jean Hersholt). This leads to an inevitable clash between brothers.

Well-directed and well-written with solid acting, especially for 1932. Harlow is her usual alluring self. Huston is great in a part that is not very sympathetic, despite his being the protagonist. Early work by J. Carrol Naish as Hersholt's henchman, Cholo. Speaking of Hersholt, he was the only suspect casting. I'm not bashing Hersholt because he was a fine actor. But hearing him spout gangster slang through his thick accent was a little silly. Mickey Rooney has a small part as one of Huston's kids.

Another great Walter Huston movie from the '30s. He made a lot of interesting ones. The aim of this particular film is to glorify cops not criminals. At least that's what the Herbert Hoover-signed message before the credits says. Yet the ultimate message of the movie is that in order for the cops to stop the criminals, they have to abandon the rule of law and take matters into their own hands. The final shoot-out between the gangsters and the vigilante cops is amazing.

A run of the mill Warners gangster movie from 1932.

Walter Huston is pretty good, but he was much better in lots of other things. Jean Harlow is Jean Harlow. If you like her, you'll like her. If not (I generally don't), this movie won't make you a convert.

The movie hilariously opens with a scroll condemning vice and crime and extolling the virtues of our police officers. This was just an excuse for Warners to then give us as tawdry a movie as possible without freaking out the censors.

Grade: C

Really very well done, though the ending has to be seen to be believed. It seems to start a bit slowly, but it really packs in a lot of action, humor and human interest. The film that made Jean Harlow a big star.

Unlike most gangster films of the early 30s, this Hearst-produced item was fiercely on the side of the law (with a supporting quote by President Herbert Hoover directly following the opening credits), as personified by Walter Huston, as a charming "everyman" Irish cop with a weak-willed younger brother (Wallace Ford). Huston is a charming family man (extended scenes with his wife and children underscore this point, to distraction) who dedicates himself to wiping out crime in a generic, unnamed American city during Prohibition when bootleggers were the scourge of the nation. Ford, lured by gang moll Jean Harlow, gets mixed up with a crime syndicate (led by German-accented Jean Hersholt uncharacteristically cast as a loathsome Italian gangster). Harlow gets the best lines and is easily the most engaging element of the story. The resolution is earnest if technically clumsy and obvious, but with Harlow, Huston, Hersholt and Tully Marshall, who delivers a rousing courtroom monologue (not to mention a supporting role played by an 11-year-old Mickey Rooney), it's worth a look.