Review of Me and My Gal (1932) by Dalia D — 17 Mar 2009

Me and My Gal is a movie Iâ??ve seen beforeâ??probably during the New York City Noir festivalâ??but without realizing it, since I missed the beginning the first time. Itâ??s a lengthy, anecdotal beginning for whatâ??s basically a mad-cap love story about good cop versus bad gangster (the two men are in love with a pair of sisters, if the gangster can be said to be in loveâ??heâ??s likely just using the girl since she works at the bank heâ??s planning to rob). Before any of the action gets off the ground, the film meanders along the waterfront, where the cop (Spencer Tracy) saves a dog (its owner canâ??t afford to feed it so is about to intentionally drown it) and a drunk (whoâ??s actually made it into the water and has to be pulled out). The drunk comes back later in one of my favorite comic scenes of all timeâ??heâ??s slapped a diner with a huge fish, and he, the diner, and another diner are calmly arguing over just what type of fish it is. The cop gets in on the argument before settling it and returning to his usual habit at the restaurant: flirting with the cash register girl (the sister of the gangsterâ??s girl and the copâ??s love interest).

The filmâ??s other genius moment is the thoughts-out-loud sequence while the cop and the cash-register girl are on their first dateâ??unchaperoned, at the cash-girlâ??s apartment. Theyâ??re canoodling on the couch over a box of chocolates when the cop presses his luck and turns out the lights, trying for a kiss (and more, if he can get it). We hear their thoughtsâ??something to the effect of â??A girl doesnâ??t know how far to let a guy go,â?? and â??A guy doesnâ??t know how far heâ??s supposed to try to go,â?? back and forth a bit, until they both get a little frustrated and the evening ends in a spat. Later, they reënact the conversation aloud, and decide that a kiss is okay, if itâ??s sweet and tender, resolving their differences (not that there were any to begin with) and eventually deciding to get married. Thatâ??s where the film ends, though Iâ??ve skipped the bank heist, the gangster in the attic room, the paralyzed father-in-law who discloses that hideout by blinking his eyes in Morse code, and the ensuing roof-top chase scene that culminates in one dead gangster and one promoted cop. All thatâ??s just gravy to an already madcap mating story.