Bette Davis is teamed with James Cagney in a broad farce that combines spontaneous gaiety and infectious humor. It’s a hefty package of laugh entertainment [from the story by Kenneth Earl and M.M. Musselman].
In handing Davis a comedy assignment, Warners go all out in also making her the victim of continual physical and mental violence. She’s dirtied up in a mine; acquires three doses of cacti needles in periodic falls; and even exposes her posterior as target for well-directed shots from Cagney’s improvised slingshot.
Cagney is the owner of a plane about to be repossessed by the finance company. Davis is an oil heiress about to marry orchestra leader Jack Carson. Radio gossiper Stuart Erwin prevails on the pair to elope via plane to Las Vegas – and naturally Cagney’s ship is chartered.
Cagney grooves in a familiar role as the aggressive and two-fisted battler – manhandling the girl periodically for maximum results. Davis clicks strongly as the oil heiress, displaying a flair for comedy.
