Comments on: Me and My Gal (1932)…and an Introduction

By: Blake Lucas

Blake Lucas — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:26:39 +0000

For those who want to see ME AND MY GAL, if you have Fox Movie Channel on Cable, they’ve shown it several times this year (late night/early morning) and presumably will again. This is where I finally saw it again this year (got it on tape and then watched
a few days later) after seeing it years ago. And it remained a really special film, everything R. Emmett Sweeney has here evoked so well.

By: TCM's Classic Movie Blog

TCM's Classic Movie Blog — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:02:05 +0000

[...] with comment below, and my bits on Me and My Gal (1932) and Colorado Territory (1949) are here and [...]

By: TCM’s Classic Movie Blog

TCM’s Classic Movie Blog — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:02:32 +0000

[...] Raoul Walsh, sez Rosenbaum, and that it’s “A small picture, but an ecstatic one.” Sold! I’ve consulted the site more than anything bound in pulp, and I daresay I’m the [...]

By: Judy

Judy — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:37:57 +0000

Enjoyed your review very much. This sounds like a fascinating film – I am now tempted to try to track it down, especially as I’d like to see more early Tracy. The voiceover sequence sounds intriguing.

By: Al Lowe

Al Lowe — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:25:55 +0000

“Didn’t I meet you somewhere once?”
“I’ve been somewhere once.”
“That’s where I met ya.”
“Well, once was enough.”

This exchange could be from several Walsh films – like They Drive By Night – but its not. It is dialogue from Me and My Gal, with Tracy and Bennett.
Interesting choice for a debut piece, particularly since I think you and I are the only ones who have seen it. (I have it on VHS.) But it is interesting for other reasons. A stroke victim is a key element in the plot. Marion Burns is supposedly a good girl but she easily falls prey to the charms of a cad. The lead, Tracy is ignored for a while as Will Stanton does his drunk routine (and has some good lines).
But my main impression is that the movie is a lot of fun. Walsh and Hawks are directors who deliver the fun that made people want to go to the movies. They Drive by Night, The Tall Men and Me and My Gal are technically not comedies but there’s a lot more laughs there than some ambitious comedies made at that time.

By: Rick

Rick — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:22:59 +0000

Enjoyed your post! Years ago I had a film club, and rented Me and My Gal/16mm on a couple occasions … the second time was actually a last minute replacement for non-arrival of Tracy’s Up The River … admittedly I was a bit worried by the unannounced switch from an unseen (and much anticipated) Ford to a Walsh repeat, but the audience was grateful anyway, which I always considered a testament to its many charms. Haven’t seen it since, but keep hoping for a DVD. It IS available from a grey market supplier called vintagefilmbuff.com, but I never did order it because of the atrocious (not just bad … ATROCIOUS) quality from an earlier purchase of their product. My most fervent hope is that Fox, who has both surprised and elated us these past two Christmases with their Ford at Fox and Murnau/Borzage sets, might spring for a Walsh box this year, drawing again from their untapped reserve of gems (perhaps rounding it out with a batch of Hawks silents). Anyway, glad to hear the film is still alive and well at Film Forum … great observations … thanks!

By: R. Emmet Sweeney

R. Emmet Sweeney — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:43:44 +0000

Thanks everyone! And I should have noted that “Me and My Gal” is NOT available on DVD legally, at least as far as I know. It’s a crime, really. I encourage everyone to read an article by Anthony Kaufman at Moving Image Source, about the death of VHS and the many formerly available films that are disappearing with it. It’s here:

http://www.movingimagesource.us/articles/the-vanishing-20090226

And Patricia, it’s possible to live life without it, but who’d want to?

By: moirafinnie

moirafinnie — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:18:19 +0000

Welcome, R. Emmett Sweeney! Your informative and lively take on Me and My Gal (1932), and Raoul Walsh in particular is an excellent introduction. I particularly like your singling out the "Strange Inner Tube" reference. I think that Joan Bennett and Spencer Tracy were a wonderful pair on screen in all of their four outings--they seemed to bring something mischievous out in one another. I suppose that Fox Films was in such desperate straits by 1932 that a poke in the eye toward a rather pretentious "prestige picture" at the biggest studio in town, MGM, seemed to be worth a shot--especially if it yielded a real laugh as you describe. I know it gave me a smile. I really look forward to your next post.

By: Patricia

Patricia — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:10:00 +0000

You make “Me and My Gal” sound like a winner. I have a feeling that life will not be complete until I’ve seen it.

By: P.L. Kerpius

P.L. Kerpius — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:55:12 +0000

Bad move studying cinema indeed! I’m with you, brother, we should have gotten those MBAs instead. Naive of us not to. Ah, well, cheap pasta dinners go well with Trader Joe’s wine and a classic movie DVD; I cannot wait to watch Me and My Gal! To the top of the queue it goes…