Frisco Jenny (Wellman, 1932)

Frisco Jenny (William A. Wellman, 1932)

As rushed and slightly uninvolving as the first half is, the second half was equally as interesting and heartbreaking. Ruth Chatterton plays a woman who finds herself more often than not in the wrong place at the wrong time, and involved with the wrong people. It costs her almost everything. The 70-minute films covers a span of over 30 years, making a good portion feel hurried. But when it slows and the dust settles on Chatterton’s worn down character sitting in a jail cell completely dejected and hopeless, for perhaps the first time she experiences a moment of reflection and doesn’t like what she sees. If your heart doesn’t break, there might be no helping you. The fantastic and unsentimental ending makes it easy to forgive so many early flaws.  7.75/10

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