Penthouse (1933) User Reviews (37)

The "Gangster Lawyer" and his Gang

[movingpicturegal · 7/10 · 30 March 2007]

Quite decent crime mystery starring Warner Baxter as Jack Durant, a society lawyer who gets dumped by his law firm as well as his snooty girlfriend who doesn't want to marry a "gangster lawyer" (as she calls him) because he likes to defend criminal types such as gangsters, racketeers, bootleggers, and the like (doesn't fit in with her tennis, yacht dances, and lawn party lifestyle, I guess). Anyway, this gal immediately becomes engaged to a young "Park Avenue" man who soon gets arrested for murder - and Durant sets out to prove this young man was framed, along with the help of a gangster pal named Tony and Durant's newest female interest, a woman (played by Myrna Loy) who was best friends with the "night club hostess" who was murdered.

This is an entertaining film with engaging story that held my interest. The story is somewhat predictable, but very interesting to watch with well done performances by all. I enjoyed Myrna Loy in this (though she is resigned to wearing the same big-front-bowed evening gown just about the entire film). Warner Baxter is handsome and smooth here - there is some amusing bedroom talk between him and Loy where she seems to want to spend the night with him, he wants to hold back and play the "gentleman". Nat Pendleton is fun here as Tony, the gangster with a good sense of humor. Quite good.

An unknown movie that deserves rediscovery

[preppy-3 · 8/10 · 14 July 2004]

An honest lawyer (Warner Baxter) is in a jam. A friend of his ex (Phillips Holmes) was been wrongfully accused of murder...but nobody will trust him or confide in him because of his reputation. But a friend (Myrna Loy) of the murdered girl agrees to help him. There's a lot more twists and turns in this movie but you should see it to find them out.

The movie movie moves like lightning, has a sharp, snappy script and a cast of actors giving it their all. There's also pretty frank sexual innuendo between Baxter and Loy (I'm assuming this was a pre-Code film). Well worth seeing.

For some reason this is a forgotten movie. It's a shame because this is really a great little picture. Maybe the lack of stars (except for Loy) keeps this off the radar. This is well worth rediscovering.

Myrna Loy Nails It

[MikeMagi · 8/10 · 29 March 2007]

"Penthouse" is a first-rate example of "they don't make 'em like that anymore." The tale of a society lawyer turned criminal defense attorney -- out to prove the innocence of the accused murderer who waltzed off with his fiancée -- zips along. The dialog of the fabled Hackett-Goodrich team is sassy and clever. The relationship between lawyer Warner Baxter and Nat Pendleton as the racketeer who's his guardian angel perks up the plot. But it's Myrna Loy as the call girl who joins forces with Baxter to nail the real killer who shines. There are certain people the camera finds irresistible. And here, as the most lovable fallen woman of the pre-code era, Loy demonstrates the impish allure that would light up the screen for years to come.

Loy Steals It

[Michael_Elliott · 13 June 2009]

Penthouse (1933)

*** (out of 4)

Warner Baxter plays a lawyer who has a reputation of getting guilty men off with murders but in reality he takes those who look guilty and proves their innocents. After getting a gangster off for murder, he gets involved with a new case where a friend of his is accused of murder and the only way to break through the case is by taking up with a gangster moll (Myrna Loy). I was really looking forward to this film, which many (including Maltin) talk up as a major gem of the decade and while I wouldn't go that far the movie is still pretty good. I think the biggest benefit here is that we get a lot of pre-code material including Baxter and Loy spending the night together, some sexual innuendo and most important is the sight of blood coming out of bullet holes, which wasn't seen in some of the major gangster films of the era. Another major plus are the performances with Baxter and Loy doing great work and really having great chemistry together. Moy easily steals the film in a very sexy performance that gives her quite a bit of range in terms of her character development. The supporting cast includes Charles Butterworth, Mae Clarke, C. Henry Gordon, Nat Pendleton, Raymond Hatton and George E. Stone. I think the film gets a little long winded in the middle but in the end this is another winning picture from the director and certainly worth watching when it pops up on Turner Classic Movies.

Thin Man, take one

[1930s_Time_Machine · 6/10 · 12 November 2023]

Chic, stylish gangster romantic fun - MGM style. As you'd expect from this writing-directing team, you get likeable heroes, villainous villains, damsels in distress, femme fatales - in fact every familiar stereotype you could possibly want all expertly blended together then hurled at your face like a grapefruit.

For an early thirties picture, the cast is unusually large with an unusually multi-layered story. Despite this, because of its skilful and focused writing, the story is told with beautiful simplicity. As a murder mystery, it's perhaps a little too simple - the police division investigating here must have been the special needs department.... but that doesn't really matter. What matters are the relationships, the witty banter, the genuine tension, the fast moving action..... and which girl will Warner Baxter end up with?

This was Woody Van Dyke's next project after the fabulous NIGHT COURT (a really fabulous film) so it had a lot to live up to but there was no need to worry. Virtually everything he made from now on such as THE THIN MAN was pure gold. In this he benefits from having a great lead - Clark Gable's dad or maybe older brother - Warner Baxter. The characters are the ultimate cliches but so what - that just gives it a comfy warm sense of familiarity. Myrna Loy plays the archetypal tart-with-a-heart and although I've always found her strangely sinister like one of Satan's demons in drag, I have to admit that she's actually not too bad in this. Warner Baxter however just oozes charm and sincerity - it's definitely his picture...... along with Nat Pendleton who plays the loveable not as bad as the nasty gangster, gangster.

It's formulaic of course but it still has its own individual style and isn't a cheap imitation of a Warner Brothers gangster film. It's pure, classy MGM entertainment.

Pretty good little mystery

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 20 May 2009]

This film was made a year before Myrna Loy catapulted to super-stardom with the Thin Man movies. At this point in her career, she was still a relatively unknown actress with a long but generally undistinguished track record. Warner Baxter, on the other hand, was the bigger star--with starring roles in 42ND STREET, THE CISCO KID (and its sequel) and THE SQUAW MAN.

Stylistically, the film is actually a lot like Baxter's B-movie series, The Crime Doctor, though in this case he plays a defense attorney who investigates crimes instead of a criminal psychiatrist who investigates crimes. Additionally, PENTHOUSE has a bit more style, polish and better acting than the Columbia Pictures series.

The film begins with Baxter getting a big-time hood off for a crime he apparently did not commit (for once). However, in a odd scene, the other lawyers in the practice vote him out because they don't want to be associated with such riffraff and attorneys who defend them (Ethics and a law practice?!?! What planet did these lawyers come from anyway?!?!). Additionally, Baxter's stuck up fiancée breaks it off with him because of the unsavory element he chooses to defend. However, Baxter really isn't a jerk lawyer--he just feels that IF the guy is actually innocent, he deserves a strong defense attorney (duh). But in this bizarre As I said above, this is a film with the odd idea of an attorney PERSONALLY investigating and solving crimes which his friends or clients are accused of committing. In reality, this never happens and I can't imagine Johnny Cochran or Robert Shapiro doing this and it's a cliché you just have to accept or else the film makes very little sense.

Along for the ride are Loy, Nat Pendleton (in one of his better and richer supporting roles) and a variety of other familiar faces (including veteran B actor, George E. Stone). It won't change your life and is a tad silly, but so well done that it's easy to forgive and enjoy.

By the way, having Myrna Loy stay in Baxter's apartment (even though they were in separate rooms) probably never would have gotten past the censors just one year later after the new Production Code would be enacted. Nor would a single man (Baxter) have been allowed to show a single girl around his bedroom.

Gertie Waxted???....What were they thinking???...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 29 March 2007]

Charming MYRNA LOY plays a call girl who helps WARNER BAXTER get to the bottom of a mystery involving slain "night-club hostess" MAE CLARKE and PHILLIP HOLMES, the man wrongly accused of murdering her.

The plot is a pleasant fabrication and obviously in pre-code, tongue-in-cheek manner, as for example when Myrna says to Baxter: "Well, I didn't exactly have to fight for my honor last night," the day after spending a night in his fancy suite. Baxter enlists her aid in solving the mystery since she's likely to come up with some facts about Clarke's background that will be helpful to him.

She's given the improbable character name of Gertie Waxted--hardly the sort of name one would give a "call girl" character--and frankly, Loy is much to sweetly sophisticated to play the part convincingly enough. She's obviously several steps above the kind of girl she's playing.

Baxter fares better as the criminal lawyer whose favorite client happens to be NAT PENDLETON, a man who knows more than he's willing to tell about the whole scheme behind Clarke's murder.

It's a silky smooth production--and typical of early '30s melodramas, there's not a trace of background music on the soundtrack--just over the opening and closing credits. Too bad, because this would have helped make the tale a bit more suspenseful.

For fans of MYRNA LOY, this should be required viewing. She's even more attractive here than she was in the Thin Man films. As for WARNER BAXTER, I never could see what Hollywood saw in him as leading man material. He seems to lack the charisma of a true star.

Eschewing Wall Street for the Criminal Court

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 29 March 2007]

As I started watching Penthouse this afternoon, I knew I had seen this before. It turns out I reviewed another remake of this film that MGM did in 1939 entitled Society Lawyer that starred Walter Pidgeon and Virginia Bruce playing the parts that Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy played here.

The plot was pretty much the same, the screen writing team of Goodrich and Hackett dusted off the old script for the remake. One thing they did do was tone down the sexual innuendos so prevalent in Penthouse.

Warner Baxter is an attorney for what we would now call a white shoe law firm who recently got gangster Nat Pendleton acquitted. Of course this law firm is not wanting Baxter doing criminal work for notorious and ethnic clients so Baxter is given the boot. Not that he cares really because he's wealthy enough himself. But he doesn't like it when girlfriend Mae Clarke does likewise. She's seeing Phillips Holmes now who's more her style.

Later though when Holmes is accused of murder Baxter's services are needed and how. Baxter takes on Holmes as a client and his underworld connections prove valuable.

If you've seen Society Lawyer, you know how this ends right down to how the murder was really committed and who did it.

When I did the review for Society Lawyer I remarked that the film looked like a prototype for a series that Walter Pidgeon would have done with Herbert Mundin who played his butler. Charles Butterworth plays the butler here and also does a good job. The latter film turned out to be the last film Herbert Mundin did as he was killed in an automobile crash. Ironically enough so was Charles Butterworth. As Hackett and Goodrich also scripted the Thin Man film and it was also directed by Woody Van Dyke, this could easily have turned into a series like that for MGM. Problem was that Warner Baxter was not an MGM contract player. If he was I could have seen Myrna Loy, Warner Baxter, and Charles Butterworth doing a series.

It took a year's wait, but Myrna Loy got into one of the most acclaimed movie series of all.

Loy warms up for Thin Man.

[st-shot · 6/10 · 20 May 2009]

Myrna Loy had had appeared in over 70 films when she she was featured in Penthouse for WS "Hurry Up" Van Dyke who would go on to direct her in the highly successful Thin Man series. Its easy to see why. She's not to far from Nora Charles in this murder mystery that has her romanced by sleuth lawyer Warner Baxter who mirrors Nick Charles and his gravitation to nostagie de la boule in this warm up to her pairing with William Powell. Also on board are a garden variety of Runyonesque mugs, thugs and flatfoots that would also permeate the series.

On its own its a typical Van Dyke quickly paced tongue in cheek crime film that on many levels holds its own with the series since it cannot help but beg comparison. In doing so this lightly entertaining piece lacks the presence and chemistry of the dynamite pairing of Loy and Powell. Baxter is adequate but lacks Powell's energy, vitality and comedic abilities and while this may be an unfair way to judge it there is no ignoring in hindsight the vastly improved similar work that unintentionally obstructs my view of this Penthouse.

A Forgotten Jewel With a Tremendous Supporting Cast

[Cutter-2 · 9/10 · 24 August 2003]

I knew virtually nothing about this movie before I saw it. At one time I may have seen that Leonard Maltin thought highly of it but Leonard has thought highly of more than a few duds. However, this was anything but a yawner!! That I have always thought W. S. Van Dyke was unappreciated as a director may also be a factor in my opinion of the movie.

I found Penthouse to be thoroughly enjoyable. Although never a big Warner Baxter fan, he was very convincing as an ostracized `society lawyer'. Loy, who was directed by Van Dyke in three of her best pre-Nora movies, is what can only be described as a call girl. Loy as a call girl is not nearly as difficult to believe as the name of the character she plays, Gertie Waxted. Myrna never remotely looked like a Gertie Waxted, regardless of her occupation and any call girl with a name like Gertie Waxted would have changed it.

I would imagine this was released pre-code during 1933 because the innuendo between Baxter and Loy was anything but subtle especially the first night and morning after Loy spends in Baxter's apartment (in separate rooms). The exchange where Myrna tells Baxter she was disappointed she did not have to defend her honor the previous evening is classic. At the same time, one has the opinion she would not have put up much of a fight. The supporting cast of Butterworth, Clark, Nat Pendleton, one of my all-time favorites, and Gordon is excellent. Butterworth's deadpan `I hope this will teach Mr. Durant (Baxter) only to take murderers from the best families' line at the end of the movie is unforgettable.

The Plot Summary accurately describes the situation so there is no need to dwell on it here. The two aspects of the plot that carry the movie are Loy as a very believable call girl and Pendleton as a gangster who is devoted to Baxter for getting him off on the proverbial murder wrap. To most classic movie fans, Loy is Nora Charles, William Powell's wife or Milly Stephenson. Loy as a believable call girl is no easy feat. In post-code Manhattan Melodrama one had to read between the lines to see anything wrong with Myrna as Blackie's girl who moves over to William Powell. In Penthouse, Myrna as a call girl punches you in the face.

Interesting mix of characters in this matinee mystery

[SimonJack · 7/10 · 14 July 2020]

The plot of "Penthouse" has a feel of soap opera, daytime drama and heavier crime mystery. It's not a particularly beguiling story. But the plot brings several very different and interesting characters together. Not the least, by far, are the male and female leads. Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy provide the best dialog that is peppered with occasional witty comments.

Baxter's Jackson Durant is a very different attorney. Wealthy from the law firm his family founded, he doesn't go along with the reigning top partners of the firm. Handling estates and investments, deeds and wills of wealthy old ladies is not his idea of practicing law. He wants to be where the excitement is. So, he handles a headline criminal case, and befriends a crime group boss, Tony Gazotti. This must be one of the meatier roles for Nat Pendleton, and still with his street-guy persona, he does a good job.

Gazotti likes Durant, but Durant isn't a crook's lawyer, and won't represent Tony's organization. His interest and service were solely in the line of justice with the law. He saw Gazotti was getting a bum rap, so he defended him to get him off.

All of that sets the stage for more, and it's still some time before the leading lady enters the scene. But when she does Myrna Loy's Gertie Waxted gets the spotlight. This is not the Myrna Loy of the witty Thin Man series, or run of comedies with William Powell; or the perfect housewife of some later films. No, this was the young Myrna playing a working girl who dated some of the shady characters. But, she is captivating in her honesty and straightforwardness, and her desire to help Durant find the killer of her girlfriend, Mimi Montagne, played very well by Mae Clarke.

The film is billed as a romance as well, but that isn't so apparent throughout -- to the credit of the plot. The variety of characters in the cast includes several more. The best of these are C. Henry Gordon as Jim Crelliman, Phillips Holmes as Tom Siddall, and Charles Butterworth as Durant's butler, Layton.

This film is entertaining but nothing along the lines of the clever Thin Man or other mysteries. Viewers know very early on how the main murder is committed and who's behind it, if not the actual murderer. Here are some favorite lines from the film.

Jackson Durant, "As a matter of idle curiosity, will you tell me why I slept at that end?" Layton, "You said you wished to sleep with your head toward the entrance."

Durant, "Yes, I vaguely remember I went to a party last night. Where was it?" Layton, "Right here, sir." Durant, "Uh, did I have a good time?" Layton, "Yes." Durant,, "Good."

Layton, "You were in a very generous mood, sir. But I persuaded the young lady to whom you gave the grand piano it would be difficult to get movers over at night."

Layton, "What is it, sir? What is it?" Durant, after hanging up on a threatening phone call, "Someone's just convinced me that Siddall is innocent."

Jackson Durant, "Music is certainly a wonderful thing. I meet you and five minutes later you're in my arms." Gertie Waxted, "Do you have to have music?" Durant, "I don't know. Do I?" Gertie, "I refuse to answer on the grounds it may incriminate and degrade me."

Durant, "If I give you anything, I'll demand payment." Gertie, "I hate to be in debt."

Durant, "You know, I've got some eggs at my place that are just longing to be scrambled by you." Gertie, "Well, I hate to keep an egg waiting. Let's go.''

Durant, "My advice to you is put your money in government bonds." Stevens, played by Robert E. O'Connor, "Hmm, mmm. You can't cuddle up to a government bond."

Durant, "I'm afraid you think I'm taking advantage of you." Gertie, "I'm afraid you won't."

Tony Gazotti, "I'd give you my right arm, and I ain't no south paw."

Durant, "You may be betting your life." Gertie, "When I bet, I bet all."

An Excellent Comedy-Drama Which Should be Better Known

[lhbulk · 10/10 · 3 February 2005]

I bought the "Rediscovering Myrna Loy" laser disc set six years ago because it contained MANHATTAN MELODRAMA. Somehow, the rest of the movies in the box "fell through the cracks" and I did not watch any of the others until I "rediscovered" the box three weeks ago.

I put this movie on and both my wife and I were astounded. It was like finding a diamond in a pile of stones.

Myrna Loy, as a high-class "call girl," is thoroughly believable and I wonder why she didn't play many more parts such as this (not that she needed to! Her career was just fine!). The closeups of her face are absolutely fantastic. Her expressions and her acting are positively first-class. Plus she's downright beautiful! The rest of the players are terrific too and make this one of the most enjoyable films I have seen recently. (I have watched it three times so far.) Nat Pendleton, always a pleasure to have in a movie, is just great in the role of an "Al Capone-like" gangster (but with a heart of gold), and Charles Butterworth is, well, Charles Butterworth. Warner Baxter is an excellent lead (this was made the same year as 42ND STREET) and the chemistry between him and Loy is just a pleasure to see.

I love risqué lines and innuendoes and this picture is loaded with them. I don't really think the following is a "spoiler," as it is very funny, but don't read it if you don't want to: as Warner Baxter, who is really beginning to like (and respect) her, leaves the bedroom after Myrna Loy is certain that he's going to sleep with her, she looks in the mirror with a horrified expression of "Why did he leave? Is there something wrong with me?" The moment is absolutely priceless and my wife and I both broke up so that we couldn't go on for a moment (it's great to have a "pause" button).

By the way, not only is it a comedy, but it's also a suspense picture which will have you on the edge of your seat. They REALLY DON'T make them like this anymore! I would really love to see this picture with an audience! It would be a great crowd-pleaser.

I highly recommend it to everyone.

precode film featuring Myrna Loy

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 10 September 2012]

Warner Baxter, Philips Holmes, Myrna Loy, Mae Clarke, and Charles Butterworth star in "Penthouse," a 1933 film directed by W.S. Van Dyke.

Baxter plays an attorney who is called on to help young Holmes when he's accused of killing his fiancée. That afternoon, she was the attorney's girlfriend, but she didn't like him taking mob-related cases. So she went out and got engaged.

Loy doesn't come into the film right away. She plays a party girl (hostess/prostitute) whom Jackson wants to talk to, as she was a friend of the victim's and can offer some details about the case. So he takes her back to his place, and she stays, to her surprise, in a separate bedroom when it's too late to go home.

Good acting and a good pace are appreciated here, but Loy was much too refined to have been in that sort of job. Mae Clarke was more on the money. Loy looked beautiful, and believe me, that was a feat. Her gown was beyond hideous. White (or some light color) with an enormous black velvet bow that went the width of her chest and was attached to the gown by a diagonal strap in the back and attached to her black velvet belt in front. Someone ate too much Chinese food, went to bed, and dreamt up that nightmare.

Despite this, Loy certainly had a presence and a serene beauty. But with that educated, well-modulated voice and all that grace, it seems odd she hadn't married some big-wig and was instead entertaining the customers at a bar.

MGM had a tendency to put gloss over everything, so this movie doesn't have the Warner Brothers gangster sleaze element that it needs.

Same storyline as "Society Lawyer"

[kenneth-larue · 5/10 · 2 October 2018]

This movie, "Penthouse", uses the same storyline as the 1932 movie "Sociel Lawyer". Not only is it the same storyline, the dialogue is almost word for word.

Fun and games in the underworld

[jaykay-10 · 17 July 2004]

There is lots of entertainment value in this picture - quality acting, sharp dialog, quick pace - but those who are looking for a story based in realistic circumstances may be disappointed. Despite there being a goodly number of unsavory types among the characters, just about everyone comes across as clean-cut, friendly, ready with a smile, and not the least bit threatening. This takes the sharp edge off a picture with lots of promise in its early development. Nat Pendleton plays a crime boss as if he hasn't a care in the world, more than ready to use his resources to make others happy. The Myrna Loy character is appealing (much as her Nora Charles was), but defies explication: charming, intelligent, well-mannered and well-spoken, but content to serve the paying customers as a hostess/bar girl/prostitute. It just doesn't add up. Mae Clark, as a less refined colleague, is much more believable.

[Don't fail to notice the latter, in a fit of anger, ready to throw a perfume bottle against the wall, then noticing the label and substituting a lesser brand; or Loy, keeping her composure as Warner Baxter chooses not to remain in her assigned room for the night, then immediately surveying her looks - right profile, left profile, hair, makeup - in a mirror, wondering if something has been lost.]

The picture needs more grit, given its subject matter. Comic relief from Charles Butterworth and Tom Kennedy are just what it doesn't need.

penthouse

[mossgrymk · 7/10 · 14 October 2022]

This movie is neither penthouse nor outhouse but rather a nice mid level, two bedroom, two bath pre code comedy/drama. If you can somehow watch it on its own terms and not be constantly comparing it to "Thin Man" it's fairly decent. Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy, who were friends in real life, have undeniable chemistry and, for my dough, Nat Pendleton almost steals the show as an amiable gangster with a desire for "class" which includes enjoying the erudite insults doled out by his louche, drunken lawyer, played by Baxter. Also good are Charles Butterworth as Baxter's bemused but proper butler and Raymond Hatton and Arthur Belasco as a pair of laconic, dour bodyguards. Give it a B minus.

If Nora Charles had been born poor ...

[seoulless · 7/10 · 27 September 2014]

... she would have been Gertie Waxted. One year after playing the deliciously depraved, lash-wielding daughter of Fu Manchu and a year before Mrs. Charles, Myrna Loy is closer to the latter than the former as the loose woman with a heart of gold. She steals the show. Forget about the murder. It's not particularly important or original - the writers don't even bother to reveal the killer's motive. Warner Baxter's character solves it without too much difficulty, though I doubt that any judge would sit still for the egregious entrapment he uses to wring a confession out of a henchman. No, just sit back and revel in all the wonderfully salacious, pre-Code lines Loy gets and the way she behaves. Her performance and personality are what elevate this otherwise routine flick.

Good Warner Baxter - Myrna Loy Vehicle

[fwdixon · 7/10 · 29 March 2013]

Warner Baxter is a mob lawyer who gets lovable lunkhead Nat Pendleton off a murder rap, thus earning his undying gratitude. Baxter's society girlfriend objects to his clientele and dumps him and proceeds to make goo goo eyes at some effete society nebbish. Said nebbish then dumps his slutty lover, who then goes back to her gangster ex-boyfriend C. Henry Gordon and promptly gets killed. Nebbish boyfriend takes the rap, causing Baxter's ex-girlfriend to beg Baxter to take the case, which he does. Baxter then asks Pendleton for his help and is introduced by him to Myrna Loy. Baxter tracks down clues with her help. Several murders ensue until Loy lures C. Henry Gordon to a trap meant to expose him. But Gordon is wise to her and is about to get his boys to bump her off when Nat Pendleton saves the day by killing them all. Unfortunately, Nat is killed for his efforts. Myrna and Warner wind up headed for the altar and a trip to Paris. The End.

I enjoyed this picture. It is a bit creaky with age but Baxter and Loy give good performances.

A gangster film a little too polished for its own good

[gbill-74877 · 6/10 · 15 April 2016]

'Penthouse' tells the story of a lawyer who loses his job and then his fiancé because he defended a gangster, but who then gets called it to help the same woman when her new boyfriend is framed for murder by a rival gang. It has a reasonably tight script and is well cast, with Warner Baxter playing the lawyer and Myrna Loy as the gangster's moll, a 'bad girl' with glittering eyes who he quite understandably falls for. Despite the company he keeps, however, he's a virtuous man – he won't take bad money, he stands up for the accused even when his life is ominously threatened, and when Loy sleeps over at his place, it's just that, sleeping over (much to her surprise). I think the film is pretty good but doesn't really stand out because it's too polished - the gangsters have gentlemanly attributes, far from Cagney's more realistic portrayal, and for all their pre-Code banter, the romantic exchanges lack real passion, with the exception of Mae Clarke (in a minor role), whose reaction when she's jilted is quite good. I suppose that's just it – Loy is very beautiful, but not quite right, whereas Clarke nails it. Not horrible, no major plot holes, nothing to really pan, and if you're a Loy or Baxter fan it may be worth watching – but you could do better.

OK comedy-drama-gangster pic, but nothing special

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 2 May 2017]

"Penthouse" has the makings of a good mystery, but they decide to tell you whodunit rather quickly. That leaves mainly the romance between Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy, and he is a little too old for her (the film's only pre-code element is Loy's disappointment that Baxter won't sleep with her on the first night they meet!). As an aristocratic racketeer, ex-wrestler Nat Pendleton gives probably the most enjoyable performance, but his character stretches credibility in the extremes he goes to keep Baxter safe. It's an OK film, but nothing really special. **1/2 out of 4.

Classic gangster murder mystery spiced with romance

[JBThackery · 9/10 · 19 May 2009]

This film contains all the elements of a great gangster story. It is a perfect example of 1930's big city gangster films. Yet it does not fall into a stereotypical mold at all. It is entertaining throughout. Just when you think it is going one way, it goes the other, building the suspense and irony until you realize it is not going to be a typical story.

All the players keep in character and hold your attention with crisp and refreshing dialogue. Baxter and Loy are so in tune with one another, and you do not get the feeling they are acting.

And isn't it neat to see Nat Pendleton play a smart, in-charge guy for once, instead of just a bumbling half-wit mob henchman. (Though he is always likable in that role, it surprised me to see what a smart guy he really was!) The plot of this film is genre-based, yet quite original and full of all the necessary elements: virtue, vice, mystery, false suspicion, resolution of mystery, resolution of false suspicion, romance, heavy action, jazz, and many doors that seem to want to open, but just the right ones open at just the right intervals to keep you entertained throughout this gem of a film.

Myrna great

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 13 November 2020]

Lawyer Jack Durant (Warner Baxter) successfully defends gangster Tony Gaziotti and he's not happy with his client. He doesn't like Gaziotti but he does like the excitement. His firm doesn't want the notority and dumps him. His society girlfriend Sue Leonard breaks up with him. Sue agrees to marry Tom Siddall if he gets rid of his flapper girl Mimi Montagne. Mimi wants revenge and calls up her gangster ex Jim Crelliman. Mimi is killed and Tom is arrested. Sue convinces Jack to defend Tom. Gertie Waxted (Myrna Loy) is Mimi's friend.

There is a lot of plot being jammed into the beginning before getting to the heart of the story. It's a lot of stuff before it gets to the case and Myrna Loy. The plot needs some simplifying. It feels a little rushed with all the characters. Once it gets there, the movie is able to breath with a magnetic Myrna Loy. Warner Baxter has a bit of William Powell but he doesn't have the same comedic charisma. Also, Myrna is really only playing a side character. She is always great and there is some chemistry with the duo. "I've been stupid... Of Course, you're a Man". The movie is good with those moments. There is just a lot around that.

Myrna Loy was Great

[whpratt1 · 8/10 · 29 March 2007]

Had no idea just what this 1933 film was all about and if I would even be interested and was greatly surprised at how great it really was way back when. Warner Baxter,(Jack Durant) played the role of a crooked Lawyer who was being brought up on criminal charges. Myrna Loy,(Gertie Waxted) plays the role of a hostess, prostitute and all around well experienced girl who has been around the block many many times. Mae Clarke,(Mimi Montagne) gave an outstanding performance in this story that has many interesting twists and turns that will keep you guessing just how this picture will end. Myrna Loy did an outstanding performance and made this a very different kind of film which is not very well known.

I watched it again recently and Myrna got better and the rest slipped more.

[larry41onEbay · 6/10 · 4 May 2014]

As a pre-Code it has progressive ideas but by omission. Is she a party girl or just a lady out for fun chasing dangerous men? The plot and characters are fine and similar to many films of it's time and era, but for my money it all blossomed when Myrna lit-up the screen. Wow, that woman had presence and sex appeal! So I half-heartedly recommend it if you're a fan of the era or Miss Loy. And maybe if you expect less you'll find it better than I did. For me there are nearly 20 Myrna Loy titles I like much better. And Warner Baxter is better in his limited range. Spoiler: And the convoluted ending with the cops helping goes just too far.

'Ahh, shaddap!'

[user-12235 · 1/10 · 6 March 2014]

Typical, crude, 1930's gangster fare. One would think that everyone on the planet spoke in that illiterate, Chicago/Branx gutter staccato; this movie offers the same inane and offensive cant.

The storyline? The same pap you've heard and seen a hundred times in the '30s and, sadly, in another few hundred 'noir' films of the '40s.

Myrnay Loy is her adorable (though ill-fitted here) confident self before the camera, even though she is playing the five dollar floosie; the rest of the C cast are led by an over-the-hill Warner Baxter, a B-movie slug; going back to 1914.

Beginning way back then in the infancy of cinema, the Chaldeans despised language skill and the masses sufficiently to pander this garbage to them.

But, then again, you deserve it, don't you? It gets well deserved one star.