Her Man (1930): Tay Garnett’s Pre-Code Melodrama, Starring Helen Twelvetrees and Ricardo Cortez

May 9, 2021 by

Tay Garnett directed Her Man, a pre-Code melodrama produced and distributed by Pathé Exchange, a disguised version of the stage play Frankie and Johnny.

Her Man
Ricardo Cortez Helen Twelvetrees Her Man 1930.jpg

Ricardo Cortez and Helen Twelvetrees

It starred Phillips Holmes, Helen Twelvetrees and Marjorie Rambeau.

The romantic triangle melodrama involves a Havana prostitute (Twelvetrees), who while involved with a sadistic “protector” (Cortez) falls in love with a young and honest sailor (Holmes).

Her Man (1930) Poster

Taglines

YOU’LL NEVER FORGET IT! The blood-firing romance of a girl WHO DARED THE WORLD FOR LOVE! She was tender, young and beautiful, but she knew LIFE in the raw, vivid, colorful, elemental! Daring and soul-stirring is the story of a girl who found real love in the crucible of flaming desire and elemental thrills!
A Slice of Life Magnificently Played by HELEN TWELVETREES – PHILLIPS HOLMES – MARJORIE RAMBEAU – RICARDO CORTEZ – JAMES GLEASON (original print as)
A Story of Mad Love Blooming in Havana’s Scarlet Streets. (Print Ad- Buffalo Courier-Express, ((Buffalo, NY)) 27 November 1930)
The place where women get- and men forget- the story of “Frankie and Johnnie” – the blood-firing tale of a girl who dared the world for Love- on the streets of scarlet in the city of fast living and lost illusion. (Print Ad- Deseret News, ((Salt Lake City, Utah) November, 5 1930)
LIVE FOR TODAY That’s the creed of those who scamper down the Primrose Path- whether it be the millionaire’s playground or the slums of the metropolis. This happens in the sinister tenderloin district of Havana, with its mad life of unrestraint- where women live for what they can get and men for what they can forget. A thrilling-sensational story of a girl’s regeneration. (Print Ad- Sydney Post, Sydney, Nova Scotia, December 8, 1930)
The Supreme Dramatic Sensation of This Generation! (print Ad- Schenectady Gazette, Schenectady NY, December 10, 1930)

The original camera negative has been scanned and restored at 4K resolution by Sony Pictures Entertainment, in partnership with the Film Foundation and RT features.

Cast
Helen Twelvetrees – Frankie Keefe
Phillips Holmes – Dan Keefe
Marjorie Rambeau – Annie
James Gleason – Steve
Ricardo Cortez – Johnnie
Harry Sweet – Eddie
Slim Summerville – The Swede
Thelma Todd – Nelly
Franklin Pangborn – Sport
Stanley Fields – Al
Matthew Betz – Red
Mike Donlin – Bartender
George Chandler – Barfly

Credits:

Directed by Tay Garnett
Produced by E. B. Derr
Written by Tom Buckingham; story by Tay Garnett and Howard Higgin
Music by Josiah Zuro
Cinematography Edward Snyder
Edited by Doane Harrison, Joseph Kane

Production and distribution company: Pathé Exchange

Release date: September 21, 1930

Running time: 85 minutes

Note:

TCM showed the movie on May 9, 1930.

Filed Under: REVIEWS