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6.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Frisco Jenny remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like Pre-Code era films where everyone talks fast and lives harder, you’ll dig this. It’s not exactly a feel-good romp, though. If you prefer movies with steady pacing or characters who make logical decisions, you should probably skip it. Frisco Jenny doesn't care about your logic.
Ruth Chatterton is the whole show here. She plays Jenny, a woman who manages to lose everything in a city-leveling earthquake and decides that the best way to handle her illegitimate son's future is to just… give him away. It’s a bold move, really.
The earthquake scene is surprisingly jarring. One minute they're at a party, the next the sets are shaking and people are screaming. It feels like a miniature set disaster, which is kind of charming in a weird way.
There's this moment where she’s standing in the rubble, completely covered in dust, and she just looks exhausted. Not 'movie star' exhausted, but 'I’ve seen the end of the world' tired. It’s the most real she gets in the whole flick.
It’s not as polished as The Way of Lost Souls, but it has a certain grit. Sometimes it feels like the writers were just throwing obstacles at Jenny because they couldn't think of anything else to do. She loses the money, she loses the kid, she loses the status—you get it.
There’s a weird lack of sentimentality that I actually liked. The movie doesn't ask you to cry for her. It just shows you what she does to survive. It’s cold, sharp, and over before you can really process the melodrama. 🎥
I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. It's just a strange little artifact from 1932. Worth it if you’re curious about how they handled 'fallen women' stories back then without the heavy censorship that came later.