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Hard to Handle, the 1933 Mervyn LeRoy con man romantic crime comedy (about a lovable con man who is himself conned out of a lot of money, and then he must pull a series of small cons to make up for the money he lost) starring James Cagney ("Hey folks. He's in again"; "He's back again"), Mary Brian, Allen Jekins, Ruth Donnelly, Claire Dodd, Robert McWade, and Matt McHugh (brother of Frank McHugh who was a Warner Bro regular and good friend of James Cagney). Prior to the making of this movie, James Cagney was one of the very first Hollywood stars to rebel against the studio system, whereby the studios signed up-and-coming actors to long-term contracts, and then control their lives for years, and make millions from their efforts if they became major stars, but holding them to the terms of their contract! Cagney not only wanted more money, but he hated Warner Bros. forcing him to make one gangster picture after another, when his roots were in the Broadway stage, and he was capable of starring in any genre, including musicals (as he was to prove in years to come). He went "on strike" and refused to make any movies unless Warner Bros. agreed to renegotiate his contract, and give him more of a say in what movies he made. After a long holdout, Warner Bros. gave in to his demands, and renegotiated his contract. His first movie upon his return was this one, where Cagney plays a con man who tries to go straight, with mixed results. The title refers to Cagney's character in the movie, but it was also an in-joke that equally applied to Cagney himself, because Warner Bros. truly did find him very "hard to handle"!
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