Jimmy the Gent is a 1934 American PreCode comedycrime film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney and Bette Davis. It was the first pairing of Cagney and Davis, who would reunite for The Bride Came C.O.D. seven years later.
The unscrupulous Jimmy Corrigan James Cagney, runs an agency that searches for heirs of those who have died without leaving a will, and often provides phony claimants in order to collect his fee. When his former girlfriend Joan Martin Bette Davis, who left him to due his lack of ethics, accepts a position at the allegedly legitimate firm owned by Charles Wallingham Alan Dinehart, Corrigan investigates Wallinghams background and discovers his rival is even more duplicitous than he is. He exposes Wallingham as a phony and promises to go straight if Joan will come back to him.Both Cagney and Davis considered Jimmy the Gent to be a throwaway studio assemblyline quickie film, and neither was happy about the assignment. Cagney had the sides of his head shaved for the film, without the knowledge of either director Michael Curtiz or studio boss Hal B. Wallis. Curtiz was stunned when he saw the haircut, and Wallis took it personally. Bette Davis did not appreciate it either, and refused to have publicity pictures taken with Cagney. ........
Source: Wikipedia