Written by James M. Tate / 1/19/2014 / No comments / classic gangster , forties , humphrey bogart , james cagney , thirties
BLOODY BAGFUL OF JAMES CAGNEY AND HUMPHREY BOGART
The Roaring Twenties |
R20's Artwork |
year: 1939 rating: ***** |
But, in protecting his cherished woman (who loves another man), he attempts gaining back his soul by paying his backstabbing war buddy turned partner-in-crime Humphrey Bogart, now running everything, a visit.
Although sparks hardly fly between Cagney and the reluctant Priscilla Lane, the scenes with a sinister Bogart are edgy and unpredictable, and the true love interest is the "dame" that Cagney pays little interest to... That being a loyal Gladys George as a gin-voiced nightclub manager who, ironically, got him into the racket in the first place.
year: 1944 rating: **** |
Only the characters are based on the Ernest Hemingway novel, changing the location from Cuba to France as Bogart's Harry Morgan, a boat-for-hire fishing guide, gets reluctantly involved in smuggling two important people with the help of sultry siren Lauren Bacall and his alcoholic shipmate Eddy (Walter Brennan).
Much of the film takes place in one setting: although this hotel has a tavern area and many rooms, each providing Bogart ample time to outwit the local authorities whilst falling for Bacall and keeping his rummy sidekick alive.
year: 1941 rating: **** |
Bad luck usually dogs these kind of characters, doomed from the start while plotting a big easy score. Although Bogart isn't altogether villainous as he, after meeting a down-home family which includes a beautiful young girl with a club foot, invests in real people (hoping for her hand in marriage)...
Born to lose, he's more suited for Lupino, a gun moll whose bittersweet performance adds to Bogart's seasoned usual, and from one edgy moment to the next, HIGH SIERRA is a thoroughly enjoyable ride centering on tough cookies that are human enough to crumble.
year: 1941 rating: **** |
Who's the killer of Spade's dim partner and how long will he survive in the middle of a den of cutthroats? And is that beautifully vulnerable "dame" one of them?
Nothing really matters but it's terrific viewing no matter. This is a John Huston directed classic that forces the audience to turn off completely but listen closely at the same time.
year: 1933 rating: *** |
After his fair-weather friends betray him, Cagney hides out in Los Angeles and soon becomes an extra on a movie lot. This is where the ridiculousness begins – seeing Cagney riding a horse in Indian get-up, with fake scenery moving behind him, is a kitschy highlight. Then, as our confident hero falls for a famous (and humble) actress, and soon becomes a top-billed movie star on his own, his once unlucky life begins to pan out: but those double-crossing wise guys return and want a piece of his action.
A fun distraction in the Cagney crime film canon, and you have to continuously suspend disbelief to really enjoy it: especially scenes showing the fictional movies... Or one silly segment as he provides his girlfriend with monkeys and a painted elephant on her birthday. But as a wise cracking con artist beneath the polished veneer, it’s all about enjoying Cagney even in a silly role, because no matter what the part, he always takes it seriously.
1931 rating: ***1/2 |
And Joan Blondell’s dealing with Cagney’s conniving Bert Harris is half the fun of this 1930’s comedy/melodrama centering on Harris, a suave hotel employee who sees the right girl is hired: and it’s the blonde bombshell Joan, as Anne Roberts, who fits the bill.
She’s not only sought after by Harris, but seedy rich guys melt at her feet. Here’s where our climbing antihero sees his future mapped out: and together this made-in-heaven duo goes from one sucker till the next, swindling relativity small time cash till meeting Louis Calhern, a successful con artist with a tempting-apple for the couple with a bigger worm inside.
One scene involving a horse race and revenge against Calhern is confusing, and not all the con games are fleshed-out yet the chemistry between Cagney and Blondell, and the hidden desire for his platonic partner that slowly comes to light, is what makes this CRAZY shine.
A very young Ray Milland plays Joan’s sophisticated new gent – making Cagney realize what, or rather, whom his drive’s been centered. And while a tacked-on “crime will pay” ending is a letdown, the rest works just fine: Especially a pre-Code bathtub scene with Blondell that’s quite… revealing.
1932 rating: *** |
Cagney’s manager sends him to New Mexico to recuperate. Here he meets former nightclub waitress/single mother who, as fate would have it, is about to lose her home unless she has the exact amount of money needed for Cagney to get back into the ring: only he does it without being persuaded.
The title of the movie fits the pivotal bout, and thus the film truly begins: Kane's back in the city on a winning streak till meeting a conceited, good-for-nothing society girl (are there any other kind?) who takes him for a ride. That ride, for both fans of James Cagney watching the movie and Jimmy Kane fans watching the fights, is very frustrating indeed: For not only does he get plastic surgery to mend his dented puss, but becomes a cowardly “dancing fighter” and worst yet, enrolls in etiquette classes.
While not one of Cagney’s best, it’s great seeing him slugging his opponents with the energy of a bionic jumping bean. And his performance as a dimwitted boxer, straying from the usual snarky gangster, has just the right touch of punchy pathos.
year: 1949 rating: ***** |
One story centers on the leader of a group of thugs who rob a train and and hide out. Another is about the demented son of a overbearing, meticulously wicked mother who will protect her boy till the bitter end. Then there's the husband of a two-timing gun moll Virgina Mayo, holding out for a taller, handsome thug who wants Jarrett out of the way. And finally a prisoner slowly conned by an undercover cop in the big house.... And that's the best yarn of all.
Edmund O'Brien is the "narc" who eventually gains Jarrett's trust. Their relationship, as the two bond behind bars, is the highlight. And although O'Brien, after a jailbreak, turns his back on Cody much too quickly during the famous "top of the world" climax, this perfectly solid classic gangster film... the peak of Cagney's tough guy career and return to the gritty genre after almost a decade of WWII propaganda films... is like reading a multilevel book you can't put down.
Cagney performance is top-notch and not just when he's suffering from those horrible headaches, causing him to writhe on the ground like a poisoned viper. It's the subtle moments that count, because after all, it's Cody's world we're inside and on top of: and he's not going down without a fight.
year: 1932 rating: *** |
Soon the message peels away into an involving gangster-driven fare with James Cagney as Matt Nolan, who may really utter the famous “You Dirty Rat” line despite movie trivia saying otherwise... Here's why...
In one scene he states very loudly: "Come out and take it, you dirty, yellow-bellied rat, or I'll give it to you through the door!" This, to film historians, has been mistakenly condensed into the famous three word motto, making up every and any Cagney imitation. But in the beginning of the film, as Cagey's Nolan exits his cab – sandwiched between two trucks – he seems to mutter under his breath: “You dirty rat, I'll beat the lemon off ya!" (Watch the video below to find out if he says "rat" or something else.)
Now for the movie itself, which gets better as the more stress enters Nolan's life – thugs from the consortium move in, and every woman, from the good to the bad, annoy the hell out of him: providing the famously stocky firebrand his usual classic tantrums.
Matt Nolan is like most of Cagney’s tough guys, and angrier here than ever. He's fighting the good fight and you'll back him all the way, so much so the other characters seem nonexistent whether he's on, or off, the screen.
Loretta Young with James Cagney and purchase hard-to-find Cagney films at this seller |
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