cult film freak: classic gangster

Showing posts with label classic gangster. Show all posts

Written by James M. Tate / 3/09/2024 / No comments / action , aline towne , classic gangster , crime , edmond o'brien , forties , heist , james cagney , john archer , post-heist , prison , robert osterloh , steve cochran , virginia mayo

JAMES CAGNEY CAGED UP IN 'WHITE HEAT' WITH VIRGINA MAYO

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RAPZGyQokKL4V2ZmArdYOL8DXj4ELfZKI2OZxmp9Rzjj5jftlSKsRdcBtZfONhW_A1ADVDOtqf9n6qwmt0x0CETNDBah4Hc5ovcjqFdn4UO2T55jUfb-xysPjc4R4Y3l5gLsBH_bpCPNqmQy-ZVryojYsmnymIvnv2s42T6ypUwicpuzG2P6CjfK0nWf/s2114/Screen%20Shot%202026-02-15%20at%209.07.11%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1144" data-original-width="2114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RAPZGyQokKL4V2ZmArdYOL8DXj4ELfZKI2OZxmp9Rzjj5jftlSKsRdcBtZfONhW_A1ADVDOtqf9n6qwmt0x0CETNDBah4Hc5ovcjqFdn4UO2T55jUfb-xysPjc4R4Y3l5gLsBH_bpCPNqmQy-ZVryojYsmnymIvnv2s42T6ypUwicpuzG2P6CjfK0nWf/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-02-15%20at%209.07.11%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: WHITE HEAT 1949 Prison Sentence: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>At the peak of the 1940's, no one but James Cagney could play the toughest guy in crime who remains the world's toughest criminal even after suffering random massive headaches where he's basically screaming and crying for his mommy, either in front of his own gang or an entire prison population...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Simply because no one dare call him on it, making WHITE HEAT not only Cagney's greatest Classic Gangster flick but an otherwise bonafide Monster Movie within the Action-Crime arena (in one spooky sequence of lurking, vengeful menace in a rural country house, Cagney's Cody Jarrett is a "not human" Horror genre killer)...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, aline towne, classic gangster, crime, edmond o'brien, forties, heist, james cagney, john archer, post-heist, prison, robert osterloh, steve cochran, virginia mayo

JAMES CAGNEY CAGED UP IN 'WHITE HEAT' WITH VIRGINA MAYO

Title: WHITE HEAT 1949 Prison Sentence: ****1/2 At the peak of the 1940's, no one but James Cagney could play the toughest guy in crime ...

JAMES CAGNEY IN 'FRISCO KID' WITH MARGARET LINDSAY

<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-52KXpD3y8osOJ2sVhnho3EH5Ora_MwqV0r9cy7K6LOQ8ct7iup3uohpts314obzljRlqXYL4aLWOLZTjf0qTDRaQZaGsxpehViwxwq_OS_ZB07BUWNrF2Hv3BufkmPjNNJHE4JBS-yhT9vFY9QJIafm83wQbKYbZ4EYgtZxXRA1R8A5N7-emZHMvcQ=s746" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="746" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-52KXpD3y8osOJ2sVhnho3EH5Ora_MwqV0r9cy7K6LOQ8ct7iup3uohpts314obzljRlqXYL4aLWOLZTjf0qTDRaQZaGsxpehViwxwq_OS_ZB07BUWNrF2Hv3BufkmPjNNJHE4JBS-yhT9vFY9QJIafm83wQbKYbZ4EYgtZxXRA1R8A5N7-emZHMvcQ=w400-h271" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1935 Rating: ***1/2</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One of the more severe early James Cagney features features Cagney as a character with a name so tough, once he's almost shanghaied in San Fransisco's 19th Century cutthroat/bar-brawling territory, you just know that new-guy-in-town "Bat Morgan" will get his revenge, and then some...</p><p></p><p>And that <i>some</i> is the kind of "let's band together to make one unbreakable monopolizing outfit" that occurs in just about every gangster flick that FRISCO KID is a time-period version of... </p><p>With either extremely shady or friendly characters surrounding our initially sympathetic turned determined casino-owner, from big boss Barton MacClane's hook-hand henchman The Shanghai Duck to gambler Ricardo Cortez as Cagney's backstabbing second to an affable sidekick to classy ingenue Margaret Lindsay flanked by token idealist Donald Woods (foreshadowing THE ROARING TWENTIES Paul Kelly, Humphrey Bogart, Frank McHugh, Patricia Lane and Jeffrey Lynn respectively); the latter a newspaperman ready to stomp the unlawful shenanigans that Cagney's Morgan is only partially responsible for, providing yet another "crime doesn't pay" plot-line that needed more levity climbing to that inevitably unsteady pinnacle... only this time it's all pretty serious business.  </p><p><span></span></p>

action, classic gangster, donald woods, george e. stone, james cagney, margaret lindsay, ricordo cortez, thirties, time period

JAMES CAGNEY IN 'FRISCO KID' WITH MARGARET LINDSAY

Year: 1935 Rating: ***1/2 One of the more severe early James Cagney features features Cagney as a character with a name so tough, once he...

BLOODY BAGFUL OF JAMES CAGNEY AND HUMPHREY BOGART

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Roaring Twenties </td></tr>
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<i>James Cagney epitomized the classic gangster era… With a combination of snarky bravado and desperate pathos, as the focal point he was an intense and thoroughly entertaining combination of a ticking time bomb and an exploding one, and yet was always in control: Orson Welles described Cagney, his personal favorite actor as being “focused, like a laserbeam.” </i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">R20's Artwork</td></tr>
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<i>Meanwhile, Humphrey Bogart, with his quiet cool and slowburn charm, was the kind of shrugging, roguish antihero that grabbed the viewer’s attention, but his hardened intensity shared a mellow quality, allowing other actors to shine bright around him. Here are a bagful of reviews centering on classic Bogart flicks and best yet, Cagney films you might not have seen or only heard about since most of them, as you scroll further down the list, have yet to make the transition to DVD and are, at this point, bootleg only… </i>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b><u>THE ROARING TWENTIES</u>:</b></span> Beginning with a team-up of both legendary tough guys, this excellent
 gangster flick has James Cagney back from the first World War and 
there's not a job in town, and someone else is driving his cab, so, during Prohibition and the start of the 1920's (and his twenties), he eventually becomes a wealthy bootlegger.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANINULzgNp4E3GQlXsapZTsNC-QbIaFuY2LdUuxbYJxu2QWK-Hp2beEFaaI93UiIxYDZqWNU-BuNsXJcCWWgUHuHLR0X97sO5q_d-iefqRtH8NaXhL2nk-ZCS-wciSvR8Xjxw027SAms/s1600/18659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANINULzgNp4E3GQlXsapZTsNC-QbIaFuY2LdUuxbYJxu2QWK-Hp2beEFaaI93UiIxYDZqWNU-BuNsXJcCWWgUHuHLR0X97sO5q_d-iefqRtH8NaXhL2nk-ZCS-wciSvR8Xjxw027SAms/s200/18659.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1939 rating: *****</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
James Cagney's progression from 
soldier to veteran to crooked businessman to all-out gangster, all the 
while falling for a young lady with a heart of gold, are aided by a docu-style narration encompassing the 
titular decade, eventually crashing into the depression when our hero 
loses everything...<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.   <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2bEIiN-zbrHeaPSiqPdIKi0ZytxXFDKRORBSpU20I2qGTRFtSjrva2rthVGJGnh661Qs8iWl_GC5rQpQZzXVfeQFcJAXpcdKjteKQLT9f_6mw0KU8Gj2rQ78zwLVMyp01jCPWWZPAX8/s1600/movie-affairs-bogart-bacall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2bEIiN-zbrHeaPSiqPdIKi0ZytxXFDKRORBSpU20I2qGTRFtSjrva2rthVGJGnh661Qs8iWl_GC5rQpQZzXVfeQFcJAXpcdKjteKQLT9f_6mw0KU8Gj2rQ78zwLVMyp01jCPWWZPAX8/s200/movie-affairs-bogart-bacall.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1944 rating: ****</td></tr>
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<u><b>TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT:</b></u> Energetic, adventurous melodrama, which might evoke a great sense of CASABLANCA deja vu with the same basic premise: tough and independent 
Humphrey Bogart helps a group of foreign patriots for money, meeting within a smoky piano bar, and eventually comes
 around to the cause.<br />
<br />
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).<br />
<br />
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. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSYT8WptN6jne4kri_6s_ncM2Za5B2D3TDzS0r7eElKAB6kRsWsM-eyXADGN8SRvBrgplXmDjXQX9exUBv_vr-PzCabsbOOeOVinlb-xmLBMgS5E_hfeMJTPJVdd8CujZLSvovS-LgbU/s1600/Humphrey-Bogart-High-Sierra.2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507944162954972290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSYT8WptN6jne4kri_6s_ncM2Za5B2D3TDzS0r7eElKAB6kRsWsM-eyXADGN8SRvBrgplXmDjXQX9exUBv_vr-PzCabsbOOeOVinlb-xmLBMgS5E_hfeMJTPJVdd8CujZLSvovS-LgbU/s200/Humphrey-Bogart-High-Sierra.2.jpg" style="float: right; height: 138px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 175px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1941 rating: ****</td></tr>
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<u><span style="background-color: white;"><b>HIGH SIERRA:</b></span></u> There's
 a cute little dog that, wherever he goes, gives bad luck to whomever takes him in: 
this happens to be both Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino, who meet each 
other, then the pooch, in a rural small town whilst Bogart and three mysterious men plan a caper to rob a plush mountainous hotel.<br />
<br />
Bad luck 
usually <span style="font-style: italic;">dogs</span> 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)...<br />
<br />
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. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7O_DmqWMgsTmM62DD9HUJ3zmcbMZ8meM6_Lux0fcrdb5f4JqVAy8zn9mwR6okp5urwGiLlXHLBpdgjn0vo12Z6DUUb3faLIHftVJheyv3M5rDfoeBhwUukvHv8FX8HsN-kUVoe-fqJ8/s1600/72745-004-94A90B62.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7O_DmqWMgsTmM62DD9HUJ3zmcbMZ8meM6_Lux0fcrdb5f4JqVAy8zn9mwR6okp5urwGiLlXHLBpdgjn0vo12Z6DUUb3faLIHftVJheyv3M5rDfoeBhwUukvHv8FX8HsN-kUVoe-fqJ8/s200/72745-004-94A90B62.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1941 rating: ****</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><u><b>THE MALTESE FALCON:</b></u> </span>Unlike
 a lot of private eye/gumshoe flicks where the main character goes from one scene to another gathering clues, everyone comes to Bogie's Sam Spade since he 
has what they want... but what is it other than a statue of a Falcon... and is this thing all it's <span style="font-style: italic;">cracked</span>
 up to be?<br />
<br />
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?<br />
<br />
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. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0099bJl_gt1GSzwz0aj9FSmW-vO5V51mVawqGYT_CFVZInkU8_cYR6TCVyELWyHqT5AnL8QneDmD5teRgPzv1b32ApN78iPeLQ89tuWJNP_eW20xodA-oMw8Q9wJPM0NKuoueaYmu3g5/s1600/ladykiller1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0099bJl_gt1GSzwz0aj9FSmW-vO5V51mVawqGYT_CFVZInkU8_cYR6TCVyELWyHqT5AnL8QneDmD5teRgPzv1b32ApN78iPeLQ89tuWJNP_eW20xodA-oMw8Q9wJPM0NKuoueaYmu3g5/s200/ladykiller1.jpg" width="171" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1933 rating: ***</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><u><b>LADY KILLER:</b></u> </span>James
 Cagney plays a smart-alleck usher at a movie theater: his character’s 
geared towards the lights, camera and action from the very start. But 
he’s quickly derailed, conned by a beautiful siren into a rigged card 
game – and instead of getting angry, he joins and 
eventually leads the group into a bigger heist that lands them in real 
dough, and real trouble.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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, <i>he</i> always takes it seriously.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA2zJ_KtuwoDG8eRkuVsQKzxJXPinqWp8Vb3ZxTkkcmHijumn7FHTtCDHTpQjR9qqDKiIunugiSFSRLdSd0K-nA-oermPt1S-ZFRmGyeBeOToO4gmV1LTeTScVHnjqxEr7dZ4UxMbJy_EW/s1600/blonde+crazy.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA2zJ_KtuwoDG8eRkuVsQKzxJXPinqWp8Vb3ZxTkkcmHijumn7FHTtCDHTpQjR9qqDKiIunugiSFSRLdSd0K-nA-oermPt1S-ZFRmGyeBeOToO4gmV1LTeTScVHnjqxEr7dZ4UxMbJy_EW/s320/blonde+crazy.jpg" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1931 rating: ***1/2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u><span style="background-color: white;"><b>BLONDE CRAZY:</b></span></u> What
 is it about James Cagney – he brings out the best, and worst, of his 
leading ladies: the best performances and the worst attitudes...<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
A very young 
Ray Milland plays Joan’s sophisticated new gent – making Cagney realize 
what, or rather, <i>whom </i>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.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpLfJrzkhoyL9bASfdbFI24xlsXvhuvFfx0OGRcOjemK84UBPZkW-FxKB6bjl4C_aiH8x47laPevbwzPI-ZSuZwX8BxdClbZW37tGHxNsLg1vj-ob7s-bvu5gm10dPtT8Soh8rFSWBw8/s1600/Winner%252BTake%252BAll%252B050132.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpLfJrzkhoyL9bASfdbFI24xlsXvhuvFfx0OGRcOjemK84UBPZkW-FxKB6bjl4C_aiH8x47laPevbwzPI-ZSuZwX8BxdClbZW37tGHxNsLg1vj-ob7s-bvu5gm10dPtT8Soh8rFSWBw8/s200/Winner%252BTake%252BAll%252B050132.jpg" width="141" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1932 rating: ***</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u><span style="background-color: white;"><b>WINNER TAKE ALL:</b></span></u> James
 Cagney plays a down-and-out boxer named Jimmy Kane who, from the 
outset, isn’t boxing. Not only has he reached rock bottom but swallows 
his pride as a crowd of fans during fight night… someone else’s 
fight… throws him loads of pocket change to get by.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Z6Pt6CDX00tGtu6hYKUtDmPdT7D3_XBUxwSuD9WcqBUsoAhcRCX9oQeDjMaD3qa6Na1wupudwrdVEc0xl049xIsiWRLXJcVwyVLQeWl1tIK6Ygr5LM5Ls1NsLhicEgBWy02Ue21Bdyr1/s1600/cagney.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Z6Pt6CDX00tGtu6hYKUtDmPdT7D3_XBUxwSuD9WcqBUsoAhcRCX9oQeDjMaD3qa6Na1wupudwrdVEc0xl049xIsiWRLXJcVwyVLQeWl1tIK6Ygr5LM5Ls1NsLhicEgBWy02Ue21Bdyr1/s320/cagney.jpg" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1949 rating: *****</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white;"><u><b>WHITE HEAT:</b></u> </span>Okay so this one's not rare... In fact it's the masterpiece that James Cagney's best known for and there are several
 stories within, and Cagney stars in each as Cody Jarrett, 
possibly  the most sinister and at the same time, endearing gangsters to
 appear on  the silver screen...<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.

<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGRN3J_mS9GV64nURppgtde1ahVykXxtf4icUYgE8Fyejo4PA3g6tMnXnOfH3ghb5u_axg9X9N-kjQoDtK-Rgs04FdSgzbwXGYjAbH0eM4ISSybD756qT7sEBDG-Fmo_wDiwDtQC_4itV/s1600/taxicagney.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGRN3J_mS9GV64nURppgtde1ahVykXxtf4icUYgE8Fyejo4PA3g6tMnXnOfH3ghb5u_axg9X9N-kjQoDtK-Rgs04FdSgzbwXGYjAbH0eM4ISSybD756qT7sEBDG-Fmo_wDiwDtQC_4itV/s320/taxicagney.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1932 rating: ***</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u><span style="background-color: white;"><b>TAXI:</b></span></u> Begins as a predictable, cliché melodrama dealing with the <i>haves</i>… a monopolizing consortium cab company… against the <i>have-nots</i>: independent cabbies trying to make it on their own without getting whacked in the process.<br />
<br />
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...<br />
<br />
In one scene he states very loudly: <i>"Come out and take it, you dirty, yellow-bellied rat, or I'll give it to you through the door!"</i> 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.) <br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZy0LifopR1D9GjYvBLqLFdxuLmaG-rB_FJ4PRzt9SxphqVUDaB9A-0hI0TPkw-lAlsZooy0DIOyTv4JMrOG96bbivJZ-woLEoqxM35fneGz9i9aDG-d2tiU9OcXZDUqqEBgs0jWjRVMw/s1600/aaaaataxi8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZy0LifopR1D9GjYvBLqLFdxuLmaG-rB_FJ4PRzt9SxphqVUDaB9A-0hI0TPkw-lAlsZooy0DIOyTv4JMrOG96bbivJZ-woLEoqxM35fneGz9i9aDG-d2tiU9OcXZDUqqEBgs0jWjRVMw/s1600/aaaaataxi8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loretta Young with James Cagney and purchase <a href="https://www.ioffer.com/selling/capone29">hard-to-find Cagney films at this seller</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>

classic gangster, forties, humphrey bogart, james cagney, thirties

BLOODY BAGFUL OF JAMES CAGNEY AND HUMPHREY BOGART

The Roaring Twenties James Cagney epitomized the classic gangster era… With a combination of snarky bravado and desperate pathos, as the...

Written by James M. Tate / 8/06/2012 / No comments / clark gable , classic gangster , film noir or melodrama , myrna loy , thirties , william powell

CLARK GABLE STARS IN MANHATTAN MELODRAMA

clark gable, classic gangster, film noir or melodrama, myrna loy, thirties, william powell

CLARK GABLE STARS IN MANHATTAN MELODRAMA

year: 1934 rating: ***1/2 It’s difficult not to think of MANHATTAN MELODRAMA as anything other than John Dillinger’s Waterloo... The b...

Written by James M. Tate / 1/18/2012 / No comments / action , classic gangster , edmund o'brien , forties , james cagney , virginia mayo

WHITE HEAT

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Z6Pt6CDX00tGtu6hYKUtDmPdT7D3_XBUxwSuD9WcqBUsoAhcRCX9oQeDjMaD3qa6Na1wupudwrdVEc0xl049xIsiWRLXJcVwyVLQeWl1tIK6Ygr5LM5Ls1NsLhicEgBWy02Ue21Bdyr1/s1600/cagney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Z6Pt6CDX00tGtu6hYKUtDmPdT7D3_XBUxwSuD9WcqBUsoAhcRCX9oQeDjMaD3qa6Na1wupudwrdVEc0xl049xIsiWRLXJcVwyVLQeWl1tIK6Ygr5LM5Ls1NsLhicEgBWy02Ue21Bdyr1/s320/cagney.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">title: </span>WHITE HEAT<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">year: </span>1949<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">cast:</span> James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmund O'Brien<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">rating: </span>****1/2<br />
<br />
Several stories here: and James Cagney stars in each as "Cody Jarrett," possibly  the most sinister and at the same time, endearing gangsters to appear on  the big screen One story centers on the leader of a group of thugs who  rob a train and and hide out. One is about the demented son of a  overbearing, meticulously wicked mother who will protect her boy till the  bitter end. One is about the husband of a two-timing gun moll Virgina  Mayo, holding out for a taller, handsome thug who wants Jarrett out of  the way. One is about a prisoner slowly conned by an undercover cop in  the big house. And that's the best story of all. Edmund O'Brien is the  "narc" who eventually gains Cagney'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... 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 his world we're in: and he's not going down  without a fight. Thank God it's two hours in length, yet it could have been  much longer.

action, classic gangster, edmund o'brien, forties, james cagney, virginia mayo

WHITE HEAT

title: WHITE HEAT year: 1949 cast: James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmund O'Brien rating: ****1/2 Several stories here: and James C...

BLONDE CRAZY

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA2zJ_KtuwoDG8eRkuVsQKzxJXPinqWp8Vb3ZxTkkcmHijumn7FHTtCDHTpQjR9qqDKiIunugiSFSRLdSd0K-nA-oermPt1S-ZFRmGyeBeOToO4gmV1LTeTScVHnjqxEr7dZ4UxMbJy_EW/s1600/blonde+crazy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA2zJ_KtuwoDG8eRkuVsQKzxJXPinqWp8Vb3ZxTkkcmHijumn7FHTtCDHTpQjR9qqDKiIunugiSFSRLdSd0K-nA-oermPt1S-ZFRmGyeBeOToO4gmV1LTeTScVHnjqxEr7dZ4UxMbJy_EW/s320/blonde+crazy.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><b>title:</b> BLONDE CRAZY<br />
<b>year: </b>1931<br />
<b>cast:</b> James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Louis Calhern<br />
<b>rating:</b> ***1/2<br />
<br />
What is it about James Cagney – he brings out the best, and worst, of his leading ladies: the best performances and the worst attitudes – and Joan Blondell’s dealing with Cagney’s conniving “Bert Harris” is half the fun of this 1930’s comedy/melodrama dealing with 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 planned out: and together this made-in-heaven match goes from one sucker till the next, swindling relativity small time cash till meeting Louis Calhern, a successful con artist with a big apple for the duo: and a bigger worm inside. One scene involving a horse race and revenge against Calhern is confusing, and not all the con games are too clever, but the chemistry between the Cagney and Blondell, and the hidden desire for his platonic partner that slowly comes to light, is what makes this really 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.

classic gangster, james cagney, joan blondell, louis calhern, ray milland, thirties