... if not to provide me with more pictures of Karl Urban's McCoy? Come on interwebs, you are failing me. Bootleg screencappage, leaked/scanned promos, plz.

He's not the main reason I loved the movie, he's just a major bonus.

Star Trek may not be a perfect movie, but I haven't left a movie premiere feeling that exhilarated in a long, long time. It rejuvenates my interest in contemporary film, not just the franchise.

One minor costuming quibble: they needed to put some seam stabilizer under the shoulder/raglan seams, it wibbled and buckled way too much. And I wish they'd gone a bit further with the '60s retro-futurism. Ok, that's two. To balance: I like how the tops of the uniform are two-piece, and I like that they kept the short skirts with at least some nod to the original esthetic.

Oh, and Roger Ebert? You wrote:

"Uhura (Zoe Saldana) seems to have traveled through time to the pre-feminist 1960s, where she found her miniskirt and go-go boots. She seems wise and gentle and unsuited to her costume."

So: let's get this straight. A woman's character can be judged from the length of her skirt and choice of footwear, can it? Or, at least, you imply we should be able to judge her from those things? Nice trick, Mr Ebert, you managed to be "pre-feminist" even without time travel, and (I presume) without the miniskirt.

( Three pictures behind the cut - 2 McCoy, 1 Spock. )

My life is not without its challenges and there's some stuff that is definitely Not Awesome about it, but I am moved to report on some of the more awesome aspects of my current life; even the small, mundane and pop-culture imbibing parts of it.

Recent Dinner I made last night and I'm proud of it:
Roast lamb, embedded with lavender and thyme (both from my garden), rosemary and garlic; drizzled with honey to glaze.
Roasted red bell pepper.
Steamed snap peas (I love those bags of snack snap peas!).
Watermelon, chevre, fresh basil and lime salad.
It was awesome!

Recent Movies watched at actual Theatres:
Get Smart (I loved this more than was good for me! Having had a mouse run up my clothes once, the rat scene nearly killed me. Awesomely funny!)
The Dark Knight (crazy awesome.)
Wall-E (beautifully awesome.)
Prince Caspian (melancholy-tinged awesome.)

Recent Movies watched at Home:
Golddiggers of 1935 (my kind of awesome! Busby Berkeley style! Even if it's a skeleton cast compared to the earlier Busbys.)
The Public Enemy (top 10 most awesome movies of all time, standing up awesomely well to repeated viewings.)

Recent Cocktails Invented:
The "Miss Lavendar" :
1 oz Rum
Muddled lavender from the garden
1/2 lime juiced
Shot of Grenadine
Club soda
Ice
It was gently awesome!

Recent Books Read:
"Un Lun Dun" by China Mieville - China Mieville is an awesome author, and this Young Adult book is fun, mildly twisted, mildly political, and sharply awesome.

"The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril" by Paul Malmont. I was perfectly in the mood for an off-beat novel with Pulp Fiction authors of 1937 as the protagonists. Awesomely suited to my needs, and a shoutout to the awesome defender75 for bringing it to my attention.

"The Arrival" by Shaun Tan - most awesome book of the year thus far! Seriously: beautiful, moving, intelligent, warm and universal. There have been few books I admire as much as this one. It was a wonderful and unexpected discovery after picking it up on a whim last week. It is a picture book for adults and bright, sensitive mature kids. Don't read too much about the book beforehand, just flip through the pages, get intrigued and start "reading" this wordless masterpiece. Let it take you on its journey, don't let the editorials or reviews tell you what it's about, discover it for yourself.

Awesome Bonus: there are at least 2 Anne of Green Gables references in this post. Can you find them?

There was a line of laughing people at the parkade kiosk waiting to pay for their parking. There was something different about them, this wasn't the usual downtown paying for parking sort of mood. The attendant grinned bemusedly, confused, "Where have you all come from? Why does everyone look so happy?"

We'd come from the Silent Film Festival matinee, glowing with sweet joy. We'd just seen Girl Shy starring Harold Lloyd. Most of us had never seen or heard of Harold Lloyd before this afternoon and I admit earlier feeling a bit disappointed that the matinee wasn't Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin. I take this sentiment back with chagrin. I have been schooled thoroughly in the appeal of Harold Lloyd.



( A very short review continues behind the cut, with a link to a clip. )

The last night of James Cagney's TCM Star of the Month is this Wednesday. I'm away from home doing my Saskatoon gig :-( so I'm not able to 1) devote the sort of attention I have previously to this post and 2) post it the day of. So this post is one day early.

The focus seems to be on Cagney's comedies:

Lady Killer (1933) - my special year! And Lady Killer is just the sort of Cagney film I love best. It's not a great film, but Cagney is funny, charming and edgy, flirting with morality, dames and the law. To top this one off, the film pokes fun at Hollywood. And more fun than a barrel of monkeys. I haven't really reviewed it in detail, but it was the celebratory half-way mark in my quest to watch all of Jim's films.

One, Two, Three! (1961) - a comedy and satire on the Cola industry/Cold War by Billy Wilder. The film that made Cagney realise he was ready for a rest, but he powers through this role and this film like a force of nature.

The Bride Came COD (1941) - not one of my favorite films, despite the fact that Bette Davis is the co-star. It just seems a bit scattered as a movie to me. But - this is one of Dr Smith's favorite Cagney films and he's been requesting to watch it again. Maybe you'll like it too!

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) - oh the surreality does not get better than this! Be prepared for a Trip of magnificent proportions. I also think that the play of Pyramus and Thisbe is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. My review is here:
http://laughingmagpie.livejournal.com/16336.html

Man - I look at the lineup, and like all other Cagney nights, there's something I want to tell you about each one! But in the interests of time and length, I just have to cut myself off. These are the primetime films and I think I'll leave it at that. But you don't have to - you could watch Cagney all night and into the next day...

THANK YOU TCM! Let's do it again next year! Every Year! :-)

A massive list of 11 Cagney movies tonight! Even if you don't catch any tonight, you can wake up and watch Cagney right through almost noon tomorrow!

TCM starts off the evening of Cagney with him in uniform. Cagney was in a stunning number of military films - I haven't counted, but I think he did more of these than his street tuffs. Several of them flirt with propaganda, and why not - they were made at a time when the Allies needed propaganda.

Many of these films, for me and it seems for James Cagney too*, blur into just one big movie that has the same plot and many of the same actors. I have a hard time differentiating them: The Fighting 69th, Captains of the Clouds, Devil Dogs of the Air, Here Comes the Navy, and Ceiling Zero. Actually, my current favorite of the bunch is Ceiling Zero, and it's not one of TCM's lineup.

I mean, you can tell them apart: The Fighting 69th is Army; Captains of the Clouds is Air Force (the Canadian RCAF no less, and in TECHNICOLOR, w00t!), Devil Dogs is Marine Corp, Here Comes the Navy is Navy (of course) and Ceiling Zero is Veterans Carrying the Mail.

In some of them, Frank McHugh is sweet (Navy) and in others he gets on my nerves (Devil Dogs). Sometimes (Devil Dogs) the "good but dull" guy, played by Pat O'Brien, is in a love triangle with the "guy on the edge", played by Cagney, and other times (Fighting 69th, Navy) they find something else to clash over.

But always, unlikely heroes emerge and win the day through self-sacrifice, and learn the benefit of either playing for the team, or believing in something bigger than themselves.

And the Cagster is always hawt in uniform. You gotta watch Here Comes the Navy just for scenes like this:


Right smack in the middle of the line-up is The Gallant Hours (1960). A worthwhile film from Cagney's later career and very different from the war films of the 30s and 40s. A mature and quiet film that I review here:
http://laughingmagpie.livejournal.com/57049.html

After the military movies, TCM throws a grab-bag from which I will highlight: ( Continued behind the cut with a couple more pics. )

Tonight, TCM goes out of it's way to present Cagney the Charmer!

The film that has snared more than one innocent into the cult of Cagney starts it off at 6pm (MST):
Footlight Parade(1933)
My starstruck review after seeing my first Cagney film:
http://laughingmagpie.livejournal.com/16442.html

I noticed that the Canadian vs US schedules differ on the next film. Canadians get the less-seen-and-not-on-DVD The Strawberry Blonde (1941) while Americans watch the easily-downloaded-because-the-copyright's-lost Something to Sing About (1936). A tough call on who gets the better deal, they are both fine films and Cagney plays a sweet guy in both of them. I think I laughed harder in StSA but TSB is more enjoyable all round.

The Strawberry Blonde is a romantic comedy with Rita Hayworth and Olivia de Havilland. You read that right - it has a great leading lady cast! And for those of you who like your Cagney straight and sweet, this is for you.

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1941) follows. What a splendid film. No other film captures Cagney having so much joy in a role, and showing his versatility like this. Yes it's cheesy and patriotic, but even the non-Americans stand a good chance of loving this more than they think they will. I review it here:
http://laughingmagpie.livejournal.com/21617.html

Argh! They are playing Taxi! (1932) next. I suspect this is a fantastic film. I have to wait - I'm not letting myself watch it until after I see Terrible Joe Moran (1984). I'm using Taxi! as a pick-me-up for after watching Cagney's last screen appearance in TJM.

I can't go through all the films they're playing, but I'll also mention that Picture Snatcher from the magic year of 1933 is on in the wee hours. Mostly a fun and for kicks pre-Code, but it packs a bit of an unexpected punch in a few scenes (you'll know them when you see 'em).

For the last 9 years or so, The Cantos Music Foundation in Calgary has been privileged to host a Silent Film Festival with live accompaniment on the organ by the excellent Dennis James. Movies are shown every Monday for a month, and this has somehow managed to escape my attention for the past 9 years! But this year, the wrong has been set to rights and I saw my first 3 "live" silent films. I would have seen all 4, but the Buster Keaton matinee sold out many weeks beforehand - and I believe all of them did eventually sell-out.

The experience was revelatory.

No doubt, I'm going to hit upon many clichés - this medium has, after all, been around for a century, and I'm not going to find anything that hasn't already been said. Nevertheless, the event had such an impact that I want to share it.

The over-arcing feeling I took away from this month was what a unique, rich form of storytelling this is. Actually, story 'telling' is the wrong word. Precisely the wrong word. You know how writers are always advised to 'show' and not 'tell'? Here that principle is applied perfectly. Silent film has the ability to bring you in and feel a story, through motion and emotion. These are the true “movies”. ( Continued behind the cut! )

In both of these WWII films we get to see how war often isn't about action. In 'Mister Roberts', war is dull, grinding duty. In 'The Gallant Hours', it's the wrinkles on the brows of Command. ( Continued behind the cut, with images and no spoilers! )

While there are some issues I have with this movie, it is one of my favorite 1950s Cagney films, and James does some very fine acting in this drama depicting the life of another Hollywood great, Lon Chaney.

At the time of this review, I haven't seen a Lon Chaney film, nor heard anything really about him. So I approach this movie with no expectations or baggage regarding accuracy. I'm sure it is far from the truth about Chaney - like other biographical movies of the mid-20th century (including, of course, 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'), there isn't enough conflict to drive the plot. It moves from one celebratory, sentimental vignette to the next. However, there is enough gentle conflict and hints at relationship difficulties in this one for you to realise that Lon Chaney was a tormented, imperfect, not always very nice man who nevertheless, through hardwork and opportunity, got a chance to realise his great creative talent.

Lon Chaney was primarily a silent film actor (one talkie) who excelled at make-up and physical acting. The Man of Mystery. The Man of a Thousand Faces. Apparently, Cagney looks very little like Chaney and the make-up skills used in this film are a pale imitation of Chaney's great artistry. C'est la vie. I'm just glad Cags gets a chance to show off his physical approach to acting too.

The film illustrates that, born to Deaf parents, Chaney was given a unique set of skills. His understanding of the 'different' and outcast, and his ability to communicate without spoken words. Given my professional background in genetic and congenital conditions, I find it particularly interesting to see depictions on screen of those of us born outside the regular. Some parts made my skin crawl - at several points I was yelling at Chaney's first wife onscreen, for instance. Nor do I think over-sentimentalising his parents is a healthy attitude either. However, it certainly added another level of interest for me. And I liked how Cagney was very expressive while using sign language - I'd love to get a perspective from someone who knows Sign on the effectiveness of its use in this movie.

We get to see some vaudevillian acting - including Cagney as Chaney as a Clown - and as an Old Woman, and splendidly, in a re-enactment from a scene in "The Miracle Man" (1919) where Chaney/Cagney goes from crooked and crippled to strong and mobile in one unbroken scene.

And there's one line that stood out for me as an intersection for these two great actors who, through their art, became legends. It happens while Chaney is hanging outside the studio, waiting for bit parts, another of the potential extras, an older lady who dresses as a "Duchess", says to him:

"You're just a plain ordinary guy, with a plain ordinary face."

It was the light within that transformed them into something extraordinary.

Lon Chaney, Phantom of the Opera


James Cagney, Man of a 1000 Faces

Well, it had to happen. A movie I don't like. There are some redeeming features to "West Point Story" but overall this has got to be a low tide mark. This is a musical about a musical at the military college, West Point (which I guess is famous to Americans. Dr. Smith had heard about it, I hadn't). The cast is spectacular and this really should be a good film - maybe that makes it all the more disappointing.

Cagney plays a show biz man who gets involved for the wrong reasons. Doris Day plays a movie star who gets involved as a favour to her ol' sugar dady (The Cags). Virginia Mayo plays Jimmy's love interest, and some young guy plays the young soldier that is Day's love interest.

I really don't like the direction, especially the choice to make Cagney a caricature of himself. It's not that he can't make fun of himself - he can be a master of it - but this just rings wrong. I know we all get excited when Jimmy punches someone - it's the highlight of many a film - but this movie makes it a poor joke. I have a feeling that Doris fans are left wanting at the end of it too. Meanwhile, even though I get twitchy with Virginia Mayo on screen, I have to admit, she can dance.

The best part of this film is the number with Cagney and Mayo, actually. It is worth seeing the mature Cagney in a zoot suit cutting the rug with Mayo, singing "B 'POSTROPHE, K NO 'POSTROPHE, L-Y-N". They do some very fine, surprisingly sexy dancing.

There are some laughs, and the boys at West Point are cute wearing placards around their neck specifying "Blonde", "Redhead", etc for chorus girls since they can't cast women in the show. A nice treat to see Alan Hale Jr (The Skipper) as one of the young military types.

And the best delivered line is from the 50-ish year old Cagney, now a 'plebe' at West Point (long story, but he ends up having to enroll!), practising his "Definition of Leather". This is a tradition, I gather, for upperclassmen to demand of the lower. James delivers it with great relish:

"If the fresh skin of an animal, cleaned and divested of all hair, fat, and other extraneous matter, be immersed in a dilute solution of tannic acid, a chemical combination ensues; the gelatinous tissue of the skin is converted into a non-putrescible substance, impervious to and insoluble in water; this, sir, is leather."

Wow - I was even prepared by reading reviews of Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye to be surprised by how great this movie is, but I was still shocked. Riveted. This is a fantastic film, made all the more enjoyable by how (and this is a cliche when it comes to this film) over-looked it is and how it exceeds expectations. Originally, the over-looking began by its release just one year after the monolithic White Heat.

This film noir evolves out of a series of flashbacks, but really starts with an almost botched, bloody escape from prison by the hood, Ralph Cotter. Cotter sets up shop in a town rife with corrupt cops, a crooked lawyer (wonderfully acted by Luther Adler), side-kicks, strong-arms and women ripe for the falling. They're all being plunged into a vortex of doom... kiss tomorrow goodbye, indeed. ( Continued behind the cut. Some spoilers inevitable. )

I watched 13 rue Madeleine in two parts by accident - I started it while travelling in an airport and finished it at home. Oddly, this WW2 espionage thriller is also filmed in 2 parts - each with their appeal, yet neither completely satisfyingly meshed with each other.

We follow the efforts of a crack Secret Service unit - #077 - under the tutelage of Bob Sharkey (played by James Cagney) during the days in France before D-Day. Of all the war settings, I think I probably like the Resistance during WW2 the best, so I found this fascinating. The acting is solid - the young Nazi officer is a stand-out, and Cagney is used very well with the exception that even though his character is supposed to be speaking French, he obviously is not - nor is anyone. No one is speaking German either. But I never was one to hold out for authenticity to get in the way of a good story. And this is a good story.

The first half of the film involves a sort of propagandish documentary on training the group, and on Sharkey uncovering the German mole inside the unit. Good stuff, interesting from a historical point of view too.

The second half is where the suspense is. It's tight. You have to keep your wits about you or you'll miss the twists - and there are some good ones. And a doozy of an ending - Gah! I had no idea such an ending was coming, so I'll say no more!

I've read some reviews on this film and the ones which got under my skin say something like 'Cagney is beginning to show his age'. Well, no really? The man can't be 30 forever. I love that in this film he's allowed to use his age as an asset - he's a smart, brave, wily ol' fox with human faults. His drive is not the blind idealism of a younger man, he knows the price of this actions - which makes his actions all the stronger. This film is one of the best ones I've seen yet that know what to do with the mature Cagney - he's not a caricature of himself (like in 'West Point Story') - it lets the polished, careful, subtler side of him shine through.

Fear not the mature Cagney.


Sharkey (to himself): Well Sharkey, you've done a great job... where do you go now - back to Minnesota to sit on the draft board...

Charles Gibson: What's that?

Sharkey: I've made the one mistake! The only mistake you're allowed to make in this outfit.

Gibson:[...] the one thing we can hope for is another chance, unless...

Sharkey:...unless what?

Gibson: Unless you want to concede the victory.

Sharkey: Oh not from you Gibb, keep your punches up, eh?

Gibson: I said -unless- you want to concede.

Sharkey: I concede nothing, until they throw dirt in my face.

The movie stands out not so much on it's own merits, but for what it represents: the Cagney brothers, James and William (who produced this), independent of the studios, doing their own thing.

That 'their own thing' is a sweet, gentle piece that gives some of the hardest working and often overlooked character actors in the business a chance for real roles and a starring role to a mature woman who'd never been on screen before* but was a noted Broadway actress, is... well, it's the kind of thing that makes me a Fan of the Fanatic kind. It's the kind of thing that drives me on to see everything this man did on screen. It's the kind of thing that makes me feel good.

I think it made Jimmy feel good too - he smiles and sparkles like a child in this one.

I almost want to leave this review right there. But here's a quick sketch of the plot: Dickens-reading interloper stops in a small town where a spirited, intelligent widow named Mrs. McLeod edits the local newspaper. Rival paper, headed by bad-guy big-shot (but whose son is courting the widow's daughter), sets out to destroy her. The interloper, played by Cagney, takes names and kicks big-shot butt.

The worst part is the actor who plays the bad-guy big-shot - my word, I have never seen such a wooden actor!

I love that the main character is an older woman and that she's independent and smart (though this is undermined a bit by the line "Running a newspaper's no job for a woman" and essentially she does turn out to need a man to take control of the situation). I love that the actress who plays the Wicked Witch of the West, Margaret Hamilton, is in it. I love that the sketches done for the editorial cartoons I think are done by James himself (you even get to see him do one on film). I love that the real love story in this film is the affection and respect Cagney's character has for Mrs. McLeod and that we don't need a big romance.

"I don't carry messages like that to people like her."



*Edit: Except for a role in a silent film in 1915. Rock on, Grace George!

Yankee Doodle Dandy is the movie James Cagney won his Best Actor Oscar for, and to appreciate James Cagney, you have to see this film. He is unabashedly great in this picture. And after seeing his spirit locked up behind pinstripes for years, it's awful nice to see it soar and tap along to music in a well-produced movie.


I get a kick out of the blonde behind James Cagney in this photo. Click on it to see it larger so you can appreciate the look of longing on her face. Sister, I know where you are coming from. I want him too!

Odds are, if you're American, you will love the film. Odds are that if you're not an American, you will feel a bit self-conscious watching it, but in the end, like it more than you want to admit. Some of all nationalities, including some Americans, however, will probably stop it before it's over, feeling embittered by the experience. For a very straightforward film, it cannot be enjoyed in a straightforward manner in today's global political climate. You cannot get around it: this is About American Patriotism.

For the record, I fall roughly into the second camp. I'm a bit shy about admiring this film. Both for its over-the-top patriotism and because the plot is wishy-washy without any real conflict. But I want to tell you about some of reasons I admire this film and the experience of watching it too.

This is the story of George M. Cohan - not a household name at least in my circles - the composer/song-writer/actor/dancer/producer who in the first half of the 20th century was the Man who Owned Broadway. As Yankee Doodle Dandy unfolds, you are treated to number after number of songs that have kicked around in your unconscious mind since your great-grandparents' time: Yankee Doodle Boy, Give my Regards to Broadway, Mary, 45 Minutes from Broadway, and most movingly, Over There.

The musical numbers are punctuated with scenes from a fictionalized account of Cohan's life, and some of them sneak up from behind you and flatten you with whopping emotion - both pathos and humour.


"My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and... I thank you." Jeanne Cagney plays George's sister. I really like her and love to see her at work beside her brother.

George (asking about dinner): Hmm, ham or bacon?
Mary: Bacon.
George: Good, ham makes me self-conscious.

( Continued behind the cut. )

Warner Brothers sing hymns to their favorite city - New York - in this melodrama. Jimmy plays Danny Kenny, a simple guy just happy to be a truck-driver, marry his childhood sweetheart Peggy (Anne Sheridan) and maybe move up to the Bronx. But the path of love does not run smooth in the streets of New York, especially for a handful of kids growing up on Forsythe Street on the East Side. All manner of obstacles will be in their way: hunger, over-bearing dance partners on Vaudeville, jitterbug contests, unappreciative audiences at music recitals, gangster retribution, prize fights... Poverty and Ambition duke it out.



Danny has to take up a career as a fighter in order to support his musical brother. Peggy takes up with Murray - an oily, criminal, despicable dance partner - and gives up everything to pursue her dream of dancing - including many opportunities to make good on her promise that she'll always be Danny's girl.

( Opinion and an AMAZING quote - click here )

I hope this is an iconic film in the prison sub-genre, because I found it engaging, tense and suspenseful. I even cried. I don't know much about George Raft, but I suspect it was a treat to see these two leading men in a film together back in the day. I hear it was the first time they shared the screen, and I enjoyed both Cagney's and Raft's performances.*

Cagney gets to be a good guy (yay!) with an intense edge (double yay!) as a reporter named Frank Ross who is framed and sent to the big house. Raft gets to be a smooth gangster (yay!) whose character, Stacey the "Hood", is grey around the edges (double yay!). The two of them strike an uneasy friendship and alliance against both the brutal forces of prison and the crooks who framed Ross (does the conspiracy reach up to the highest levels? Yes, my friends, it does.)

To contrast Cagney to Raft: In the feature "Stool Pigeons and Pine Overcoats: The Language of Gangster Films" that's on my DVD, one of the guests describes Raft's delivery as a "tango" with the language. Meanwhile, I think Jimmy pulls out his tommy-gun on the dancefloor and lets 'er rip. But they both get their slugs in, and I really bought their relationship.



( More review behind the cut )

This is one of my favorite movies by Cagney, and Rocky Sullivan is my favorite of his characters thus far: tough, smart, loyal, spontaneous, generous, fun-loving, violent, full of bravado and maybe even bravery. He says his heart got cut out of him a long time ago, which sounds like he must be a hard man (and he certainly can be) but it also gives him a wounded, vulnerable quality. The more I think about Rocky, the more difficult he becomes to pin down.

"Y'know, Jerry, I think in order to be afraid, you gotta have a heart. I don't think I got one. I had that cut out of me a long time ago."

It's a movie that improves upon re-watching and the further I've gotten into the Cagney ethos. The sentimentality, rough edges and cliche disappears and it becomes like a Greek tragedy or the re-telling of a fairy tale. The simple and earnest story begins to frame and accentuate this complex character.

Rocky and his pal Jerry diverge paths one fateful day when Rocky is caught by the police stealing fountain pens - Jerry manages to just barely get away in time. Thrown into the gauntlet of juvenile 'reform', Rocky learns the rackets from the inside out, eventually becoming a big-shot gangster. Jerry (played by Pat O'Brien - Cagney's real life good friend) becomes a Priest, dedicated to giving his parishioners an option to a life of crime by setting up a recreation centre and youth choirs. Thrown into the mix is Rocky's corrupt lawyer Frazier (played by Humphrey Bogart - another excellent reason to see this film!), Laury (Anne Sheridan) a lady whose seen more than her own share of trouble in the past, and the "Dead End Kids" as a group of young hoodlums who hero-worship Rocky.



Pat O'Brien is serious and sanctimonious. Anne Sheridan shows a spark or two of spirit, though I think there's a couple weak scenes for her. Bogart is weasely and sweaty and beginning to show why he deserves his own starring roles. The Kids are hammy, but the scenes with them and Rocky are pretty funny - they try to roll the great Rocky Sullivan in his own neighbourhood, and learn a couple lessons from him on the basketball court. There's some fantastic banter and slang in this one.

The plot thickens when Rocky uncovers the web of corruption that leads from his reluctant "business" partners, including Frazier, up to the highest levels. Jerry figures this out as well, and decides the time has come to lead a citizens' crusade against the whole filthy mess, even if it means stepping on Rocky in the process. Rocky shakes his old friend's hand and wishes him well:

"All right Jerry, go to it. But you've got just about as much chance as getting an indictment as I have of getting into Bible Society. You'll find that nobody cares about the whole thing. You'll find em laughing at you. End up a lot of blind alleys. But - go ahead, kid. And if I'm in your way, why, keep on stepping just as hard."



Besides being one of the quintessential gangster films with one of Cagney's most recognizable roles, this movie is famous for its ending scenes. I won't give it all away, but I do want to put down some thoughts about it, so some spoilers will follow.

( Click here for the rest. )

Cagney at his best sweet and scrappy self. The first Cagney film I got Dr Smith to watch and it was a great choice.

I found this movie on a public domain download site, so the version was scratchy and the sound was poor (had it been sped up or something? Their voices were all a bit Mickey-Mouse-ish).

Cags plays Johnny Cave, ex-prize-fighter, who through suspicious circumstances has been promoted to Deputy Chief of the Department of Weights and Measures. He takes his job seriously: very seriously, and it is hilarious to watch. Of course, he ends up offending the local gangsters, and discovers the corruption that leads to the very highest levels...

Good lingo, great mid-30s fashions and hair.

Sometimes after 'The Public Enemy' or 'White Heat', you just want permission to love a Cagney character without complication, and this is the perfect movie for that: a fiercely good guy who defends orphans and housewives, and isn't afraid to take a beating on their behalf; a romance that is funny, gentle and still wisecrackin'; no big commentary on social conditions, simply a good laugh and sigh-fest.

Cagney takes the weight of his chicken seriously:


"My best friend gets hit by a streetcar and winds up in the hospital, Civil War in Spain, earthquakes in Japan and now you wear that hat..."

"I'll see you in jail, breadsnatcher!"

---

It's a mid-winter night and I ought to be dreaming. Instead, I just have to jot down a couple thoughts about 1935's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' before they vanish.

TCM Canada was good enough to show this one in the wee hours last night, so I taped it.

This is a mountain of a film. Bizarre. Spectacular. Hilarious. On its dizzying heights, I am challenged to focus from classical Athens, to Elizabethan England, to a mid-1930s stage crammed with foliage, trained bears, ponies with horns glued to their foreheads, bat-men and glittering fairies on wires. Thrown from one era to the next, I am by turns disoriented and grounded.

( Non-spoiler review behind the cut )

This morning I watched 'Lady Killer' (1933). 1933 happens, I think, to be my favorite year for fashions, history and movies (heck, it's even the year that Thomas Morgan wins a Nobel Prize for his work with fruit flies and discoveries regarding chromosomes as the hereditary unit) - and that brings me to the magic number of 33 James Cagney films seen. I'm half-way!

'Lady Killer' was a perfect half-way celebration. I've been alternating Cagney films from the 50s with those from the 30s - I've seen all but one of his 1940s films. The pre-Code 1930s films are the best. They are so much FUN! And 'Lady Killer' is all the pre-Code Cagster fun wrapped up into one sweet 77 minute black and white package: cons, clubs, gambling, pokes at Hollywood, drinking, double-entendres, car chases, bra-less dames who give as good as they take, wisecracks, rackets, gun-fights, double-crosses, knock-outs (on the chin and draped in bias gowns), Irish coppers, grapefruit... more fun than a crate of monkeys (literally!!). The only thing missing is a dance number.

Gangster pal, picking up a photo of a Starlet, asks Cagney: "Friend of yours? You been rubbing noses with all the big shots in the picture business."
Cags: "You call it noses if you like."

You know what's coming next, don't you? Jimmy swooniness! This time in the form of pictures:


Thanks to jordannamorgan for this rockin' scan.
( This one is just to whet your whistle. There's a couple more behind the cut! )