An American drama directed by H. C. Potter, starring James Cagney.
A rich man sits in a bar and has his friend run strange errands for him. Various other customers enter the bar and reveal part of their life story.
This is why I watch obscure films. A diamond in the rough, this movie has a little bit of everything from song and dance numbers to fighting and insanity. It earns high respect from me by being mostly shot on a single set and showing character development, despite the large number of characters. There are actually surprises in this and my favorite involves the "marble game" (A.K.A. pinball machine). This is one that you have to see to appreciate and it shouldn't be too hard to find (being public domain and all). The real question here is: who would abandon such a wonderful movie? Shitkipedia says it was a "miserable failure in the box office" and that a remake was made in 1958. The original goes beyond the call of duty and ascends to the realm of high art. I rate it best.
A crime film directed by Raoul Walsh, starring James Cagney.After a gangster robs a train, he turns himself in for a smaller crime committed on the same date by a different man. He thinks that prison will be a vacation, but his lifestyle follows him.This was just another regular old gangster movie. The criminals are bad and the cops always catch them. There was a technique that the cops used to track a moving vehicle that I liked. They mounted a radio transmitting oscillator on the vehicle and set up 2 receivers in other cars to track the location. I'm rating it o.k. for blending in with the crowd.
A crime film directed by William A. Wellman, starring James Cagney and Jean Harlow.A young man rises through the ranks of a gang during prohibition.Gangster flicks are cool, but this one was unimpressive. The plot was muddy and the characters weren't developed very well. It's not bad, just another regular gangster movie. I'm rating it o.k.
