I've recently been watching another 1935 James Cagney movie, G-Men, but not for the first time. It puts James Cagney on the side of the law, but you still sympathized with him and it was also one of his best films.
.jpg)
Of course, I think the movie is similar to the recent Johnny Depp movie Public Enemies, which is about the case of John Dillinger; the similarity is only because both movies reenact the real shootout event from 1933 or '34 between federal agents and gangsters at a Wisconsin lodge, which involved Dillinger. However, there are differences between the two reenactment scenes of the two movies: one was done in a studio and one was done at the actual location. (You can decide for yourself which one is which. Fun fact: there is a reference to Cagney in Public Enemies, but it's a reference to another movie of his. ) 
James Cagney was great as James "Brick" Davis, a lawyer-turned-FBI agent who knows the underworld well because of his background. The only problem with this movie is that it doesn't have very familiar actors, except for Robert Armstrong, who was in the RKO movie, King Kong (1933); Margaret Lindsay, who was in Lady Killer (1933), another James Cagney movie; and Ann Dvorak, who was in The Crowd Roars (1932), which is also a James Cagney movie. (I've seen all three movies, but when I first saw this movie, I hadn't seen The Crowd Roars yet.)
.jpg)
Of course, I think the movie is similar to the recent Johnny Depp movie Public Enemies, which is about the case of John Dillinger; the similarity is only because both movies reenact the real shootout event from 1933 or '34 between federal agents and gangsters at a Wisconsin lodge, which involved Dillinger. However, there are differences between the two reenactment scenes of the two movies: one was done in a studio and one was done at the actual location. (You can decide for yourself which one is which. Fun fact: there is a reference to Cagney in Public Enemies, but it's a reference to another movie of his. ) 
James Cagney was great as James "Brick" Davis, a lawyer-turned-FBI agent who knows the underworld well because of his background. The only problem with this movie is that it doesn't have very familiar actors, except for Robert Armstrong, who was in the RKO movie, King Kong (1933); Margaret Lindsay, who was in Lady Killer (1933), another James Cagney movie; and Ann Dvorak, who was in The Crowd Roars (1932), which is also a James Cagney movie. (I've seen all three movies, but when I first saw this movie, I hadn't seen The Crowd Roars yet.)_02.jpg)
Once again, real bullets were used in the shooting scenes, just like in The Public Enemy; the reason was because special effects hadn't yet perfected the explosive squibs that simulate bullets. It scared James Cagney to death and he swore that he wouldn't go through with it again; however, he had to go through with it later in Angels with Dirty Faces.
J. Edgar Hoover, who then head of the FBI, personally approved the script of this movie and was proud of the publicity. I didn't really watch the shooting scenes, but as for the ending, I thought it was pretty sweet. This movie was a pretty big hit back in the 1935, which means that was a big box-office hit.
I didn't really mind it when James Cagney flirted with the ladies in the film. This film is must for any James Cagney fan because it's one of his important roles as it puts him on the right side of the law, but he's still a sharpshooter (yes, I'm surprised I know t
hat word too). 
.jpg)
Saw this one. I still feel undecided about how I feel about this film. I neither hate nor do I love. It just kinda hits me in limbo. Everything on paper says I would love this movie. I just have seen this one so maybe if I watch it another time I might like it more. Hey this has happened before. The first time I watched Gilda I was bonkers about and now it is tied for my favorite movie of all time.
ReplyDelete