Great Guy (1936)

I just recent watched the 1936 James Cagney movie Great Guy, and it was okay but the film quality was poor and grainy and so was the sound. James Cagney was good as Johnny Cave, a deputy in the New York Department of Weights and Measures who chases crooks and cheats. It is, to say the least, a comedown from the FBI. There is a difference in one's level of involvement when one is watching public enemies being run to the ground, and when one is watching petty crooks, like butchers who put their thumb on the scale or gas station attendants who give short measure to their customers, being brought to justice. Cagney's character is congealed by the desire to not resort to violence or even a wisecrack in fulfilling his duty for the public's well-being.

Mae Clarke, who was his leading lady in The Public Enemy (1931) and Lady Killer (1933), is back as his girlfriend in this film and even though I'm jealous of any Cagney romance, I'm not jealous of this one. Rather I'm relieved for her, as she does not get pushed around or bullied by Jimmy Cagney. After getting smashed in the face by a grapefruit and being dragged across the room by the hair by Cagney, Clarke finally gets to bully him so it's sort of revenge on her part! She is the straight-laced girlfriend who insists that they eat in a cafeteria less fancier than the Ritz so they can save money for their stash (and during the Depression, it was very wise to do so). This, like most of their other scenes, amounts to premarital nagging, and one gets the impression that if any grapefruit is going to be thrown in this relationship, she will be the one doing the throwing. I especially like the scenes where they kiss and talk on a sofa that looks like it's in their home but is actually in a furniture store!! That is so like The Simpsons and Family Guy, where it seems like they're doing one but they're actually doing another.

As for the supporting cast, they are adequate, but they are generally overshadowed rather easily by Cagney. Mae Clarke is relatively appealing as Cagney's fiancée, but she mostly has to react to situations, since the script and dialogue don't give her much more to work with. The movie as a whole largely follows a familiar pattern, and with a lesser star it would have been a rather routine affair. Cagney brings it up a couple of notches, and his own performance certainly won't disappoint anyone either. And of course, the Cagney acting style is unchanged. All the gestures are in place, but particularly the floating, air-sculpting hands, this time not overdone. In later years the use of his hands as dramatic punctuation dimishing considerably, but in this yet early phase of his career they are deftly and fascinatingly employed. (But I swear to God, they annoy me in general. I heard that he uses them all the time in Hard to Handle.) He seems to be at ease and enjoying himself tremendously--the performance turned in here is intelligent and crackles with his unique energy and surefire charisma. Mae Clarke's presence lends a definite Warner's feel to the overall production, and the story moves along smartly after a rocky introduction that seems to begin three or four reels into the story.

James Cagney made this movie after winning a contractal battle with Warner Brothers. According to the book "The Complete Films of James Cagney" by Homer Dickens (or Simpson?):

When Great Guy was released in, in December 1936, Cagney had been off the screen
for one year. During this time he and Warner Bros. battled in court, with Jimmy
finally becoming victorious. This was his first picture (in a two-picture-a-year
deal) with the independent outfit Grand National, and was based on the "Johnny
Cave Stories" by James Edward Grant that had been appearing in the Sunday
Evening Post. John G. Blystone neatly directed on a shoestring budget, which was
all too apparent, since a Warners picture had definite production values that
were missing here. But, despite the budget, Great Guy, or Pluck of the Irish as
it was called in England, was a nifty an exciting melodrama. It was fun seeing
Mae Clarke back in a Cagney picture.

I didn't really watch the fighting scenes because they were too dramatic. I would recommend this film for any James Cagney fan who likes watching him in melodramas. Happy commenting!!!
(Next blog: The Fighting 69th [1940])

Clips from Great Guy:

Jimmy the Gent (1934)

I just recently the 1934 James Cagney movie Jimmy the Gent for the first time, and I loved it! James Cagney was great as Jimmy Corrigan, the unscrupulous genealogist--as he liked to call himself but I think the term is too fancy for him--who locates the missing heirs to fortunes, and when he can't find the true heir, he's not above concocting a fake one for a 50 percent cut of the estate. Bette Davis is his erstwhile love interest, a former employee who has gone to work for an outwardly more respectable "genealogist," although it's soon apparent she still carries a torch for Jimmy and it's only his shifty ways that keep them apart. Davis is attractive and appealing in the role, matching Cagney line for line in verbal wit and dexterity. We even get an early glimpse of the trademark Davis intensity, as she clutches her new boss, who has offered to marry her, practically screaming into his ear, "Make me love you, make me love you!" But in this film, Jimmy Cagney has a shaved head (he had it shaved before filming started), and when they said it was the worst haircut in his career, they weren't kidding! I literally couldn't take him seriously with that silly buzz cut; it was like he was cut in half or something.
The stunt likely did not sit well with his leading lady Bette Davis either. She and Cagney were actually on the same wavelength at the time, both determined to get better parts, although apparently they did little commiserating over their common lots during filming. In later years, they would be quick with praise and admiration for each other's work and integrity (and would appear together again, in The Bride Came COD, 1941). But at this point Davis was angry about her studio assignments and eager to get this assembly line "quickie" out of the way so she could honor her loan out to RKO for Of Human Bondage (1934), the film that finally earned her respect as an accomplished actress. With all that on her mind, Davis was not amused by the antics of Warners' bad boy and refused to pose with him for publicity stills. Whatever her attitude may have been during the filming, she had high regard for her co-star, believe it or not.

Seen today, Jimmy the Gent hardly seems the throwaway picture Cagney and Davis considered it, and in retrospect, there is nothing for them to be ashamed of. The picture provides Cagney with the opportunity to demonstrate his comedic skills while still giving audiences the scrappy, shady type of character that brought the actor his early success. Davis, as in all her early Warners films in which she plays a "type," gives a thoroughly likeable performance. Perhaps the most distinguishing aspect of her character is the fact that she goes upside Cagney's head, while he (much to his satisfaction during production) breezes through an entire film without striking a woman.

Jimmy the Gent performed well at the box office, and reviewers liked it, too. Variety called it "good for plenty of laughs...at breakneck speed," and even three years after its release, critic Otis Ferguson was writing about it, "If this wasn't the fastest little whirlwind of true life on the raw fringe, then I missed the other one." This was first film Michael Curtiz directed James Cagney in. He would later direct him in Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), Captains of the Clouds (1942), and Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942).

Like Ceiling Zero, I so desperately wanted to see this Cagney film and once again, I cannot tell you folks how ecstatic I am to have finally seen it!!! I name this film as one of my favorite Cagney films (my other favorites are Footlight Parade and Taxi! and my soon-to-be favorites [as soon as I see them] are Hard to Handle, Here Comes the Navy, and Devil Dogs of the Air [maybe]). It had so many funny scenes, like in the beginning of film, when Allen Jenkins goes into James Cagney's office and the glass in the door immediately breaks since Jenkins arrives late!! (Is it just me or does Allen Jenkins also remind you folks of Gomer Pyle?) And another scene that cracked me up is when Cagney sits in the waiting room of his competitor's office to see his former secretary Bette Davis, he is served tea and he coughs when he first sips it (what's more funny is how awkwardly he drinks it [which just goes to show you how little class he has] and how much sugar he makes the servee put in it). The running gag here is how Jimmy is constantly served tea whenever he has to wait to be called in see his former assistant. And I love how Cagney slaps poor Jenkins around instead of slapping a woman around! I would recommend this film for any James Cagney fan! (Next blog [for sure]: Great Guy [1936])

Clips from Jimmy the Gent:

Videos Related to Something to Sing About

Clip from Something to Sing About:



A video montage about the steamy kissing scenes in Cagney's movies, which has nothing to do with this movie but has a few clips from it:

Something to Sing About (1937)

I just recently watched the 1937 James Cagney film Something to Sing About, and I didn't really like it. James Cagney was good as Terry Rooney, the New York bandleader who goes to Hollywood and becomes an overnight sensation, but takes off for the South Seas with his new bride after completing his first film, convinced he's a flop. I had a couple of nitpickings about this films, such as it was too sweet for my taste--sweeter than a Shirley Temple movie. I much prefer the comically cynical Footlight Parade to this movie. Furthermore, in his performance, Cagney sometimes acts like one of those annoying adults. Yet, despite my many nitpickings, there are a few scenes I kinda liked, such as the scene where Cagney dances with two guys on the ship during his honeymoon and the ending scene where Jimmy Cagney comes back to the nightclub where his band plays.
By 1936, James Cagney was one of the top ten moneymaking stars in Hollywood. He was also one of Warner Bros.' most versatile stars, equally effective in musicals, gangster films, and comedies. But he was unhappy with the studio's recent choice of material, and its demand that he make five films a year instead of the four his contract stipulated. So he took them to court, won, and walked out, shocking Hollywood by signing with Grand National, a newly formed independent company. His first Grand National film, Great Guy (1936) was well received. His second was Something to Sing About (1937), Cagney's first musical since Footlight Parade (1933).

Playing opposite Cagney was Evelyn Daw, a 20-year-old newcomer from South Dakota with a terrific soprano voice. Daw made only one more film before disappearing from the screen, although she continued to work in theater and opera. Standouts in the supporting cast are William Frawley (the future Fred Mertz for those of you who are I Love Lucy fans) as a publicist, and Gene Lockhart playing the studio boss, a conniving blowhard who cons Cagney's character into an unfair contract. Some Hollywood insiders noted the resemblance to Jack Warner. Sure I did enjoy the many satirizations of Hollywood but they weren't satirical enough to fit my tastes.

Critics were glad to see Cagney back in tap shoes, and playing a romantic lead for a change. Otis Ferguson of the New Republic gave Something to Sing About points for effort, saying "much can be done by good people who break away and bring the industry up short by independent accomplishment." But in spite of all the freshness and energy that Cagney and his colleagues brought to the film, they couldn't overcome the fact that the budget for Something to Sing About was skimpy (it was all the fledgling studio could afford), the music wasn't memorable, and the film didn't receive wide distribution. This film was no Singin' in the Rain or Anchors Aweigh since it didn't have any memorable scenes as well. (I always get Anchors Aweigh and On the Town mixed up: is the scene where Gene Kelly dances with the cartoon mouse in AA or OTT?) In an era of studio domination, an independent didn't have a chance (a proven point of the phrase "There's just no room for the little guy").

If Something to Sing About can be said to have any interest at all, other than as a curiosity in a great star's career, it is for the conscious analogies it permits one to draw between Terry Rooney's fictional movie career and Cagney's genuine one. Cagney walked out on Warner Bros. many times, like his character in this film did once, but he always came back and signed a new contract, just like his character in this film signs a seven-year contract (which also says that he has to be a bachelor in case his many female fans wanna sleep with him [sorry if that was a little off-color but it was implied] but that really has no connection with Cagney's film career). And if any of you have seen this movie, you'll know that Terry Rooney's real name is Thaddeus MacGillicudy and if ur also an I Love Lucy fan, u'll know that Lucy Ricardo's maiden name is MacGillicudy. So u can see that this movie has some connections with I Love Lucy, with the future Fred Mertz and the name MacGillicudy.

This movie also offers a glimpse of some of Cagney's comedic ability that we never really got to see. According to the book "Cagney" by John McCabe:

One of Cagney's key characteristics as a performer is too briefly and
tantalizingly touched on in Something to Sing About: his essential status as a
comedic actor. There is no performance in the first two thirds of his career
that is marked by comedy, even if sardonic and bitter. In the present film, as
he and his wife are walking down the street, he is explaining film comedy and
brilliantly illustrates five of its staples: a double take, a triple take, and a
triple take with a slow burn and one-eyed fadeaway, this last done in the style
of its great master, Jimmy Finlayson, Laurel and Hardy's prime stooge. Cagney
then caps these with veteran Keystone comic Charlie Murray's famous
mouth-ends-down grimace, which causes a lady passing by to scream in fright.
With regrettable brevity we glimpse Cagney the Clown, of whom, alas, we see
little in his career.

I would recommend this film to any James Cagney who likes seeing him in musicals. Happy commenting!! And have a wonderful holiday season!!

(Next blog: Great Guy [1936])

Clips from Something to Sing About: