Johnny Come Lately (1943)

 

 

Newspaper man wanders about and helps older woman save her paper.

Entertaining, if not too exciting drama with a mild political stance is worth the watch mainly for Cagney's lively performance.
 

Halliwell*: "A turn-of-the-century folksy drama seemed an odd choice for a Cagney independent production, and it was not very persuasively made, but the star produced moments of his old charisma."

Maltin**1/2: "Tame but amusing Cagney vehicle..." 

 

 

One, Two, Three (1961)

In West Berlin during the Cold War, a Coca-Cola executive is given the task of taking care of his boss' socialite daughter.

Wild and keen Cold War spoof is fast-paced, and its humor is keen, cynical and - accurate; the cast seems to be enjoying the madness.

Halliwell**: "Back to Ninotchka territory, but this time the tone is that of a wild farce which achieves fine momentum in stretches but also flags a lot in between, teetering the while on the edge of taste."

Maltin****: "Hilarious Wilder comedy...Cagney is a marvel to watch in this machine-gun-paced comedy..."

From my vaults: James Cagney

Bio:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cagney

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

A biopic of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan.

Patriotic and a bit sentimental, this is otherwise a good-natured and lively musical with its star showing off his talent.

White Heat (1949)

A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist.

A masterpiece of the gangster genre with everybody doing a perfect job, fast, relentless and over-the-top. Cagney adds yet another new dimension to the criminal persona.

The Strawberry Blonde (1941)

A young man is crazy about a 'strawberry blonde' girl, but his "pal" marries her himself and makes his friend the fall guy for his shady dealings.

A wonderful movie, a favourite of mine, but not a comedy as the German TV mag wants us to believe. All done perfectly by everybody involved this is a good-natured moral tale telling us that beauty and wealth do not always bring happiness.

Frisco Kid (1935)

A shanghaied sailor (James Cagney) becomes a Barbary Coast gambler, saved from the gallows by a socialite.

Lively, but cliche-ridden actioner with its star obviously enjoying himself.

The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)

A financially-strapped charter pilot hires himself to an oil tycoon to kidnap his madcap daughter and prevent her from marrying a vapid band leader.

Although this sounds like it could be a madcap screwball comedy the humour is sparse and the pacing is not fast but rather patchy. Amazing, if you consider the talent involved.

Footlight Parade (1933)

A producer struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.

Generally, I'm not too fond of musicals, to say the least. This one is lively and fast-witted and has some sensational Busby Berkeley sets. The movie falls into 2 parts, the first building up the story, the second consists almost solely of the musical pieces. The music itself is, as so often, not my cup of tea.

Lady Killer (1933)

When a movie theater usher is fired, he first takes up with criminals, but then finds himself a job in the movie business and becomes a star.

Lively and fast-paced drama with it's star in top form.