Reviews (19)

Shakespeare in Hollywood.
Let me begin by saying that the 5 star rating is purely subjective. As you can see from the other reviews you either like this film or you don't. I LOVE this film. As an adaptation of Shakespeare's play it's not very good. Such is the case with other Shakespeare movies of this vintage (check out the 1934 ROMEO AND JULIET with Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer or the 1929 TAMING OF THE SHREW with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford). In fact the hostile reception this version received steered Hollywood clear of anything by Shakespeare for years. So much for Shakespeare in Hollywood. The fairy scenes are among the most magical I have ever seen in any film echoing their German origins while the Athenian scenes are as Hollywood as they come. F.W. Murnau's FAUST (the co-director William Dieterle played Valentine in FAUST) meets 42ND STREET (note the dance numbers). The performances by James Cagney, Olivia de Haviland, Ross Alexander, Jean Muir, and Victor Jory are quite good. Anita Louise is a lovely Titania and Mickey Rooney (12 at the time) is loud and mischievous. Just what I would expect Puck to be. Most of these performers were in Max Reinhardt's stage production which this film is based on. The tradesmen are vaudeville comics with the exception of Frank McHugh and are perfectly at home in this dual setting. Joe E. Brown and Hugh Herbert get to do their shticks while an unrecognizable Arthur Treacher gets to do nothing. A MIDSUMMERNIGHT'S DREAM is not for everyone and definitely not for Shakespeare purists. But if you approach it as a movie from the Golden Age of Hollywood and all that implies then it's much easier to enjoy. Postscripts for the historically curious (with apologies to Henry W. Simon). This was the film that brought Erich Wolfgang Korngold to Warner Brothers. His job was to arrange the well known music by Mendelssohn. The rest as they say is history. The part of the young Indian prince is played by Kenneth Anger of HOLLYWOOD BABYLON fame.

I liked the new one better
This wasn't a terible movie, but I liked the new version better. Some of the acting in this version was overdone; Anita Louise, who played Titania, sounded like she belonged in an opera house, and why did Mickey Rooney decide to portray Puck as a wild animal in human form? Olivia De Havilland did give a good portrayal of Hermia, however; I just wish she'd had more lines! James Cagney also gave a good portrayal of Bottom. In the new version, whoever played the man who played the woman in the play about Pyramus and Thisbe gave a much better performance than Joe E. Brown does here. Brown just plays it for laughs. For the most part, the acting in the new version was much better. I believe the special effects were innovative for the time period; it is easy to see that, but, unfortuanatly, they pale in comparison to all that has come since in special effects in movies. The sets weren't too bad, either. So, on the whole, there were pluses to this movie, but minuses, too. The new version had more pluses.

Puck steals the show!
This is not the type of movie I would normally watch - but it is a must-see! The dance numbers are awesome, and the real kick is watching the performance of Puck, which I only realized later was Mickey Rooney - he doesn't look 12, and I found myself wondering "how did they get him to act like that?".

The movie seems long at times, particulary in the party at the very end. But I wouldn't mind watching it again with someone -

The best to date
There have been criticisms here of Reinhardt's AMND as "un-Shakespearean," but truly: who among us would really want to sit in a theater with almost no props or backdrops, minimal costuming, men performing the women's parts, and audiences that were anything but quiet during the show? -For that's exactly what Shakespearean theater conditions amounted to. Our idea of Shakespeare derives simply from modern Masterpiece Theater style productions, which make a virtue of sober lucidity, and do a fine job of it, too.

But Reinhardt gives us a German High Romantic version of AMND, and displays a very different virtue, seldom seen in modern screen transcriptions of older works: a sense of well-conceived and executed style. You may not like his Mendelssohnian fairies, but their integration into the play--by choice of dialog, imaginative staging and costuming, brilliant special effects and incidental music--is consistent. Mendelssohn's music was in fact intended to accompany actual performances many years previously; and the ballet sequences built around it have a way of stopping time even today with their visionary beauty, a matter of movement, staging, lighting (the remarkable Hal Mohr), editing and effects. A book in fact could be written on Reinhardt's multi-level application of thematic materials, which is done in a manner that's far less boring than the way it sounds. This is a brilliant conception of Shakespeare, far from the "let's be different to grab attention" Shakespeare of punk Romeos that have fled across our screens in recent years.

The casting is generally very good. Mickey Rooney, in his first film role, displays all the remarkable energy and focus which were his greatest gifts. (What a shame the film industry kissed him off when he matured into a short, pudgy man, who was just as talented!) No prim, polite observer, his Puck is an elemental force, taking malicious delight in the strongly felt emotions of the humans that have come to the forest. Everything is brilliant, bright mockery: his deliberately garbled imitation of the speech and gestures of Lysander prior to the latter's magical sleep is a good example. This is not a Puck you would want call Robin Goodfellow, not unless you wanted to please him--and you most definitely would want to please him. It is a taut, kaleidoscopically varied performance.

The comic players are also well cast. James Cagney is superb as Bottom, particularly in the monologue that follows waking from what he considers "his dream." Hugh Herbert brings more variation to a giddy giggle, both for accompanying expression and meaning, than any other human being probably ever has. Frank McHugh is a delight as Peter Quince. Only Joe E Brown, as Flute, goes overboard, trying to steal the scene from others during their lines; but he makes up for it with a delightful Thisbe. Arthur Treacher is very much wasted, with nothing to say; and their are indications in the action that more may have been filmed, or at least planned of their material to film. Considerations of length and/or budget probably intervened.

Victor Jory, so well known even today for his villainous roles (especially in Flash Gordon serials), is a superbly dark Oberon: not sinister, but more of a somber Herne the Hunter type, in contrast to Anita Louise, who is all Elven gossamer. Presumably Reinhardt saw them as a balance of light and dark, perhaps with an overlay of contemporary Austrian psychoanalysis: masculine/dark/forceful against feminine/light/receptive. No, I don't buy the silly pop analysis of Men Are From Mars, Women From Venus; but in Reinhardt's AMND, we may be looking at an earlier incarnation of the same values, definitely presented on a more creative level. I don't buy into Reinhardt's portrayal of Oberon's followers as a bunch of anthrompomorphized bats, but I have to admit it works in context. This especially holds true for the ballet sequence where one bat follower symbolically forces a fairy follower of Titania to the ground, overshadows her, then bears her off, horizontal, her hands waving delicately in the air. I suppose we can only be thankful that the Hayes Office wasn't really paying attention to high prestige Art films.

The lovers are not quite as effective. All four are good, with Olivia de Haviland perhaps the best of the lot; but there's little sense of emotional depth in their performances, at least enough to draw forth Puck's disparaging remark about "what fools these mortals be." Some of this, again, may be due to the director's conception. Reinhardt clearly plays them more for laughs, cutting a fair amount of the four-way badinage, and deliberately staging at least one famous piece of it as a four-way, non-stop, unintelligble harrangue, in which opponents trade off to continue arguing. The quartet in Adrian Noble's 1996 AMND is to be preferred, here (though the staging is, IMO, awful).

To round out, I have to return to Reinhardt. He gave many of Hollywood's greatest talents during the 1920s-40s their apprenticeships. The contemporary notices for his productions are unanimous raves for his artistic insight, integrity, intelligence, directorial ability, and brillance of execution. Yet he would be no more than a footnote in some theatrical encyclopedia if it were not for this single film, made after Reinhardt escaped from the Nazis. A modest success in box offices at the time, Hollywood could not countenance the huge expenditure of resources on such a film, and Reinhardt was a respected pariah in the film community until his death in the early 1940s. But AMND lives on, and provides an excellent sense of what all the excitement was about this master visionary of theater...and potentially, cinema.

Mere Words Cannot Describe the Horror
Max Reinhardt was among the great theatrical impresarios of the early portion of the 20th Century, renowned primarily for the pageantry of his stage productions. His 1930s Los Angeles staging of William Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM was such a popular success that Hollywood studios went wild to lure Reinhardt into adapting his production to the screen. Strange to say, Warner Brothers--more at home with gangster movies, tough melodrama, and strident musicals--won the bid, and the result was this 1936 abomination.

Now, I won't go so far as to say this version of Shakespeare's famous fairy tale will actually make you run screaming from the room, but I will say that by the time it ends you may wish you had. Fairies flutter, flounce, and flop around to some of the most uninspired choreography imaginable; the score, lifted from the Mendelsson's most obvious works, could rot your teeth at twenty paces; the sets and costumes strive for a Parrish-like effect and instead come up with clunky Hollywood gloss. And need we mention that Shakespeare's gossamer script has been ripped to shreds?

The cast is simply horrendous. This was Olivia de Havilland's first film, and while she isn't memorably bad, neither is she memorably good--and that's really the highwater mark of the performances as a whole. James Cagney is terribly miscast, and Dick Powell behaves exactly as if he is about to launch into a Busby Berkley musical number. And then there is Mickey Rooney, who gives what must be single most abrasive performance in all of 1930s cinema. Only Joe E. Brown manages to emerge unscathed.

All in all, watching the 1936 Warner Brother's version of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM is akin to watching an alligator swallow an innocent, sweet-eyed fawn. You just can't quite believe that it is happening, right there, in front your own eyes. Now, if you have an interest in how Hollywood approached Shakespeare in the 1930s, you may actually want to sit through this movie once. But don't inflict it upon any one else. They won't thank you for it.

--GFT (Amazon.com Reviewer)-- ... Read more

Reviews (39)

So Many Favourites In One Film!!
Henry Fonda stars in one of his most famous roles as Mr. Roberts, an officer on board a cargo ship, a man who underestimates his importance and the respect he is shown by an appreciative crew. The reason they admire him so much is because he stands up to their dictatorial captain, played ferociously by James Cagney. Fonda brings a lot of dignity and quiet strength to his character. The great William Powell is Fonda's confidant and ship's doctor, and Powell plays him with wisdom and class. Jack Lemmon, as Ensign Pulver, gets many of the film's best laughs, as he broadly plays the officer who is a lot of talk, but not much action. Mister Roberts combines humour, honesty, and drama very well, giving the viewer a real sense of the camaraderie onboard the ship. We also see how the human spirit can triumph under difficult conditions. And it's also a great chance to see four of Hollywood's greatest actors in one film, each one showing what they did so well. This is one to watch.

Thank you, Mr. Roberts
When Henry Fonda received the Kennedy Center honors in the late 70's, as part of his tribute, the Naval Academy glee club sang. Red River Valley saluted Grapes of Wrath, but the highlight was Anchors Away, when the Midshipman director of the glee club turned about face, saluted and said "Thank you, Mr. Roberts." As each Middie left the stage, he saluted and former Lt (jg) Fonda returned each one. Mr. Fonda was reported to have said that that was the greatest honor he received in a truly distinguished career.

This movie has that impact--it is a salute to "all those brave men who sailed from Apathy to Tedium, with an occasional side trip to Monotony" (I hope I have this right). When he died, the network news tribute was a dark screen and the sound track as Dolan and the others, having learned just what Mr. Roberts had done for them, each repeated those magic words "Good night, Mr. Roberts."

This is my favorite movie, one which I have watched at least 100 times. With marvelous performances by William Powell (Doc), James Cagney (the Captain), and Jack Lemmon (Ensign Pulver), as well as a fine supporting cast, this is a "must have" selection.

Review is of DVD - Not the movie
Given the "classic" status of this movie, it seems meaningless to discuss the content for this review. Thus, I will stick to reviewing Warner Brothers DVD release of the film.

First, I commend them for the inclusion of the excerpt of an Ed Sullivan "Toast of the Town" (1948) tribute episode featuring the movie's stars. This was really interesting viewing.

However, for the movie itself....this is the worst Warner release I have seen since "National Velvet". The picture frequently becomes out of focus, and the picture is often very undefined throughout the whole movie. There are a couple of places in the movie where the picture jumps, as if the film from which the transfer was taken "skipped a sprocket".

Overall, this is an embarassing release of a classic movie....despite the great extras which are included. Warner needs to go back to the drawing board on this one.

I love this movie!
The film "Mister Roberts" has everything.

Great Story, great cast, great meaning. If I had my choice of only a dozen movies to recommend to anyone, this would be one of them.

After fifty years, it's still an inspiring story of how sometimes small, seemingly insignificant details and the consideration of the human factor contribute to effective leadership.

In fact, this film is still in use as a motivational tool in the U.S. Naval Services.

I highly recommend this movie.

One of my favorite movies
I loved this movie when I saw it many years ago, it's timeless and still funny after all these years. I'm so glad it's available on DVD and now part of my movie collection. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Henry Fonda re-created his Broadway hit for this 1955 film that was mostly directed by Fonda's frequent collaborator, John Ford (Young Mr. Lincoln, My Darling Clementine)--an ailing Ford was replaced at some point by Mervyn LeRoy--and the results are exceptionally fine. A perfect cast, including James Cagney's irascible captain, William Powell's thoughtful physician, and Jack Lemmon's Oscar-winning Ensign Pulver, give Fonda the right boost to portray his ennui-burdened officer with dignity, self-effacing humor, and not a trace of self-pity. A wonderful film. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (39)

So Many Favourites In One Film!!
Henry Fonda stars in one of his most famous roles as Mr. Roberts, an officer on board a cargo ship, a man who underestimates his importance and the respect he is shown by an appreciative crew. The reason they admire him so much is because he stands up to their dictatorial captain, played ferociously by James Cagney. Fonda brings a lot of dignity and quiet strength to his character. The great William Powell is Fonda's confidant and ship's doctor, and Powell plays him with wisdom and class. Jack Lemmon, as Ensign Pulver, gets many of the film's best laughs, as he broadly plays the officer who is a lot of talk, but not much action. Mister Roberts combines humour, honesty, and drama very well, giving the viewer a real sense of the camaraderie onboard the ship. We also see how the human spirit can triumph under difficult conditions. And it's also a great chance to see four of Hollywood's greatest actors in one film, each one showing what they did so well. This is one to watch.

Thank you, Mr. Roberts
When Henry Fonda received the Kennedy Center honors in the late 70's, as part of his tribute, the Naval Academy glee club sang. Red River Valley saluted Grapes of Wrath, but the highlight was Anchors Away, when the Midshipman director of the glee club turned about face, saluted and said "Thank you, Mr. Roberts." As each Middie left the stage, he saluted and former Lt (jg) Fonda returned each one. Mr. Fonda was reported to have said that that was the greatest honor he received in a truly distinguished career.

This movie has that impact--it is a salute to "all those brave men who sailed from Apathy to Tedium, with an occasional side trip to Monotony" (I hope I have this right). When he died, the network news tribute was a dark screen and the sound track as Dolan and the others, having learned just what Mr. Roberts had done for them, each repeated those magic words "Good night, Mr. Roberts."

This is my favorite movie, one which I have watched at least 100 times. With marvelous performances by William Powell (Doc), James Cagney (the Captain), and Jack Lemmon (Ensign Pulver), as well as a fine supporting cast, this is a "must have" selection.

Review is of DVD - Not the movie
Given the "classic" status of this movie, it seems meaningless to discuss the content for this review. Thus, I will stick to reviewing Warner Brothers DVD release of the film.

First, I commend them for the inclusion of the excerpt of an Ed Sullivan "Toast of the Town" (1948) tribute episode featuring the movie's stars. This was really interesting viewing.

However, for the movie itself....this is the worst Warner release I have seen since "National Velvet". The picture frequently becomes out of focus, and the picture is often very undefined throughout the whole movie. There are a couple of places in the movie where the picture jumps, as if the film from which the transfer was taken "skipped a sprocket".

Overall, this is an embarassing release of a classic movie....despite the great extras which are included. Warner needs to go back to the drawing board on this one.

I love this movie!
The film "Mister Roberts" has everything.

Great Story, great cast, great meaning. If I had my choice of only a dozen movies to recommend to anyone, this would be one of them.

After fifty years, it's still an inspiring story of how sometimes small, seemingly insignificant details and the consideration of the human factor contribute to effective leadership.

In fact, this film is still in use as a motivational tool in the U.S. Naval Services.

I highly recommend this movie.

One of my favorite movies
I loved this movie when I saw it many years ago, it's timeless and still funny after all these years. I'm so glad it's available on DVD and now part of my movie collection. ... Read more

Description

Academy Award winner James Cagney puts on his dancing shoes again for The West Point Story, a spirited comedy packed with star-power and tunes by vetran songwriters Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Ra Ra Ra Ra West Point Story Is Good
Elwin Bixby (James Cagney) is the owner of a Night Club and is a down on his luck man who has been engaged to his sweet Girl Eve (Virginia Mayo) for 2 years well Eve tries to get him help so she gets him a job helping out with the West Point Academy Annual Musical their they meet Harry Eberhart (Gordon MacRae) who is the brains of the play and the one who wrote it up but one problem they have no girls to play the girls role but Bix promises the boys if they will help him out he will get Jan Wilson (Doris Day) to play the part. Well when they hear that they are all happy about the show so he gets her. And Harry and Jan fall in love the play is a hit to! Great Movie!

A dancing athlete!
This is a rather cornball comedy for fans of Cagney-the-dancer.

Cagney is to be watched because he exudes sheer joy. It's a shame he didn't dance more in his films, but this flick preserves a fine display of hoofing talent.

"West Point Story" is one of only a few movies showing his celebrated footwork [the others being "Footlight Parade" (1934), "Something to Sing About" (1937), "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1941) and "Seven Little Foys" (1957). Minor, but effective, dance scenes are staged in "Public Enemy" (1931) and "The Strawberry Blonde" (1940).]

Packed with stars (Doris Day, Gordon McCrae, Virginia Mayo, and Alan Hale Jr.), it focuses on a down-on-his-luck, pugnacious Broadway director (Cagney as Elwin Bixby) who winds up at West Point staging a show.

The plot is corny and slight, but Cagney makes it worthwhile. His character's temper tantrums are riotous as he jumps up and down in well-choreographed fits.

The score by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn is nice, with an exception of a goofy number called "The Military Polka."

But folks! It is the dancing you must see, especially the dance number "Brooklyn" ("B-apostrophe, K-no apostostrophe, L-Y-N!". Cagney -- in his tonally uncertain voice -- talks it with great effect. A rousing bluesly dance number ensues with a revealingly clad Virginia Mayo as a "fabulous wench from some other cent-ury."

Cag is outfitted in Cuban heels and a zoot suit, and is his sexiest with Mayo, as they strut and sidle in this number portraying a cocky Brooklynite's claim to have met the perfect dame. ("I said, 'Are you going my way/As we stroll down King's Highway?' /She whispered, 'C'est la mour'/ and I asked her 'Are you sure?' ... Yes this happened to me.") "Brooklyn" is Cagney's best dance scene ever, along with the "Give My Regards to Broadway" number in "Yankee Doodle Dandy."

You can forgive the rest of the film after seeing Cagney dance -- four scenes in all. It's equally amazing to see that this 51 year old could kick up his heels with seeming effortlessness. He was a dancing athlete, and is worth watching here.

Doris day sings, "10,432 Sheep".
James Cagney is an angry, crazy choreagrapher and he also likes to bet on horses. On a deal, he must go to West Point to help this man's nephew Gordon MacRae become a musical star in the Army Theatre instead of becoming an Army Lieutenant. There is also some old history with Doris Day who comes in later in the film. When he gets to West Point, he finds Gordon MacRae in an all-male musical. No woman cast. Alan Hale Jr. (Gilligan's Island) is playing a princess. Virginia Mayo is trying to hold the fort together. Cagney will go to Las vegas if he succeeds with the deal. They talk cagney into becoming a cadet. cagney then must go to new York to bring Doris Day to West Point to play the Princess in the Army play.
Doris sings the cute song, "Ten Thousand Four Hundred Thirty-Two Sheep".
If you would like to see James Cagney get his just desserts, watch ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES (1938), colorized version is the best.
Jerome Cowan, who plays Doris' agent, was a regular in the "Blondie" film series (1938-50) in 1946-49.

Fun musical with lots of singing and dancing
Set at West Point, this musical centers on Elwin Bixby's (James Cagney) misadventures as he tries to stage a show at the academy while trying to lure the young talented soldier Tom Fletcher (Gordon MacRae) away from army life and into showbusiness. Convinced that Tom's voice has star potential, Bixby uses pretty movie star Jan Wilson (Doris Day) as bait to try and charm Tom out of army life. But plans backfire when Jan falls under the spell of the handsome soldier.
Tons of singing and dancing by Gordon MacRae, Doris Day, Gene Nelson, James Cagney, and Virginia Mayo.

Very entertaining film
I feel like this movie is getting a bad rap by some of the reviewers who have this mixed up with an actual West Point recruitment video. Well, this movie is a musical, and a rather enjoyable one at that. Even though the plot is silly and a little far-fetched, it's still a lot of fun to watch. If you can go along with the story and forget about its credibility in real life, then you should have no problem. The cast is excellent and they do a good job moving the story along. James Cagney is wonderful and I couldn't keep my eyes off him for a second. Sometimes I would rewind certain parts to watch them all over again. This film was funny and the musical numbers were a joy to watch, like "By the Kissing Rock" and my favorite, "B 'Postrophe, K No 'Postrophe, L-Y-N". I say if you're still not sure about this film, just get it to watch the Brooklyn number at the end -- the dancing was superb! Bottom line, I think this was a fun movie. If you like lots of dancing, James Cagney, and Doris Day -- you got it made. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Director William Wellman (Wings), a World War I veteran who turned his experiences in battle into an insistence on unpretentious violence in his films, made Public Enemy a particularly brutal account of the rise and fall of a monstrous gangster (James Cagney). Cagney delivers one of the most famous performances in film history as the snarling crook who--in one of the film's most famous scenes--smashes a grapefruit into the face of Mae Clarke. The film's a bit dated, but its action scenes still pack an unusual wallop. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Influential and powerful, and still compelling.
The most powerful of all the Warners gangster films, 'Public Enemy' is still gripping viewing today. It may be an obvious point, but it can't be stated enough how so much of the film's force comes from being made in the actual era it depicts (NB Prohibition lasted until 1933) with all the conviction and urgency that brings. The film is an acknowledged influence on 'Goodfellas' in that the story is told 'straight' with no moral bromide being forced through the criminal charcters' mouths - they lead their lives without time or need for apology or introspection. What moral conclusion there is to be drawn is all too implicit in the resolution of their story. 'Goodfellas' though depicting historical events, drew on a uniquely candid first hand account, as well as the director's own experiences, which gives the film a similar 'truth' to 'Public Enemy'. Scorcese also picked up on William Wellman's use of source, rather than soundtrack music ('I'm For Ever Blowing Bubbles'), as seen to virtuoso effect in 'Raging Bull'. As for Cagney himself, well, let's just say it was the performance that made him a star. That's all that need be said. The famous ending is still one of the most shocking in all cinema.

The greatest of the great
Paul Muni in Scarface; Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar - these are now interesting but dated performances in interesting but dated movies. Almost seventy years later, Cagney's performance is truly fresh, as is the movie. Public Enemy is the one unmissable gangster movie from the early thirties: its violence is always suggested rather than stated (always more effective); most of the acting seems strikingly contemporary (Sara Algood is of another age, but Jean Harlow could saunter onto a contemporary screen and not seem in any way anachronistic); and there is no mood music: what music there is on the soundtrack can be explained by way of live bands or the presence of a radio. This fact contributes to one of the most chilling endings of any American movie I've ever seen. Above all, there is Cagney! What a great actor! Today there is Russell Crowe: even in the old days, only Spencer Tracy came close to this kind of ease and naturalness. Enough! About James Cagney I have said - and can say - nothing. Rent it, and see for yourself!

cagney unleashed on world
the most explosive debut in movie history was made by james cagney. little caesar was a better movie, but cagney epitomizes the depression era movie mobster in this movie. jean harlow gives the worst performance of her career in this movie, which is naturally something of a mystery. a year later she was great in red-headed woman, red dust and later bombshell. wellman was a great director but surely not with harlow. this is best known movie of mae clarke because if features the famed scene where cagney shoves a grapefruit in her kisser. this is totally unjust because clarke was a wonderful actress, especially in waterloo bridge. anyway, she is in only two brief scenes. the only good performance besides cageny is that of leslie fenton as nails nathan. despite public enemy's shortcomings it's one of the movies you have to see.

Just one historical note...
James Cagney has always been my great favorite and this seminal performance is nonpareil. I did want to add one thing to the excellent reviews already here: Edward Woods had originally been cast in the role of Tom Powers (I believe he was engaged to a studio honcho), but Cagney was so overwhelming in the secondary role, he was recast after only a couple of days. It's interesting to note that the children who played the characters as youngsters were clearly cast with the roles reversed.

An Unforgettable Final Scene
There is very little waste in PUBLIC ENEMY and it is easy to see why this film caused such a sensation in 1931. The movie is about the steady rise of a professional criminal (James Cagney) from before World War I through the early years of Prohibition. The acting by Cagney, Joan Blondell and Mae Clarke is excellent. The strong supporting cast includes Beryl Mercer, Edward Woods and Jean Harlow.

PUBLIC ENEMY received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Story (John Bright and Kubec Glasmon). The film has certainly stood the test of time and the final scene has remained unforgettable. William Wellman also directed BEAU GESTE, WINGS and THE STORY OF G.I. JOE. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

A 1950s musical gem about the 1920s starring Doris Day.
"Love Me Or Leave Me" is a musical gem! It is a very polished and extremely entertaining film in which Doris Day plays 1920s singer Ruth Etting. James Cagney's fine performance of her gangster manager-husband and the vintage songs highlight the picture. It was made in CinemaScope and only by watching it in its original widescreen format can the film be fully appreciated.

A Tough Musical
Doris Day stars as torch singer Ruth Etting, who rose to the top thanks to her involvement with a gangster, played by James Cagney. Day has the talent, but Cagney (forcibly) opens the doors for her, and then he is unable to give up control once her career gathers momentum and she no longer needs him. Neither character is made to be completely sympathetic, since Day uses Cagney's affection to get where she wants to go, while Cagney is presented as a violent control freak with little social skill. Day is strong, if a bit detached as Etting, with her best moments in the film coming when she sings the great old songs. Cagney, a fearless actor, goes full throttle as the gangster, making him brutal yet allowing the viewer to see just how much he needs and loves Day. The rest of the cast are fine. The colour of the film (unless it was the print I saw) is a little stark, reminding me of how colourized black and white films look. But the production values are high, with great music and a tough script. As musical biopics go, this is one of the better ones.

Doris Day's best Movie? Maybe...
Released in 1955 and directed by Charles Vidor. This film has a lot of good things going for it, that would make you want to see it. Doris Day, James Cagney, 1920s, and, especially if you're a Ruth Etting fan, you'll enjoy the number of her songs featured in this movie.

This film is a admittingly highly fictionalized bio musical drama about the famous (although now very much forgotten) 1920s and 30s torch singer, Ruth Etting. The film focuses around her struggling early start in getting small jobs at singing in small clubs, up to her huge fame as a popular recording artist, and star of broadway and talking pictures. Also a look at her offstage "hard" life, with Manager/Husband Marty "the Gimp" Snyder, who helped her become famous, but made her life hell.

Both Doris Day and James Cagney are great in this movie, along with everyone else. Its a very different role for Doris Day, than you might be used to seeing her as. Cagney plays his usual "tough guy" image well, and this is easily one of the finest films the two stars made. Doris Day does not sound at all like Ruth Etting, and she doesnt try to sound like her either. This isnt a bad thing though, she still sings the songs great as "Doris Day" instead of "Ruth Etting" so to speak. A very classy, and enjoyable movie.

The soundtrack album Doris Day recorded for this movie, available on CD, is well worth picking up aswell. As far as Ruth Etting goes, I feel, along with Doris Day, they are two of the greatest female singers of all-time, so you should check out any of the CD compilations available of her music (I personally recommend "Ten Cents a Dance" and "Americas Sweetheart of Song" from ASV Living Era).

Doris Day portrays "Ruth Etting".
WARNING:Film includes domestic violence on a woman. Doris Day portrays the real life of "Ruth Etting", a dancing showgirl in Chicago. She is a kept woman who is struggling to get out of Chicago and utilize her talent to reach Broadway. She gets involved with a gangster (James Cagney) who helps her reach Broadway, but turns her personal life into turmoil. I do not care for the pairing of Doris Day and James Cagney. It does not wash with me. They also worked together in THE WEST POINT STORY (1950). Strong performance by Doris Day. Very dramatic picture. Not a happy picture at all. Includes violence against a woman.
NOTE: Most of the domestic violence scenes and the rape scene was cut by the censors.
Did you notice the blooper? While Doris is in her gold outfit, she turns and her earring flys off her ear. In the next shot, it is mysteriously back on.
Doris sings, "You Made Me Love You" and "Ten Cents A Dance".
The real Ruth Etting made thirty films. One of them is ROMAN SCANDALS (1933) where she played "Olga".

Love Me Or Leave Me
Martin "The Gimp" Snider (James Cagney) meets and falls in love with a poor little night Club Singer Ruth Etting (Doris Day) and promises to help get her into the big spotlight! But something goes wrong she has a mind of her own. Well he fights and uses his connections to get her to the top of the singing act and they fall madly in love. But he still haunts her all of the time. Ruth also falls in love with one other man and it makes Martin deeply jealous! Doris also sings a lot of other nice songs like Love Me Or Leave Me. And many others this is one movie that you should deeply enjoy! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

There is More to It Than the Clancy Brothers!!!!
"Shake Hands with the Devil" is a highly intelligent movie. It is a virtual miniature Irish history lesson. It is set around 1920-at the height of the Revolution against England that led to Irish independence. Most Irish movies this reviewer has seen suffer from a common ailment: They require some foreknowledge of that troubled island's past to be fully appreciated. SHD is no exception. To those who pick up on the historical allegories, there is much to relish. The principal character is James Cagney. Ostensibly he is a professor in a Dublin Medical School. Behind the scenes he is a commander of an IRA brigade. Militarily, he reports to Michael Redgrave. The two are polar opposites. Gagney is rough and ready. Redgrave is dignified and reserved. There is an uneasy alliance between them. Though the true-life roles are reversed, the images of Michael Collins and Eamon de Valera shine through. Viewers who know their history will quickly sense the impending deadly conflict between the male leads. A high point to SHD is the outstanding work of the female leads in particular and the supporting cast in general. The latter include the dreaded Black and Tans, the IRA men and the regular Brit soldiers. All look the part. The former includes Glynis Johns, Dana Wynter and Sybil Thorndike. Thorndike is an upper class matron caught concealing an IRA soldier. She refuses to inform her contacts to the Brits and is thrown into Mountjoy Gaol, which housed so many patriots. She promptly goes on a hunger strike -and dies in prison. How very Irish- and allegorical. One is reminded of the patriot Terrence MacSwiney. By day, he was Lord Mayor of Cork. He was actually the local IRA commander! He too was tossed into a London prison and died on a hunger strike. (His case is notable because the Irish petitioned the Brits to allow his funeral cortege to pass through the streets of London on the way to the docks. The Brits actually granted the request! The result was a huge propaganda boost for the Irish cause. Londoners apparently were impressed with the young, spit and polished supporters of the demised!) Johns' role too is historical. Cagney suspects the barmaid/hanger on as an informer. Informers on both sides have had their own "history" in the Irish Troubles. My amazon friends will have to watch SHD to learn Johns' true sympathies. She is central to a stirring and deadly dockside shootout between the IRA and the Brits. This scene is one of the best this reviewer has seen anywhere! All the lads give a good account of themselves- in the finest traditions of both sides! Wynter too performs well as the kidnapped daughter of a Brit big shot. She is to be swapped for the Thorndike character but the hunger striker's death "complicates" matters. Some of us may remember Wynter from "Sink the Bismark!" Finally there is the matter of the Black and Tans. The Tans were a para-military group who went about randomly terrorizing Catholics or anyone remotely suspect of supporting the Republican cause. They were WWI vets who certainly would have been otherwise unemployed if not deployed to Ireland. The Tans remain a nasty blot on British Army to this day. There is so much more to the story of Ireland's troubles than "the Clancy Brothers and Irish rebel drinking songs" as a previous reviewer states. If only the Troubles were that prosaic. The curious should enjoy SHD-more so if they are able to connect the dots of Ireland's past. Those who know their Irish history should truly appreciate this under-shown film. Fair warning: SHD is unstintingly unsentimental. There is nary a trace of John Ford romanticism here. If those who have read this far wonder why only 4 stars are awarded, the answer lies in the unsatisfactory ending. Perhaps the Director got lost in the Collins/ de Valera allegory. Or perhaps he didn't know how to end the movie. The resolution of dealing with the kidnapped Wynter leads to a bizarre final scene that should not harm an otherwise superior historical movie. A final observation: This is one b/w film that should have been colorized. The Irish countryside looks much better in living color!

False Portrayal of IRA as Heros
This fast paced movie provides a good yarn but is bad history. James Cagney seems out of place here trying to re-role his old gangster parts in the IRA. He gives a convincing portrait of the many fanatics who have run the IRA over the years, but he seems out of place. Richard Harris is young here and is your happy go lucky two-fisted Irish type. The British are all portrayed as Nazi's pretty much. This seems the beginning of Hollywood's negative pattern of depicting all British officers as ego-maniac Nazi's. This trend has continued up to the present with Mel Gibson and some of his biased anti-British films. The Black and Tans who are highlighted in this movie get especially bad treatment. Legend has made this para-military force composed of many ex-servicemen from the Great War as Churchill's equivilent to Hitler's Black shirts! The reality was somewhat different. The Black and Tans were brought in to deal with a difficult situation in Ireland where the IRA was busy shooting up whoever they felt like. Granted they responded in kind in what became a nasty war of murder, and counter murder. Buy this movie if you like the Clancy Brothers and Irish rebel drinking songs and don't care too much about the real history because you just want to see the Brits get shot up! Otherwise, a good book on the History of Ireland during those troubled years might serve one better. Its entertainment, but not history.

A fast paced action drama as topical as this weeks news
This is a fast paced drama,with a sensational supporting cast.Set in the Ireland of 1920,Cagney gives an understated performance as a University professor by day and an IRA activist by night.Don Murray plays the Irish American idealist caught in the middle,and in love with an IRA hostage. This picture captures brilliantly all the passions and emotion of the Irish Question,and the scene at Dublin docks is one of the best action sequences ever on film.Cagney even reprises,for a moment, his gangster persona of the 30`s, as he senses betrayal in Glynis Johns.(Look out for a very young Richard Harris.) Cagney,of course will not accept the partition of Ireland and declares "The fight goes on".This film has been reviwed as politically incorrect in most Movie Books,but in actual fact when viewed with the events in Northern Ireland over the last 30 years ,maybe it`s not so far off the mark after all.Michael Anderson does a solid job,but I wonder how John Ford would have approached it? ... Read more

Reviews (43)

Lots of Singing and Dancing
YANKEE DOODLE DANDY was released just before the legendary George M. Cohan died from cancer. It was a patriotic movie made during the first year after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II. The movie was also a musical with lots of singing and dancing - especially by James Cagney. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY should be respected mostly for its music and dancing and not for its story which was about the life of Cohan. Nobody ever credited the film with much accuracy - including Cohan himself.

Cagney considered his role as Cohan to be one of his favorites. It should have been since Cagney began his own show business career as a young hoofer in New York City.

The supporting cast of Walter Huston, Joan Leslie, Irene Manning and Rosemary DeCamp was very strong. Cagney's sister Jeanne played the part of Josie Cohan and Frances Langford appeared as a singer. Eddie Foy Jr. made a brief showing as his own real life father, Eddie Foy.

YANKEE DOODLE DANDY won Academy Awards for Best Actor (James Cagney), Scoring of a Musical Picture and Sound Recording. It was also nominated for Best Picture, Director (Michael Curtiz), Supporting Actor (Walter Huston), Original Story and Editing. The main competition for Oscars in 1942 came from MRS. MINIVER. Director Michael Curtiz won an Academy Award for CASABLANCA in 1943.

Give My Regards To Cagney
Only 1942 Hollywood could show an aging songwriter stepping in with a parade and being challenged to sing a patriotic song which he wrote. And George M. Cohan wrote quite a few.

James Cagney's Best Actor performance takes place in flashback in the White House as he is summoned to receive a Medal of Honor for his body of work. He tells his bio to President Franklin Roosevelt, whom he is portraying in his show, "I'd Rather Be Right."

Cohan describes his early life in Vaudeville, travelling America with his parents and sister, and how he matures and partners with producer Sam Harris. His ups, downs and true loves weave the well-explained circumstances of many of his 80 plays and 500 hit songs. In particular, "I'm A Yankee Doodle Dandy," "Give My Regards To Broadway," "Mary," "You're A Grand Old Flag," and of course, the rousing WWI anthem, "Over There."

Although Cagney's character is a bit glib and constantly wisecracking, his relationships with family, business associates and competitors are well-defined. And of course, his superb dancing and physical movement may come as a surprise to gangster-movie purists. This is particularly evident in a scene he admittedly ad-libbed near the film's end.

Perhaps with America again at war, a classic film like "Yankee Doodle Dandy" is just what we need to enjoy.

Where has our patriotism gone?
I saw this movie for the first time last night w/ my father. He wanted me to see this movie to see the contrast of what people were like in the 40's-50's and how society is today. I'm 23 years old and to be honest with you, I thought that I wouldn't like this movie. As it turns out, I greatly enjoyed it. It was a wonderful story, full of patriotism - it just makes you proud to be in this country. What movies are out that are like this today? None. And that makes me incredibly sad to see such anti-Americanism. For what? If you want to see a movie that puts a fire in your belly and gets your spirit going, go see this movie - you will not be disappointed!

This is a MUST Own
There aren't too many movies that I'd say are pretty near perfect...but this is one of them!

I've seen it a dozen times, and I'm always amazed at how the movie doesn't fail to hold your interest the entire time. It's rousing, it's stirring, it's high energy, all the time!

I've not seen the colorized version, but the black and white is so appropriate to its time, I'm satisfied with the movie as it.

As many reviewers have mentioned, James Cagney is so perfect in this role, you can't imagine anyone else in it! He always considered himself a song-and-dance man, though you wouldn't know it if you were a fan of his many gangster flicks. Fred Astaire turned down the role, if you believe the many stories. And, as much as I love Astaire, the film would have suffered for it. The manic energy Cagney displays in the highlight musical numbers just brings his role to perfection.

If you are looking for a classic, never-to-be-topped movie about a songwriter, Broadway, great, rousing music, 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' is your film.

VERY HIGHLY Recommended! One of the top films of all time. (The American Film Institute lists it at 100th place, but it should be moved up much higher!)

Excellent Musical
With gloriously entertaining numbers and top notch direction. Among the best biopics of all time. A great, amazing, brilliant performance from Cagney; and excellent jobs from Walter Huston (Tresure of the Sierra Madre) and Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) who got help in the musical numbers by George M. Cohan himself. Watch for the marvellous performance from Cagney; but the musical numbers are great too. This is a good edition; Warner has been earning great merit in the DVD world lately. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

The Toughest of Cagney's Tough Guys
This is another gangster classic from James Cagney, and it has a number of scenes that rank up there with the best he ever did. His character, Cody Jarrett, is a violent, heartless thug who trusts no one except his "Ma", and shows no mercy. Jarrett is on the run from the law after leading the robbery of a train. His wife, well played by Virginia Mayo, is afraid of him and only stays with him for what he can give her and for fear of what he might do to her if she were to try and leave. His gang also fears him. He only has his "Ma" looking out for him, and he loves her a little too much. She's played by Margaret Wycherly in a memorable performance. But it's Cagney (as usual) who steals the film, from the famous scene of losing his grip in the cafeteria, to the even more famous and chilling final scene. He's older in this film, but even tougher than in his younger days. The story never loses interest, with Raoul Walsh's direction delivering all the punches. This film has a different feel than Cagney's other gangster films from the Thirties, so if you think you've seen enough of him in this type of role, give this film a look anyways. It might surprise you.

Engrossing gangster portrayal
James Cagney, in older years, retakes his archetypal gangster role, though this time, he invests it with greater psychological connotations as the unbalanced, mother-fixated hoodlum, Cody Jarrett. As opposed to the usual Depression-era ambient, Cagney, in the crowning performances of his career, plays the ageing gangleader Jarrett, who is caught in a spiral of tension as a relentless undercover agent (Edmond O'Brien) infiltrates his gang with a view to putting him inside, while his faithless wife and his rival (outstandingly played by Virginia Mayo and Steve Cochran respectively) plot his as well as his mother's deaths. Margaret Wycherley is fine in the supporting role of Jarrett's mother, the object of his obsessive Oedipal devotion. What is most endearing about this film is that, for a movie that was made in 1949, it works with still the same narrative machinery of contemporary thrillers exploring the same themes. This proves that it hasn't dated at all, producing often mesmerisingly suspenseful results. It can be compared, with favour, to the best and latest offerings of the gangster-thriller genre. One scene in the middle (a hand-to-hand combat between T-Man Edmond O'Brien and a hoodlum) has the privilige of being one of the earliest martial arts displays in the history of Hollywood -- an ancestor of the fight scenes of Seagal, Van Damme, Snipes, et al.

Cagney & Crew Pack A Brutal Punch
There are two styles of Film Noir. The Noir of the 1940s is characterized by glossy production values, gumshoes and dangerous women, and complex plots that emphasize moral ambiguity. The Noir of the 1950s is characterized by a gritty realism and brutality and tends to place the criminal at center of the story. The 1949 film WHITE HEAT straddles the two styles--a fact that makes it "required viewing" for any one interested in the way Film Noir developed and changed over time. But WHITE HEAT is much more than a film with historical significance. It continues to pack quite a punch right up present day.

At the time it was released many critics warned audiences about the movie's level of violence. By today's standards the violence isn't much: you won't find oozing gore. But WHITE HEAT bests most modern films in terms of brutality. You might not see the blood pouring, but the harsh tone of the film and its vicious characters create a sense of violence that generally outstrips more graphic modern films. The pace of the film is driving, the story and dialogue convincing, and the cast top-notch all the way.

James Cagney spent much of the 1940s trying to distance himself from the gangster roles he created in the 1930s, but he returns to the genre in what may be his single finest performance as Cody Jarrett, career criminal, gang leader, and easily one of the most psychotic criminals Hollywood has ever portrayed. Backed by his equally dangerous mother and perfidious wife (Margaret Wycherly and Virginia Mayo, both of whom give the performances of their careers), Jarrett undertakes a train holdup--and when things get too hot tries to sidetrack the cops by taking a rap on a minor charge. But the cops are onto his tricks, and they place an operative in his cell, hoping to get the evidence they need to send him to the gas chamber.

Although the plot is convoluted, director Raoul Walsh endows the film with considerable clarity, directness, and speed, and from the opening scenes of train robbery to the justly celebrated climax at the refinery, WHITE HEAT contains one memorable moment after another. Hard-driving, fascinating, and powerful, this is a must-have for any one who enjoys Film Noir.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Isn't the release of a dvd version long overdue?
Well, the opinions are uniformal.This is one one of the most enjoyable gangster flicks of all times.Cagneys performance is more than just memorable.But why hasn't been released on dvd yet?
Surely it is a worthy addition to any serious collection.I for one would gladly buy it because it is a classic with a high replay value...

Good Old-Fashioned Armed Robbery
In WHITE HEAT James Cagney is a psychotic killer named Cody Jarrett who has a mother fixation. Cody heads a gang of armed robbers and he travels with an entourage which includes Ma Jarrett (Margaret Wycherly) and his own conniving wife (Virginia Mayo). Steve Cochran plays the part of Big Ed who has an eye on Cody's job as well as his wife.

The action starts with the gang robbing a train and two banks before heading for a hideout. During the robberies there are some unnecessary killings. In order to take the heat off the gang Cody manages to turn himself in for a much lesser crime committed in another state at the same time. He will serve only two years for this crime and Ma Jarrett will run the gang in his absence. Undercover agent Edmund O'Brien is placed in prison as Cody's cellmate to get information from him about the robberies. In spite of a few close calls O'Brien is able to avoid detection and finds himself unwittingly travelling with the gang after a prison escape. At this point the action and tension increase exponentially as the film moves toward a memorable climax.

Cagney had gone about ten years without a big hit and was fifty years old at the time of this movie. He decided to resort to the successful gangster formula of his earlier career and the move proved to be very wise. The strong supporting cast included John Archer, Wally Cassell, Fred Clark and Ford Rainey. WHITE HEAT received an Oscar nomination in 1949 for Best Motion Picture Story. Raoul Walsh directed many other fine films during his career such as GENTLEMAN JIM and HIGH SIERRA. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Fact and fiction intertwine in Milos Forman's colorful kaleidoscope of E.L. Doctorow's sprawling novel of turn-of-the-century America. Anchored in the true story of the murder of architect Stanford White (Norman Mailer) by Harry Thaw (Robert Joy) over the affections of his wife Evelyn Nesbit (Elizabeth McGovern), Forman weaves a portrait of early 1900s America in a tapestry of intertwining fictional tales. The primary thread involves the proud black pianist Coalhouse Walker Jr. (Howard Rollins) and his demand for justice when a racist fireman destroys his automobile, which escalates into a reign of terror by Walker and a band of revolutionaries. A secondary story involves an ambitious immigrant artist (Mandy Patinkin) whose primitive flipbooks send him on the road to creating early cinema. Centering all of these stories in one way or another is an upper-class family known simply as Father (James Olson), Mother (Mary Steenburgen), and Younger Brother (Brad Dourif). James Cagney came out of a twenty-year retirement to play the irascible Irish police commissioner, a character created for the film. Forman's biggest departure from Doctorow's novel, however, is his focus on Walker's story, cutting away the other threads to little more than asides in the final half of the picture, the primary dramatic weakness of an otherwise rich evocation of America's past. Randy Newman's lyrical score and Miroslav Ondricek's understated cinematography earned two of the film's eight Academy Awards nominations --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Underrated Classic
A complex, engaging, colorful, masterpiece. Milos Forman has never disappointed as a director. Typical of him, he captures America better than just about any American director. The cast is superb. Howard Rollins, Jr. is nothing short of amazing as Coalhouse Walker, Jr. Elizabeth McGovern, Mary Steenburgen, James Olson and Brad Dourif also give great performances.

I have admittedly not read the book, nor have I seen the Broadway musical. I don't know what EL Doctorow thinks about the movie of his book (I gather he is not crazy about it). But the film has a wonderful pace and the soundtrack is stunning as well.

I think it is a crime that the soundtrack is not available on cd and the movie not available on DVD!

The ignored classic.
RAGTIME was one of Milos Forman's three great literary adaptations of the 80's, the others being AMADEUS and VALMONT. AMADEUS was a hit, but RAGTIME, which was largely ignored by the public and the critics, who badly wanted to show off the fact that they read the book, was a flop. Too bad. The original novel is like "Forrest Gump" in the early 1900's. A sketchy work in which the members of one upper class family meet with every possible type of person, real or imagined, including every famous person that you can find from that period in the encyclopedia. Forman's film, however, is a genuine masterpiece and one of the very best films ever made about America. He fleshed out the characters, eliminated the unnecessary, and concentrated basically on three main story lines. Unfortunately, the film was deemed too long, and Forman was forced to cut one of the story lines. I hope that when the DVD is released, the missing storyline is put back. Of the film as it stands now, Film Critic David Thomson said " it is a much underrated film. Complex about the time and its ideas." The only possibly distracting thing about the film is the amount of soon to be famous actors appearing in small parts, including Jeff Daniels, Samuel L. Jackson, Fran Drescher, etc.

A Milos Forman Classic
If you missed seeing "Ragtime" back in 1981, it wasn't your fault because you probably didn't even know it existed. Much like Terry Gilliam's "Adventures of Baron Munchausen", this truly great movie was poorly distributed and miserably publicized and advertised when it was released. This is too bad because both films deserved much better. Anyway...

Milos Forman has time and again proven that he is not only one of the world's best directors but also one of the sharpest viewers of American culture and history. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", "The People vs. Larry Flint", and, to an extent, "Man on the Moon" have at their core an indictment of American society: its racism, its hypocrisy, its perversity, its corruption, and its insanity. However, Forman is by no means anti-American. In fact, these movies also have at their hearts a deep fascination with America and a yearning to make it better. And like few directors can do, he doesn't create a manifesto disguised as a film. His characters and dialogue are believeable, and his filming is gorgeous to watch.

Of all his films--and that includes "Amadeus"--"Ragtime" is perhaps his best, in my opinion. Its complex narratives are logically, fluidly and masterfully meshed together. But what I find fascinating about the movie is that all the complicated, volatile emotional reactions the characters experience--sometimes ending in violence--all start from simple wants. Coalhouse Walker, Jr. (powerfully played by the late Howard Rollins) wants the racists who vandalized his car to repair it. Harry Thaw (played by the underrated Robert Joy) is an erratic millionaire who simply wants a nude statue of his wife taken out of public view. A father (movingly played James Olson) simply wants to keep his family together. His brother-in-law (Brad Dourif in an extraordinary performance) simply wants the girl he loves to love him back. And a Jewish immigrant (a wonderfully manic Mandy Patinkin) simply wants to make it in America. It's when all these desires collide that the fireworks of "Ragtime" begin. And like the great American tradition of 4th of July fireworks, "Ragtime" is dazzling to watch.

From a boy to a Man
I saw this film for the first time as a junior and have always thought it was a masterpiece. So, I decided to purchase the film on DVD, but to my surprise, it's not available on DVD, VHS it is. I have since watched this film a number of times and my appreciation for this work of art has continued to grow. This film is truly one of the best films ever made and is more than deserving of its place on Digital Versatile Disc b.k.a DVD...

fantastic movie
What a terrific movie. The music is just wonderful and fits the movie to a 'T'. I recently bought the CD at Borders, Books and Music (Dec 21, 03), because years ago I owned the LP!!! I was disappointed to find that the movie is only available on VHS though. Guess I'll reluctantly buy it because I'd love to laugh and cry all over again. Can't even rent this anymore, it's a shame. The good movies go and the junk is always rentable. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

One of the Greatest War Movies of All Time
There are no combat scenes - none. Yet the battle sequences are among the most powerful I can remember. Halsey, having bet the farm on his attack of a superior Japenese fleet, sits alone in his quarters waiting for the battle to begin, waiting for word from the Combat Information Center, while in the background disembodied radio chatter chronicles the preparations of war. Wow. Cagney's face is all you need to see. Your tension increases with his. And then his transformation into a warrior leaves you unable to take a breath.
The black and white movie uses a narator to solve brilliantly some complex story telling problems, and background music is by a male chorus. And this stuff really works. Robert Montgomery, a competent actor in his own right, directed.
I have an old copy taken off the air 20 years ago that I am wearing out. I sure hope the DVD comes out soon.

Bill Wood

A brilliant depiction of the price of leadership. . .
Basically, The Gallant Hours is an episodic biography of Admiral William "Bull" Halsey during the early days of the Second World War, specifically while he was the naval theater commander for the Guadalcanal campaign.

James Cagney is superb in this very unusual war film, which has no combat footage, relying instead on character development and the intensity of interpersonal relationships to tell its story.

Although Admiral Halsey (Cagney) is the central figure, the movie also closely follows the involvement of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese theater commander, giving the viewer an interesting and enlightening counterpoint persective in the attitudes, concerns and approaches of the opposing leaders.

The most remarkable feature of The Gallant Hours is its willingness and effectiveness to show emotions seldom dealt with in military movies. One of these shows Halsey in the horrific dilemma of knowing that he is sending two close friends (Admirals Scott and Callaghan) to certain death, but being constrained by circumstance from any alternate course of action. In yet another sequence, Dennis Weaver gives a brilliant portrayal of a combat pilot dealing with the conflicting emotions of being relieved at having survived his mission and yet feeling both disgust and shame for what he is doing as he and his command "roll up a big score."

For the individual who wants a serious treatment of the personal effects of warfare, without the usual rah-rah, flag-waving and stereotyped villification of opposing forces, The Gallant Hours is a sobering, not to be forgotten movie experience.

The masterful combination of taut direction, a superior cast, eerie soundtrack and a very unusual approach make this remarkable film a must for any military video library.

James Cagney as Rear Admiral "Bull" Halsey
"The Gallant Hours" is one of the more usual bio-pics of a military leader I have ever seen. This is a semi-documentary dramatization of the pivotal role that Rear Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey, Jr. played as commander of U.S. naval operation in the South Pacific in bringing about the victory at Guadacanal. The framing device is Halsey's retirement ceremony and the film begins with a moving choral arranged by Roger Wagner that tells us: "I knew a lad who went to sea / and left the shore behind him / I knew him well the lad was me / and now I cannot find him." The hymn sets an almost religious tone for the film that seems rather strange given the events depicted and the approach of the director. Contrast this with the running bit about getting Admiral Halsey to take his shots.

The film is directed by U.S.N.R. Comdr. Robert Montgomery, the actor who served in the Navy during World War II but who is better remembered today as being the father of actress Elizabeth Montgomery. One of the most surprising things about this film is that is a war movie without any battle scenes. There are battles, but we hear about them rather than see them. Mostly "The Gallant Hours" is about Halsey's command decisions and the way he worked with his subordinates (when the Chief of Staff of the admiral he replaces because he provides contrary views). There are many scenes that consist mainly of a subordinate bringing Halsey dispatches and him thoughtfully coming up with responses.

Halsey, as the cover art emphasizes, is James Cagney, in what would prove to be his second to last film before he retired from acting for twenty years. Having met with Halsey, Cagney was struck by how the navy man hardly made any extraneous gestures, and the actor made a point of excising all of his well-known mannerisms from the performance. Cagney's presence is critical to the film because with it this 115-minute film would have been tedious. However, his presence allows Montgomery to focus on the decision making process during a war in more detail than any other film that comes to mind ("Command Decision" would be in the running, but this one has it beat). Clearly you can do a talking head war movie when the main talking head is James Cagney.

The film is as much about the duel between Halsey and his Japanese counterpart, Admiral Yamamoto (James T. Goto), which becomes not only a question of winning the battle to control Guadacanal but a personal attempt to kill each other. The Japanese commander is portrayed as a worthy opponent and there is as much attention to the aspects of his work as there is to that of Halsey. Biographical details abound in this documentary. Every time Halsey meets somebody a voice over tells us not only who they are but what is going to happen to them. The guy who is driving the jeep is an hour away from being short by a sniper and becoming a paraplegic for the rest of his life. A squad heads out on Guadacanal and we learn that only three of them are coming back. The details are such that I would have sworn this film was adapted from a book, but there is no book by that title or any other work cited as the source for this story.

The screenplay is by Frank D. Gilroy and Beirne Lay Jr. Lay was the co-author of "Twelve O'Clock High" and it is interesting that like the film version of that classic World War II novel there is a scene in which the central character waits out a pivotal moment alone in his office, living out the battle in his own mind. In case you are not sure what the moral of "The Gallant Hours" happens to be, Cagney reminds us with a voice over at the end: "There are no great men, only great challenges that ordinary men are forced by circumstances to meet." Of course, "The Gallant Hours" pretty much disproves that point, at least with regards to the man at the top in the South Pacific.

unbelievably powerful movie
I saw this movie on television when I was probably 12 years old. The opening and closing hymn goes as follows:

" I knew a lad who went to sea---and left the shore behind him
I knew him well the lad was me---and now I cannot find him. "

This is a very mature movie. It captures imaginations and inspires at whatever age. The disembodied CIC radio transmissions in the midst of approaching naval battle as the only audio while the video shows only Halsey's anguish alone with himself ---is hauntingly powerful. It tells better than anything the reality of the vigilance of the determined search for an overwhelmingly stronger enemy force and the tension as the naval units appproach the inevitable meeting with its own destruction at the hands of the superior Japanese force which they are trying to block, delay or deter from obliterating the Marines on Guadacanal. " No contact......No contact.....No contact ....No contact -----the endless tension as the certain peril draws near---- No contact ....... CONTACT!!!!! .....then the reports as the ships who sacrifice themselves are ripped apart in terrible explosions........"

The movie is so powerful and moving. Without gore or the usual battle scenes. The movie reached out to me as a 12 year old and spoke to me as if I were an adult and conveyed very important messages into a reservoir that has been there for me the rest of my life. When I saw it again last week--exactly 40 years later-- I relived this movie's power and classic grace.

It is a shame that such movies are not known more widely ...and that the ability to make such has atrophied.

The Gallant Hours
As a character study in film, this is one of the most provocative, haunting ones I've ever seen. The camera angles, the choral music, Cagney's riveting performance--why isn't this film readily available, especially on DVD?? ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Cagney Is In His Element
James Cagney and George Raft are in the prime of their respective careers in this film about life in prison. Cagney is a convict who is innocent. Raft is his ally who leads an attempted escape. Cagney is very much in his element in this environment and plays his part with particular gusto.

Framed By Crooked Politicians
EACH DAWN I DIE is a movie about a reporter who is framed for manslaughter by crooked politicians and sent to prison where he befriends a hardened criminal. Most of the story takes place in prison as the reporter slowly turns into an embittered inmate. James Cagney stars as the reporter and George Raft plays the part of his prison buddy. The strong supporting cast includes Jane Bryan, George Bancroft, Victor Jury and Maxie Rosenbloom.

Director William Keighley also directed THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER and THE FIGHTING 69th.

A 1939 BLOCKBUSTER.
The title refers to what many prison inmates feel when they awaken in the morning: it's a timeless - albeit poetic - metaphor. As a pugnacious reporter, Cagney unearths evidence that will put some hight-level politicians in jail. Before he can get his material into print, he is abducted, knocked unconscious and put into a car, booze poured over him & the vehicle sent careening down the street where it runs over a man and kills him. The brutal frame-up works: Cagney is convicted of manslaughter and is sent to prison, where he befriends smooth crook George Raft (as "Hood" Stacey), a crime boss. On the train to the Big House, Raft smiles and jokingly asks Cagney to write a piece about him - cause he likes his name in the paper...Once inside Rocky Point, Cagney pleads again and again for parole, which is repeatedly denied him...Cagney and Raft had known each other in vaudeville back in the late twenties. Raft, a real-life tough guy had various connections with hoodlums and bootleggers: Owney Madden & Joe Adonis to name a couple. Raft even picked up their own particular mannerisms and he had a very short fuse in real life. But Raft got along well with Cagney: advantageously making this film a blockbuster hit in its day: owing to a tight script and the electric acting of the leads, this one is far above average in the category of crime films.

"Throw me back in the hole, I can take it"
William Keighley's Each Dawn I Die set the tone for the prison genre. Oz it is not, but for 1939, Each Dawn I Die presents viewer insights to the jargon, code of ethics, and behavior of hardened convicts. John Wray as Pete the prison guard barks through his lines like a rattled pit bull. George Raft, who seemed to be forever dressed in prison garb, plays Stacey a "lifer" who is sprung to aid newsreporter Ross (James Cagney) who has been framed for manslaughter. Cagney shows glimpses of his emotional explosiveness as Ross breaks down befoe a parole board. Raft is in prime form cooly delivering lines that would make Edward G. Robinson proud. The prison break scenes are shot and edited realistically and provide reference points for future prison films such as Brute Force and Caged. Still other scenes are highly improbable and mirorred in Hollywood fare. ( Stacey giving himself up in front of the penitentiary, and the warden's mushy sentimentality to name just two). These shortcomings restricted Each Dawn I Die from attaining a higher echelon among crime films. Still the sixty-one year old film retains its credibility among the genre and is worth owning.

Deep film, filled with emotion, action, love, and pain.
This film is about a man who was framed and then put in jail. It shows his struggle to bring the real criminals to justice. Definately a classic! ... Read more

Description

Celebrat 90 years of moviemaking history with clips of and commentary on modern and classic Warner films, rarely seen bloopers, screen tests and behind-the-scenes footage and glimpses of Hollywood at work and play. Year: 1993 Director: Robert Guenette Starring:Clint Eastwood, Barbra Streisand, Goldie Hawn ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Wonderful look at Warners Brothers!
Great buy for any movie buff! Detailed and intersting look at the history of the studio that produced some of the most memorable movies in history!
Personally, I bought it for BRANDO's early screen test - and it was worth it!!!! A must-have for every Brando fan! Also includes great footage of Bogart, Newman and Dean, Redford, Streisand - and many others!!!

Wonderful look at WB movies!
Great buy for any movie buff! Detailed and interesting look at the history of Warner Brothers - and some of the most memorable movies of our time!
Personally, I bought it for BRANDO's early screen test - and it was worth it!!! It's a must-have video for every Brando fan!
Also great footage of Bogart, Newman and Dean, Redford - and many others!

for 'collectionneurs'
Fine compilation of Warner Bros movies,with some great and unknown footage:screentests,alternative and outtakes.
Here we have a real piece of film history for collectors.
I bought it for Hitch, Brando,Dean and Newman performances. ... Read more