Reviews (5) 
Blinded by the Light
CITY FOR CONQUEST could have been just one of those late 30s fight movies with an underdog battling for the title. But thanks to director Anatole Litwak and a sterling cast led by James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, and Arthur Kennedy, the result tells a timeless tale based on the adage that Broadway devours the very performers seeking to bask in its bright lights. This movie is not only a forum for Cagney, but it instead functions as a three way tale with Sheridan and Kennedy facing a similar destiny: how far can one go in pursuit of the Golden Dream? Their collective fates are intertwined as they seek the spotlight. Cagney is Young Samsom, a talented welterweight who fights only occasionally since he realizes that the fight business is likely to lead only to post-career punchiness. Kennedy is his brother Eddie, a pianist who dreams of someday conducting an orchestra at the Carnegie, but is instead reduced to banging out cheap jitterbug tunes to make a buck. Sheridan is Peg, a dancer whose eyes are filled with the glare of a Broadway that leaves no room for the love of a boxer who fights only to please her. Of the trio, it is only Kennedy who remains true to his talent. Cagney sells out to win back Sheridan, who in turn sells out by dumping Cagney for a smooth talking dance partner, (Anthony Quinn), in whose oily charm very nearly steals the show. The glare of the lights of Broadway does far more than light up the stage for wannabes. It functions as a metaphor that tests the ability of these star wannabes to recognize the twin-edged danger that stardom promises. For some, like Kennedy, those lights motivate them to try harder while not surrendering their basic selves to a glare that can destroy as easily as it can attract. For others, like Cagney and Sheridan, those bright lights produce a blindness that results in a near-tragic ending that resonates even many decades later.
Symphony For New York
James Cagney stars as Danny, a boxer otherwise known as Young Samson, who sacrifices much so that his younger brother, played by Arthur Kennedy, can pursue his gift for music. Ann Sheridan, a dancer from the neighbourhood, is the girl Cagney loves, but she wants badly to get out of their old neighbourhood and to make something of her life, and she wants it so much she ends up in a destructive relationship with ambitious dancer Anthony Quinn. Cagney is strong as usual, but more sympathetic than other films, as the man with the big heart. Sheridan gives a strong performance as well, really delivering in a number of scenes with simple reaction shots. Kennedy is equally passionate as the composer whose symphony captures the life of New York City. The supporting cast is full of familiar, welcome Warner Bros character actors like Frank McHugh, George Tobias, Jerome Cowan, Donald Crisp, and Lee Patrick. New York City also becomes a character, thanks to the evocative music and the backdrop atmosphere. People have said the ending is too sentimental, but Cagney and Sheridan pull it off and make it work. The more Cagney films I see, the more amazed I am by his talent. The film is a showcase for him and also New York. It does both proud.
Overlooked Warner Bros. Classic
During Hollywood's Golden Age, no one made better pictures about New York than Warner Bros., and this one is by far the best. The film contains something for everybody--boxers, dancers, gangsters, romance and music. Although James Cagney felt the storyline strayed too far from the novel on which it was based, he gives a typically outstanding performance, as does Ann Sheridan in perhaps the finest role of her career. The film also features newcomer Arthur Kennedy as Cagney's musical brother, who composes a symphony (actually by the brilliant Max Steiner) that transcends usual movie scoring. In addition to several members of Warner Bros. stock company are a young Anthony Quinn and future controversial director Elia Kazan. A beautiful, regrettably unsung classic.
What a great flick!
Some of the best second-line actors get to step forward and do their stuff -- and several stepped forward to become first-line. Sentimental in places, sure, but if you liked "Boyz in the Hood," you can just go back 50 years and switch from the West Coast to the East, and this is where you'd end up: Tough kids in a tough world, with some making it and some falling by the wayside. And, yes, the rape scene is significant, not only for getting past the censors, but for the way it showed Peggy's desperate need to get out of the old neighborhood. There are more artistically perfect films out there, but for guts and memorable moments, this is an outstanding flick!
Cagney as Cagney
Arthur Kennedy shines a Cagney,s brother in this interesting film. The whole cast does its best but it seems very trite in the end. Ann Sheridan, Anthony Quinn, Donald Crisp , Jerome Cowan and Kazan as "googie" are all around to add flavour..but this film lacks legs in many ways...and is very sentimental..
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