WHAT A WONDERFUL MOVIE ABOUT THE GOOD OL DAYS In a nut shell, this is a fantastic Jame Cagney movie. I would have to say that this ranks right up there alongside Yankee Doodle Dandy. The acting is first rate, the music is fantastic, especially the haunting background music (WHEN YOU WERE SWEET SIXTEEN)that is played when James and Olivia meet in the park. I also love the follow along singing of "And the Band Played On" at the end of the movie. My only negative is that this movie has not been released to dvd as of yet. I also wish there was a soundtrack on cd as well. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who loves the simplier life and the turn of the century society.
A departure from Cagney's early gangster roles Almost all of Cagney's early roles were that of a gangster or a fast-talking con-man. Starting in the 40's as the major studios ramped up their production of patriotic films in anticipation of war, Cagney starred in some military roles such as "The Fighting 69th" and "Captains of the Clouds". However, it was still the same old wise-cracking gangster or con-man - he was just in uniform. Don't get me wrong, I never get tired watching Cagney play these kinds of parts, but I've read that the typecasting was a source of friction between himself and Warner Brothers.
This film is a real departure from the kind of role that Cagney had grown tired of by 1934. In it he plays Biff Grimes, a dentist at the beginning of the 20th century. Biff has had a series of misfortunes heaped upon him throughout his life. To begin with his Dad (Alan Hale) is a ne'er-do-well, and he has a "friend" Hugo F. Barnstead (Jack Carson) who is always managing to get the best of him and then some. Hugo works up from small slights such as not paying back money or leaving Biff with the tab to stealing and marrying Biff's ideal girl and finally setting Biff up to take the fall in some substandard work Hugo's company has done for the city. After Biff gets out of prison after serving time for a crime he didn't commit, he has a chance to get even with Hugo -as in killing him - and make it look like an accident. Since most of the movie is told in flashback, and Cagney is playing a likeable if somewhat gullible fellow who has been deeply wronged, you don't know how it will end or what he will do. The supporting cast is great in this one. Jack Carson was always playing the slippery type in Warner films around this time, and he does the job of playing Hugo with believable gusto, always making excuses for his part in Biff's predicaments. Rita Hayworth is cast as "the strawberry blonde" that Biff loses to Hugo, and Olivia De Havilland plays the girl Biff ultimately marries. She turns out to the one piece of good luck that Biff has as she is tough and loyal in a crisis.
A bittersweet romantic comedy, this is one of my favorite post-code Cagney films. I was surprised it wasn't in last year's Cagney Signature Collection, and I hope that if there is a Volume 2 that omission is rectified.
A Blast from the Past I must have watched this movie dozens of times on TV while I was growing up and besides all Bette Davis movies, this was one of my very favorites. Somehow it came up in convrsation today and I decided I needed to add it to my DVD collection if it was available. I'm willing to wait for it to ocme out, it brings back such wonderful memories!
"Oh, a college boy! I'm REALLY scared now!" This has got to be one of James Cagney's greatest films outside of his gangster movies. It's a grand trip into the world as it was at the turn of the century. Alan Hale was fantastic as Cagney's father, and no matter how many times I've seen it, he never fails to crack me up. This movie spotlighted Cagney's talent for comedic timing, and surrounded him with fantastic actors, least of which, the legendary, and beautiful Olivia de Havilland and Rita Hayworth.
This is a movie the whole family can watch, and why it's not on DVD is beyond me. I know that Cagney's tough-guy roles are all being re-released, but this one has to come out. It had heart, it had humor, it had it all. "I can't throw you out, Pop! I RAISED YOU!" ROFL! You have to see this one to appreciate that line. And you'll never look at eating spaghetti the same way again.
And The Band Played On....Forever I have heard nothing but positive comments about this movie. I loved it!! Bought it on VHS, sight unseen about 15 years ago, and I have watched a million times since then. Rita Hayworth is superb, James Cagney gives his best performance ever, Olivia DeHaviland shows us what every woman should be like, Alan Hale shows us his comical genius(far better than The Skipper) and even Jack Carson delivers his lines like no other. This movie is classic, beautiful, thought provoking and a great time. Ending it by signing the the title song makes it so whimsical. Please Warner Bros, please release this on DVD, my tape is wearing thin.
Anything Goes Trivia
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