Runtime: 106 minutes
Directed by: Raoul Walsh
Starring: James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Priscilla Lane, Gladys George, Jeffrey Lynn
From: Warner Bros.
What better movie to see in the opening days of the new 20's?
Recently, plenty of people have made comparisons between the 1920's and this new decade which just began. At least in the United States, some had Great Gatsby-themed parties for NYE and it is easy to romanticize The Gilded Age with its jazz, flappers, and a general carefree attitude. Of course, let's hope that 2029 is better than 1929, where the stock market crash created The Great Depression that lasted through much of the 30's.
Another not so good aspect of American life back then was that Prohibition was a thing, where alcohol could not be sold or imported. Hysteria caused it to become a thing, but of course most still wanted to get sloshed so bootlegging became a thing and that was the main reason for a sharp increase in organized crime. That was the plot of this movie, which spans from ; it follows three soldiers who literally bump into each other at the tail end of World War I. Only a few minutes is spent in that setting, but it was enough to show the attitudes and opinions of all three. Two of them (naturally, Cagney and Bogie) get involved in bootlegging as they otherwise can't find work once they and other soldiers return home from Europe, while the third-Jeffrey Lynn-becomes a lawyer. Of course, all three end up in conflict with each other, although not always in the ways you'd think as all three have different opinions of each other throughout and sometimes their friendships change after big moments.
The story is framed around Cagney's character, Eddie Bartlett. He does have a rise and downfall, and a decent amount of time is spent w/ his downfall. Occasionally, a narrator is heard as various clips of the 20's were shown as context for how things were back then. It is a very good movie as-no surprise-Cagney is tremendous in his role as the little tough guy. Another non-surprise is that the rest of the cast is fine overall, with Bogart being great in his smaller role and the far lesser known Jeffrey Lynn-who mainly was a TV actor once that medium began-also did a nice job. So did Priscilla Lane, as the young entertainer who Bartlett has a thing for but the feelings aren't reciprocated.
As you'd suspect, the Warner Brothers production was high-class and high-quality all around, both in front and behind the camera; the director being veteran Raoul Walsh also helps. To paraphrase various mutuals, this was an epic story which both came at the end of the gangster movie era and the genesis of the film noir era. It had a fast pace and like most 30's pictures, there is plenty of snappy dialogue and sweet repartee. Those that love the famous gangster movies of the early 30's definitely need to check this out as that was done differently than those but not done worse.
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