Post by teleadm on Aug 23, 2019 16:43:07 GMT
The Roaring Twenties 1939, directed by Raoul Walsh, based on the memories of Mark Hellinger, starring James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, Gladys George, Jeffrey Lynn, Frank McHugh, Paul Kelly and many others.
Gangster drama action. After the WWI Armistice Lloyd Hart (Lynn) goes back to practice law, former saloon keeper George Hally (Bogart) turns to bootlegging, and out-of-work Eddie Bartlett (Cagney) becomes a cab driver. Eddie builds a fleet of cabs through delivery of bootleg liquor and hires Lloyd as his lawyer. George becomes Eddie's partner and the rackets flourish until love and rivalry interfere.
I liked the touch that the story is told in a newsreel fashion in some parts to move the story forward. Cagney does a variation of is familiar gangster persona, he's an opportunist who doesn't think he is doing anything wrong, but he's also bad in reading other people, he think's the world is for him to grab, and sadly misses out towards the people who actually cares about him.
After the WWI scenes the movie takes a lighter tone for nearly half the movie as Cagney/Bartlett rises to power, but once he merger his bussiness with Hally/Bogart the movie slowly takes a darker tone, and from there it's downhill for Cagney/Bartlett.
Gladys George, an actress I know too little about, plays a variation of the famous night-club hostess Texas Guinan, here called Panama Smith, functiontions as something of a conscience of the Cagney character, she sees what he doesn't see, and she does a marvelous job, in the role that is.
Bogart wasn't Bogart yet, but he had sort of developed his on screen character by then, though the scene were he have to look scared I must admit wasn't a good expression, looked like he had seen a giant spider or something.
Lane and Lynn as the young lovers just sort of disappears among such strong competition of actors.
This is a solid great character driven movie, the kind Warner Bros were very good at back in those days.
Classic ending with church, stairs and snow.
Gangster drama action. After the WWI Armistice Lloyd Hart (Lynn) goes back to practice law, former saloon keeper George Hally (Bogart) turns to bootlegging, and out-of-work Eddie Bartlett (Cagney) becomes a cab driver. Eddie builds a fleet of cabs through delivery of bootleg liquor and hires Lloyd as his lawyer. George becomes Eddie's partner and the rackets flourish until love and rivalry interfere.
I liked the touch that the story is told in a newsreel fashion in some parts to move the story forward. Cagney does a variation of is familiar gangster persona, he's an opportunist who doesn't think he is doing anything wrong, but he's also bad in reading other people, he think's the world is for him to grab, and sadly misses out towards the people who actually cares about him.
After the WWI scenes the movie takes a lighter tone for nearly half the movie as Cagney/Bartlett rises to power, but once he merger his bussiness with Hally/Bogart the movie slowly takes a darker tone, and from there it's downhill for Cagney/Bartlett.
Gladys George, an actress I know too little about, plays a variation of the famous night-club hostess Texas Guinan, here called Panama Smith, functiontions as something of a conscience of the Cagney character, she sees what he doesn't see, and she does a marvelous job, in the role that is.
Bogart wasn't Bogart yet, but he had sort of developed his on screen character by then, though the scene were he have to look scared I must admit wasn't a good expression, looked like he had seen a giant spider or something.
Lane and Lynn as the young lovers just sort of disappears among such strong competition of actors.
This is a solid great character driven movie, the kind Warner Bros were very good at back in those days.
Classic ending with church, stairs and snow.