Walsh. I’m worlds apart from the critics’ consensus on Raoul Walsh who brought us some of the best Bogart and Cagney movies. He’s a style-minus auteur but the filmography is strong (he has 6 films that rank in the top 100 of their decade). If you look closely he really brought us some of the best Hollywood action films over the period of several decades. I think White Heat is a major masterpiece and has some of the most indelible images in the history of the gangster genre (that Cagney scene and the factory set piece are indelible). I think his kinetic style is easier to note and trace than a few other “Hollywood” directors (Curtiz, Fleming) who might have had slightly stronger filmographies. Despite that it is a strong filmography- I mean if a film as good as High Sierra is your 7thbest film—that’s very good.
Best film: White Heat. It’s brilliantly Freudian and features Cagney’s strongest career performance. Cagney is a tour-de-force here. The finale and those images (the will stick in your head for weeks/months/years after viewing.
total archiveable films: 9
top 100 films: 0
top 500 films: 2 (White Heat, The Roaring Twenties)
top 100 films of the decade: 6 (White Heat, The Roaring Twenties, They Drive By Night, Thief of Bagdad, Gentleman Jim, Pursued)
most overrated: The Big Trail. This early John Wayne discovery flick (and then he was rediscovered and featured by Ford nearly a decade later). I still owe this another viewing soon but at first glance I didn’t have it in my archives and I know some cinephiles revere it.
most underrated: Take your pick here for me. White Heat is #638 on the TSPDT consensus and that is ridiculous—I have it at #135. That’s the only Walsh film in the TSPDT top 1000. That’s a travesty- so well well-made films.
gem I want to spotlight: The Roaring Twenties– a dueling Bogart and Cagney film—directed and editing with such energy—this is certainly one of Warner’s best films of the 1930’s.
stylistic innovations/traits: Walsh is known for being unpretentious with a “let’s get to it” utilitarian and workman like approach, style and pace. They are smooth and very entertaining and refreshingly unstuffy. But Walsh is way more than a point and shoot director (hello Clint Eastwood)- but he’s dynamic and instinctive and despite working over many decades his films bear a striking resemblance to each other because of that pace and he was certainly one of the forefathers of the “action” genre.
top 10
- White Heat
- The Roaring Twenties
- They Drive By Night
- The Thief of Bagdad
- Gentleman Jim
- Pursued
- High Sierra
- They Died With Their Boots On
- Dark Command
By year and grades
| 1924- The Thief of Bagdad | HR |
| 1939- The Roaring Twenties | MS |
| 1940- Dark Command | |
| 1940- They Drive By Night | HR |
| 1941- High Sierra | R |
| 1941- They Died With Their Boots On | R |
| 1942- Gentleman Jim | HR |
| 1947- Pursued | HR |
| 1949- White Heat | MP |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
My ranking of Walsh`s films that I`ve seen:
1. White Heat MP
2. The Roaring Twenties MS
3. The Thief of Bagdad HR
4. Pursued HR
5. They Drive by Night HR
6. Gentleman Jim HR
7. High Sierra R/HR
8. Dark Command R
5 Best Performances
1. Cagney- White Heat
2. Cagney- The Roaring Twenties
3. Flynn- Gentleman Jim
4. Bogart- High Sierra
5. Lupino- High Sierra
The Big Trail is held in high esteem for a reason- it is one of the greatest mise-en-scène achievements of the 30s (I would argue the single greatest) and an early, remarkable example of cinematic naturalism. However, two versions exist– one in 75mm and one in 35mm. Because of the Depression most theatres could not afford to show the 75mm print (i.e. the good one) and for many years the most widely distributed print was the 35mm– shot with a different camera, at different angles, and edited separately. In the late 90s the restored original was finally shown on television, but it did not get a DVD release until 2008. I think this may explain your disappointment…
@Frodo- Great share- I’ll try to get to this one again soon.
Well on this page you write that you know cinephiles who revere it, i.e. hold it in high esteem, and I was explaining that they do so for a reason… I did not mean that it is held in high esteem by most, to be clear. After all, the true version has not been seen by most! but it will enter the public domain in 2026, and I trust those lists will be corrected
@Frodo- Quite right- you’re right. My apologies- I found what looks like a decent version on youtube.
also terribly sorry I wrote 75mm when it is of course 70mm I have not slept in days