Director Charles Lederer's 1959 musical stars James Cagney as an unscrupulous longshoreman who'll resort to every dirty trick in the book to win his union's presidency.
Ne jamais rien volé Petit, 铁汉艳姬, Gangster amore e... una Ferrari, O Rei da Zona
USA
USA
i DESPERATELY wish cagney had been offered bing crosby's role in robin and the 7 hoods. we have so few technicolor films of him, and even fewer technicolor musicals. and putting one of the most iconic gangsters in the silly gangster musical??? it would have been a match made in heaven (and not just because it would get peter falk and james cagney on screen together)
Crazy movie. My estimation of Cagney only grows each time I see him in a “new-to-me” film.
Here is a strange crime, comedy, musical. Cagney is dynamic semi-scary semi-charming. The film made me nervous. I was afraid because it seemed like either it would honor the film contract by being morally corrupt or it would be a moralistic tragedy. How they managed to ride this odd teeter totter into a perfect ending was quite amazing.
I will watch this one again and see if it benefits from taking out the suspense.
The best labor union politics musical containing an acid-throwing attack that I've seen this week.
A character says in this, "The law doesn't know anything about people. I'm a lawyer; I should know." Well, it seems to me the screenwriter also knew nothing about people. The characters in this just don't react like normal people, at least the way those people as-written would. James Cagney is a crooked labor politician who steps all over people to get what he wants and yet we're supposed to think he's a great guy worthy of celebration in song. The people he steps on certainly do. Shirley Jones is a supposed woman of outstanding moral character and principle and yet even after he tries…
Charming Damon Runyon flavored semi-musical crime comedy driven by Cagney's magnetism.
The songs may not be too memorable but they fit the spirit of the story well and the zippy "I Want a Ferrari" duet between Cagney and Cara Williams is a classic car lover's dream. Special mention should also go to the production design who uses an almost exclusively muted palate of colors to create a rich harmonious look that gives the film a very stylish appearance without ever drawing the audience's eye away from the action.
Full of wonderful character actors and a jaunty attitude this is an underknown gem from the latter part of Cagney's career and he owns the film.
