Each Dawn I Die

1939 Directed by William Keighley

Slugging their way to adventure !

A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.

James Cagney George Raft Jane Bryan George Bancroft Maxie Rosenbloom Stanley Ridges Alan Baxter Victor Jory John Wray Edward Pawley Willard Robertson Emma Dunn Paul Hurst Louis Jean Heydt Joe Downing Thurston Hall William B. Davidson Clay Clement Charles Trowbridge Harry Cording Abner Biberman Martin Cichy John Conte John Dilson Sam Finn James Flavin Arthur Gardner Jack A. Goodrich Fred Graham Show All…

92 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by PUNQ ★★★½

Each Dawn I Die (1939) is a cleaned-up prison movie, but with an phenomenal cast totally brushing off any shortcomings in the script. Gives goosebumps watching James Cagney slow-burn breakdown behind bars. George Raft is pretty cool as well in his slick criminal way. And Warner Bros leave very little sympathy for the authority for their unjust treatment of prisoners, giving good reason for frustrations rising among the lost souls. Results in a very satisfying tragedy!
Review by Zoë 🐝 3

I have plenty of criticisms of Each Dawn I Die (the biggest ones being no discussion of racial injustice in the prison system and how the Warden is framed as a Good Guy when he literally facilitates prisoners being tortured) but one the whole it's a very anti-prison film that pairs well with the anti-chain gang masterpiece I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang. The anti-prison message is pretty clear throughout the entire film (especially in how it explores the psychological torture that is solitary) but I think the most indicative moments are when exploring Stacey's redemption. Prison, the system that is allegedly put in place to decrease recidivism, is never the force that stops Stacey from committing crime…
Review by Cadinho93 ★★★★★

"I'll get out if I hafta kill every screw in the joint!"
Each Dawn I Die is James Cagney and George Raft in the prime of their respective careers about life in prison. James Cagney is a convict who is innocent. George Raft is his ally who leads an attempted escape. James Cagney is very much in his element in this environment and plays his part with particular gusto. Excellent performances by both. Overall, Each Dawn I Die is one of the best gangster films from the 1930s.
Review by Dale Nauertz ★★★½

If you've never seen James Cagney in action, you owe it to yourself to do so. He's one of the most charismatic motherfuckers of all time. "Each Dawn I Die" isn't the greatest of his films that I have seen, but it's a solid film that generates plenty of entertainment.
Noted bad-ass James Cagney plays an investigative reporter. As the film opens, he has caught people burning important ledgers at a construction company and rightfully determines that this action has something to do with a crooked gubernatorial candidate trying to cover his ass to get elected. The candidate responds by having some goons rough Cagney up, put him behind the wheel of a car (unconscious) and dousing him in alcohol.…
Review by Rich ★★★

This is a pretty solid prison drama. Didn’t have the type of Cagney character I usually enjoy, but he was still solid. George Raft was terrific as the second lead. He plays an excellent gangster.
The story however seems to bounce around a lot from what it’s trying to be. But while it doesn’t really blow you away, it is still a pretty solid and entertaining film that’s worth at least a watch if you like films if that era.
Review by Joe ★★★★

I guess by 1939 the screenwriters and directors at Warner Bros were getting bored with the usual genres, so they started mixing them together. Here we've got a part newspaper movie, part gangster movie, part prison movie. Those different pieces are threaded together by a plot that sometimes has to double back on itself to keep its heroes pure while doing time, but it works way better than it otherwise might thanks to James Cagney and George Raft. Cagney's great as always but Raft is revelatory - I've never been a huge fan of his since he tends to come off as pretty thuggish (typecasting, perhaps?), but here he's smooth, smart, and charismatic. And despite those production code morals, it's…
Review by Cam ★★★½

Insubordination, violence, hunger strikes.
He’s the most troublesome prisoner I’ve had in 35 years of penal work.
A solid 1930’s prison drama.
Even though the story is a bit convoluted, both James Cagney and George Raft turn in some solid work, and there are some nice dramatic scenes sprinkled throughout.
Okay canary, start singing.

Cinematic Time Capsule - 1939 Ranked
Review by adepeever ★★★½

George’s Raft’s star hasn’t ascended as highly as those of his Warners gangster contemporaries, and I confess I’ve always thought of him as a sort of Keaton without the comedy, just gliding around with a stone face, but he’s in his glory here, going chin-to-chin with Cagney himself in a tough-as-nails prison drama. It was an irresistible match-up at the time, a big hit apparently, and it’s surprising the pairing was never repeated. The story is immaterial—square guy goes to jail for a crime he didn’t commit, blah blah. It’s really character-driven, just giving plenty of room for Cagney to be himself, but Raft holds his own surprisingly. It’s all manly stuff, escalating from fists and shivs to all-out war with grenades and machine guns. Maybe I should start a list called “teste-fest,” but when you see Raft v Cagney you know what you’re signing up for. One fa dah guys!
Review by Kiki 👽 ★★★★

Scavenger Hunt #43: 10/31
Task #14: Choose a movie from the 1930's.
cagney: yah see, hah?
me: baby
cagney: *punches two people in the face on a bus*
me: my sweet boy
cagney: *gets falsely convicted of man slaughter and then hooks up with a gangster in prison*
me: my baby baby baby baby baby boy.
Review by Filipe Furtado ★★★½

More or less tries to dofor the early 30s prison cycle what The Roaring Twenties did for the gangster film. It is not as succesful, but it has detailed prison world with far reaching expansive plot. Quite a few strong scenes including a very good final riot. The tough guy supporting cast (Raft, Bancroft) is solid, but more important this has a Cagney performance of slow boiled over desperation that is a small wonder.
Review by Thomas Ringdal ★★★

Noirch #7
The only thing Each Dawn I Die has in common with noirs, as a pre-cursor, is the fate of James Cagney's character. After he's set up, the rest of the film plays out as a prison melodrama. Thankfully him and George Raft (always referring to Cagney as "kid" even though Cagney is 2-3 years his senior) are really up for this and create excellent chemistry.
Review by Levi Huffman ★★★★

Even though its quickie, ultra-blank slate wrap-up is a tad rushed like most films of its era, Each Dawn I Die gets literally everything else right, nearly spot on in fact. My love and devotion of James Cagney has only continued to increase over the years, and on this go round, as scrappy newshound turned deranged convict, he only further cements his unique penchant for playing lovably grimy scamps with hints and full-blown outbursts of desperation at every conceivable turn and then some. But like previous William Keighley Warner Brothers gangster film G-Men, Cagney is playing an unabashed hero here, even though his slow descent into madness exposes a latent desire to break bad altogether. Cagney would go on to…

Recent reviews

Review by Daniel Sardella ★★★½

Review
Review by Wade Sowers ★★★

This is one of those I have always thought to have seen, then discovered, no, it was all new to me. The story starts with crusading newshound Frank Ross (James Cagney), a man who grew up in the slums and has spent his life exposing corruption, being railroad into the slammer for a murder he didn't commit by crooked politicians and businessmen out to silence him. Once inside he becomes friends with gangster "Hood" Stacey (George Raft), who also grew up in the slums but took the easy way out, and finds himself becoming a hardened inmate, another victim of a prison system that is out to punish rather than rehabilitate, led by a brutal head guard (a little over…
Review by Matthew Lucas ★★★★

A reporter on the verge of throwing the lid off a massive organized crime conspiracy gets framed for murder in William Keighley's EACH DAWN I DIE, which cast James Cagney in a familiar tough guy role but this time as a good guy. Once inside the prison Cagney faces brutal guards, constantly beating prisoners and threatening them with "the hole," while coordinating with outside forces to prove his innocence and bring down the crime ring. He partners up with Hood Stacey (George Raft), a gang boss and murderer whose conscience leads him to help his newfound friend lead a revolt against the cruel prison guards in order to help Cagney expose the real villains.
EACH DAWN I DIE is a…
Review by Kerborus ★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

The Credits:
Directed by: William Keighley
Produced by: David Lewis, Hal B. Wallis, Jack L. Warner
Written by: Warren Duff, Norman Reilly Raine, Charles Perry (uncredited)
Starring: James Cagney, George Raft, Jane Bryan, George Bancroft
Music by: Max Steiner
Cinematography: Arthur Edeson
Edited by: Thomas Richards
Release date: July 22, 1939
Running time: 92 min
Language: English
The Story:
Frank Ross is a crusading reporter for a big-city newspaper on the trail of a crooked district attorney, Jesse Hanley, who is running for election as governor of the state. At the Banton Construction Co., Ross sees Hanley and his accomplice Grayce burning books and ledgers to thwart a possible investigation brought about by the paper that Ross works for. His editor Patterson backs Ross in getting Hanley but the D.A. decides to get rid of him, so…
Review by Matt Schmieding ★★★★

Audio Commentary - This feature-length track by film historian (and former Warner Archives curator) Haden Guest -
Review by Matt Schmieding ★★★★

Classic gangster drama with Cagney in prison has a few too many side characters and plot twists but you can’t deny the final riot and gunfight isn’t thrilling so it’s always nice to see these old films with great actors showing off
Review by stephendanay ★★★

Pretty straightforward, even by the standards of old Warner Bros. gangster flicks, but Cagney and Raft are worth it.
Review by CharltonHTFC ★★★½

This has great moments from a film I’ve only known for a few days.
The concept itself starts off well, and what makes it work for me is the dynamic of James Cagney and George Raft, as their friendship builds to solve the case in the film.
It was a decent film overall. 7/10
Review by redpeabody ★★★★

One of the best. A bromantic tale like few others. And Cagney is bae as ushe.
Review by Alan Cerny ★★★★½

James Cagney and George Raft star in EACH DAWN I DIE. Cagney plays Frank Ross, who while trying to report about corruption in the state office, gets framed for manslaughter. Raft plays Stacey, a hardened criminal who with Ross forms an unlikely friendship.
Both Cagney and Raft are magnificent: Cagney plays a man who slowly goes into despair and Raft is perhaps the one man who may be able to pull him out of it by doing one good thing in his corrupted life. The rare gangster film where Cagney plays a hero, EACH DAWN I DIE is one of his best in the genre. It’s an interesting bounce off of ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES, and while EACH DAWN I DIE doesn’t quite reach the levels of that film, it’s still tremendously entertaining and poignant.
Review by Michael Bayer ★★★

Some call this a gangster movie, but it feels more like a prison drama. It's good, but just know it's not the same kind of crime-action film like Cagney was making in the 30's.
Review by Celuloid ★★★★

I enjoyed this immensely, another phenomenal display of Cagney's strong, intense acting style. He plays a reporter named Frank Ross who is found guilty of murder and is sent to jail, although he is innocent. While his friends at the newspaper try to find out who framed him, Frank gets hardened by prison life and his optimism turns into bitterness. There are tropes and cliches, sure (even though they weren't that at the time), but this is such a great film that I'm willing to forgive almost everything. Keighley directs with great confidence, Cagney, Raft and almost everyone else are magnetic, what's not to like? I had a smile on my face from beginning to end.