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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

One of my fav gangster films. The story is beyond believable but the dialogue is just fantastic. "Canary" and "Dirty Rats" never sounded so sweet.

Excellent

Big fan of the thermometer you can practically see behind Cagney's eyes. Especially when he's playing an investigative journalist not keen to compromise on his moral integrity. The nought-to-molten lava makes me think the Hulk was inspired by him in some way. But then Cagney is never at nought. Walking with fire, perpetually irritated by everything. I can imagine him strolling past a daffodil & squaring up to it because it was being tu lippy.

Being interested in history & the relationship of institutions to one another is killing the way i look @ big studio pictures. I might cut them off in the near future, Diane. Breathe in some of those sweet Douglas Firs.

How did people survive in rooms as big as cardboard boxes full to the rafters with smoke? I'm surprised they don't take breaks to suck clean air from under the door in between lines.

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!

Raft et Gagney... Il s'en fait plus des acteurs de même...

Des films de même non plus...

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.

A bit too ambitious, trying to be an ace reporter vs. political corruption flick, a prison expose, and a gangster film, with a love story shoehorned in somewhere. The film is interested in the expose, but the script is much more interested in the ace reporter. No one cares about the love story.