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 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 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 Kieran 👽 ★★★★

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.

Recent reviews

Review by RaanShalom ★★★★½

One of the best prison movies of all time!
Seriously great characters and a really good story. The parole scene actually made me cry. And even though it was made- Jeez- 80 years ago, it doesn't feel dated.
Review by Marcus ★★★

Why are so many of these 30s movies unbearably dark and fatalistic.. disturbing, many such cases
Review by Richard Doyle ★★★★½

Cagney is a reporter that uncovers corruption in the city administration. When his newspaper reports the story, Cagney is framed for manslaughter and chucked in jail. He meets and befriends gangster George Raft, and agrees to help Raft escape prison in exchange for Raft finding out who framed him. This energetic little prison flick is really entertaining and more than a little berzerk. Cagney is wound up like a tight little spring in this one. He starts out scrappy and defiant, and as his chances of being exonerated start to fade, he becomes increasingly mean, spiteful and out of control. It's an awe-inspiring performance that has him bouncing between angry monologues and fits of crying. Still ... he's kind of…
$vvilliam\lenny 🏳️‍🌈$

Review by vvilliam\lenny 🏳️‍🌈 ★★★★

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

"How tough are you, babe?"
Review by Davey ★★★★

More thirties Warner Bros. criminal justice reform movies please! The prison guards here are just as threatening than the crooks who set James Cagney’s reporter character up. Lots of layers and a strong supporting cast keep things from feeling gratuitous or moralizing.

This is the first time that I’ve really dug a George Raft performance! The warmth between Cagney and Raft in the film’s finale moved me to tears, as did Cagney’s scene with his mother while he’s behind bars.
Also, William Keighley is my fave unsung Warner Bros. hand to see directing (especially directing Cagney).
Review by Cadinho93 ★★★★★

James Cagney and George Raft are in the prime of their respective careers in this film 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.
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…
Review by Michael Bayer ★★★

Great gangster flick, one of the last of that peak gangster decade, the 30’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