HARD TO HANDLE (1933)

I watched this thinking it was gonna be all about Depression-era dance marathon contests and it was...for like 10 minutes.  Ends up James Cagney is a flimflam man who's got his nose into about every racket in town.  After his partner stiffs him in the dance marathon business, he's off to the set up a fake treasure hunt, then onto some bullshit weight loss cream and so on and so on.  Throughout it all his ups and downs his faithful dame Mary Brian still loves him.  Of course, that's not gonna stop her from running around on him with another guy.

Although HARD TO HANDLE is suppose to be a comedy I didn't find the way Cagney was constantly conning people to be funny in the least and the romance stuff was dead in the water.  The only highlight of the film was some of the Pre-Code banter was interesting in the stuff it implied, but even that doesn't make it worth going out of your way to watch it.  Okay acting, annoying mother character, unsympathetic main character, unfunny comedy.  I can't recommend it.  For hardcore classic Hollywood fans only.

THE WEST POINT STORY (1950)

One year after brutalizing Virginia Mayo in WHITE HEAT James Cagney teams up with her again and this time they're a musical couple (he's a Broadway director and she's his assistant) hired to help put on a show at West Point.  Stuff happens and next thing you know 51-year-old Cagney is a cadet at West Point!  And if that's not bad enough his lead star falls in love with Doris Day and wants to quit so he can marry her.

I got a kick out of THE WEST POINT STORY...at least the first two acts.  Towards the end it gets a little bogged down in the patriotism/love conquers all stuff but even then it's not as bad as you would expect.  Through out it all though Cagney is excellent.  His one-liners were funny, his facial expressions perfect and his physicality hilarious (I especially liked his angry jumps and his happy dance that looked like Porky Pig).  And let's not forget Virginia Mayo and Doris Day.  Both beautiful and both a joy to watch...and listen to as well.  Doris Day blows all the other singers out of the water.  I was also surprised by Virginia's amazing dancing skills.  I had no idea she was so talented!

Not the greatest musical I've ever seen (SINGIN' IN THE RAIN), but still a lot of fun to watch and I would gladly watch it again.  Recommended.

Skipper!

WHITE HEAT (1949)

Now this is more like it!  I double-featured THE PUBLIC ENEMY with WHITE HEAT and while I found TPE to be dated and not as hard hitting as I had hope, WHITE HEAT was awesome!

After an exciting train robbery, gangster James Cagney is on the run with his gang which includes a few tough guys, his two-timing wife and even his overbearing mother!  Stuff happens and Cagney ends up in prison doing a bullshit two-year stint to cover up for his real crime.  The coppers are onto his game and put undercover agent Edmond O'Brien inside the prison to try and get the straight dope on Cagney.

There's much more to it than just that, of course, but you should just watch it for yourself.  Severe mother complex, murder left and right, prison fights, shoot outs, headaches, cheating wife, boiling hot steam to the face, robbery, classic vehicles, secret messages, car chases and one of the greatest freakout scenes in the history of classic Hollywood.

Even being as old as it is WHITE HEAT still packs quite a wallop.  Great movie.  Highly recommended.