![]() ![]() His superb use camera angles adds significantly to the telling of the story. ![]() ![]() – ain’t puttin’ out!Įasily the most famous of the Cagney/Blondell films is “The Public Enemy,” a 1931 gangster flick extremely well directed by William “Wild Bill” Wellman. Apparently, he did not care much for the film since he does not even bother mentioning it in his autobiography “Cagney by Cagney.” Blondell’s give us a touch of her perky wise talking dame she would become so well known for as Marie, a hash tossing waitress, She does have one great line in the film where she announces she A.P.O. Cagney gets to do a small dance bit in the film. The main leads were Grant Withers, again, as a railroad engineer who falls in love with the wife (Mary Astor) of co-worker Regis Toomey. Jimmy had a minor role as a train engineer and Blondell was a sassy (what else?) waitress. When the police are asking if she was with Harry all night at the beach, her father tells her, “think of your reputation!” to which she replies, “You think of it, you worry about it more than I do.”ĭirected by William Wellman, this was Cagney and Blondell’s second film together. Even in this early film, Blondell delivers a classic sassy line. It would come into play again in “The Public Enemy” and still later and most famously in “White Heat.” Blondell, her hair darker than we would be use too in later films, also shines. This was the first time, though not the last, where one of Cagney’s character’s had a strange mother fixation. Notice the odd almost incestuous relationship Cagney’s character, Harry Delano has with his mother (Lucille LaVerne). The film is a decent if an unexceptional programmer that only comes alive when Cagney and Blondell are on screen, especially Jimmy who lights up every scene he appears in. The stars of the film were Grant Withers and Evelyn Knapp, two pretty much forgotten names today. They repeated their stage roles in the film, Jimmy as the weak brother and Joan as his tart of a girlfriend. However, there scenes together are some of the most electric in the film.įor whatever reason, when “Penny Arcade“was brought to the screen, Warner Brothers changed the title to “Sinner’s Holiday.” Whatever it was to be called it was Cagney and Blondell’s first film together. For example, in “The Crowd Roars,” Blondell was Cagney’s younger brother’s girl. Though the made seven films together, within five years, they were not always paired on screen together. Jolson then turned around and sold the film rights to Warners for a nice profit. Warner liked what he saw and signed up both Cagney and Blondell to contracts. He recommended to Jack Warner he take a look at it before it closed and to especially pay attention to the two supporting actors. Al Jolson caught the play and purchased the screen rights. However, the play would be significant to both their future careers. Fortunately for both, director William Keighley caught a performance of the show before it closed and liked the “young tough cookie and the strong, beautiful broad.” He recruited both for his own upcoming play, “Penny Arcade.” Within a few months the pair were back on Broadway, but it turned out be another flop running only twenty four performances. The play ran for only a month but the two performers became friends. Kelly told Cagney he got the part because he physically was what he was looking for, a “fresh mutt.” Blondell’s role called for her to be the type she would become best known for, the wisecracking dame. ![]() They first met on Broadway back in 1929 when they both performed in a play called “Maggie the Magnificent” by George Kelly. The real life Cagney/Blondell relationship, and they were good friends and never anything more, began before either ever set foot on a movie set. I doubt either star ever had a more perfect fitting partner than these two had with each other. Officially, they were never a team like Tracy and Hepburn or Powell and Loy, but James Cagney and Joan Blondell made seven films together. Cagney the fast talking, wise cracking, smart aleck with a sly smile coming face to face with Blondell, who was just as fast with the wise cracks and added a sassiness all her own. It’s hard to imagine a better word to describe James Cagney and Joan Blondell as a team than the word moxie. ![]()
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