Ein schwerer Junge

"The St. Louis Kid" was just another routine "Warner Bros" film for James Cagney. By the time of this film's release in 1934, working relations between Cagney and the studio were becoming more strained. It wouldn't be long before Cagney filed his lawsuit against "Warner Bros." The story of the above film is about as simple as it gets. Cagney plays a trucker who takes on a rival trucking firm after they plan a hostile takeover. Real life friend and regular studio player, Allen Jenkins is on hand as the rather dumb sidekick. Patricia Ellis is a capable leading lady after she did well opposite Cagney in "The Picture Snatcher." The fans wanted to see our hero scrap with the villains and charm the ladies. We get plenty of both.

By the time the St. Louis Kid was made Warner Brothers had gotten the James Cagney persona fixed in the mind of the movie going public. The cocky wiseacre working class hero in perpetual motion who always gets what he's after, be it money, power or a girl.

Here it's a girl, but he also gets himself mixed up in a labor dispute between dairy farmers and the trucking company that ships their product in between St. Louis and Chicago. In those early years of the New Deal labor disputes were a pretty hot topic in the newsreels.

Robert Barrat, a leader of the farmers, is killed by one of the goons hired by Cagney's trucking company and the cops think Cagney did it. Patricia Ellis, the girl Cagney's been courting, witnessed the murder so the goons have snatched her.

Will the ever resourceful James Cagney will find a way to set all this right? You have to see the film to see if and how.

Cagney has Allen Jenkins along acting as Pancho to his Cisco Kid. Jenkins is funny, but you know Cagney only keeps him around for his amusement value. The plot calls for the pair to spend some time in the jail of the local town constable played by Spencer Charters who is also a dim bulb.

Fast paced {is their any other kind of Cagney film} action makes the 67 minute running time go by real fast. St. Louis Kid is very typical of the stuff Warner Brothers would continue to give Cagney throughout his years with them.

Well here again in this film we have the lovable James Cagney playing a tough guy come foolhardy character and it's a short 67 minute ride full of giggles, slaps and even a touch of the charisma.

It's the story of two guys Cagney and Alan Jenkins who drive trucks delivering goods and along the way trouble finds them and several jail sessions occur which are humerous scenes in themselves. Cagney during all this catches the blonde and a little romance ties it all in.

The pairing of cagney and Jenkins is great, they bounce of each other in this 1930s print.

Overall this film is fun, entertaining and a joy to watch.

Jimmy Cagney plays a 'little tough guy' truck driver who is pulled into a dispute between farmers and a dairy syndicate. Great old WB social drama with a cast of solid character actors like Charles C. Wilson, Robert Barrat, Hobart Cavanagh, Addison Richards, Arthur Aylesworth, and the always terrific Allen Jenkins. Patricia Ellis is the girl who hates Cagney at first but comes around to loving him by the end of the picture. Cagney's the main reason to watch, of course, and he's loads of fun as the cocky, wise-cracking runt that's quick with his fists. It's a fast-paced and entertaining movie with a little bit of a then-topical message for flavor. If you're a fan of Cagney or these types of movies WB put out in the 1930s, you'll probably like this a lot.

People watch the old Cagney films to see tough Cagney do some beatdowns and charm the girl, and there's a lot of that in this flick. Especially beatdowns - Cagney is always fighting and in and out of jail, even when he can't use his hands (he'll just head-butt everyone within range instead). Heck, he even gives his sidekick a good shot (it was deserved though).

While "The St. Louis Kid" won't win any awards, it's mid-1930's Cagney talking fast and doing his thing, this time battling, well, pretty much everyone. He even goes after a girl who hates him, but she's pretty hot so that's no mystery why he'd do that. There's a few cool old-timey car and truck crashes too that are fun to watch.

Plot? There's a plot in there somewhere, but really this is just simply fun Cagney viewing.