Great Guy

When James Cagney walked out of his contract with Warner Brothers in 1935 it was because of the roles he was getting. He objected to the type casting. So he signs with this B picture studio called Grand National and this is one of the two films he did for that studio.

He could have made the same picture at Warner Brothers. It sure isn't anything original for him. He makes it at Grand National and does his usual Cagney urban tough guy part and doesn't get the benefit of the production values of an A Studio.

It's a B picture and it shows. But it's not a bad film at all. I think that it was butchered in the editing, the picture seems to start in the middle of the story. But what remains is a good fast paced Cagney film (is there any other pace for him?). He gets good support from among others, Joe Sawyer, Edward Brophy and most of all from James Burke who in his role as Cagney's trainee sidekick almost steals the picture from him.

Ironically in 1937 he went back to Warner Brothers and what is the first film Cagney does? Angels With Dirty Faces. No new ground for him there, but he gets his first Oscar nomination. It's like he gave up on typecasting. But he certainly did expand his range and got a lot of good roles, both from Warner Brothers and from other studios.

Just saw this movie for the first time last night and I really enjoyed it. It's not every day you see a film about the Weights and Measures investigator. I got to tell ya, even watching Cagney in this B movie was completely enjoyable. These movies are a lot different when the lead actor shows up to act the walls off the place. He is 100% believable from start to finish and it really ups the value and watch-ability of the film.

My favorite scenes are his Investigation scenes. The film has several twists which are nice and some fun action scenes. Pretty intense fight scene at the end between Cagney and one of the bad guys. The two stuntmen were really duking it out.

What does this movie have in common with The Godfather, the Wild West or even Superman? Well, it comes right down to truth and justice - whether they really are the American Way or whether corruption and violence have gnawed to the core of democratic society and made it rotten. Second only to sex, institutionalized corruption has been just about the biggest issue for Hollywood right through its history. And rightly so as, the battle to resist it is seemingly never finished.

That's a big build up for a small movie. Great Guy is just a simple story about one man who tries to make a difference and who takes a lot of personal risks in doing so. And let's face it, the Bureau of Weights and Measures is hardly the most glamorous place for a story. But James Cagney's character Johnny Cave uses his brains, his fists and a lot of Attitude to try setting things straight and I for one am grateful to him and others like him.

James Cagney was an actor with plenty charisma, and this film is an evidence of it. He was always pleasant in any role, no matter if he was a gangster, a good man or a dancer, he performed all well and delivered enough smell for sympathy. The film had no a complicated plot, it was quite simple but still relevant for the society. Corruption of officials is very common, and what the film showed is what still exists. Certainly there are decent people who do not commit such mistakes, and Johnny 'Red' Cave (Cagney) was one of them, who was in charge of the bureau of weights and measures. He investigated several dark cases and succeeded to make them clear as well as finding out who were responsible for such misdeeds. However, knowing is not enough, it is necessary to make accusations with evidences to condemn those guilty, and that was what Johnny did. Probably today somebody like Johnny should use more sophisticated methods according to those used by those infringing the law. In any case, the film is good also to be watched for entertainment.

It's fun to watch a young James Cagney doing his thing. He plays the cheapskate Weights and Measures guy who takes his job very seriously, stepping on the toes of a group of crooked politicians. He is offered the world, but keeps his integrity. He is beaten and set up, but that's the problem. We never know if he is really in danger. They say he's in a spot, but still seems to have carte blanche to move around and do what he needs to do. At times he's so cocky he doesn't do much to protect himself. His allies are in the police department but just about everything else is pretty corrupt. He perseveres (almost too good to be true), of course, and we pull for him. The problem for me is a lack of sustained suspense. It would have been much better if he had had to clear his name. He never drops into the depths, even when rejected by his wife to be. It's still fun with the bad guys kind of imploding. See it just to watch Cagney do his tough guy posturing.