Ennemis publics

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.

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.

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.

GREAT GUY (Grand National, 1936), directed by John G. Blystone, is an interesting yet plausible low budget production starring none-other than James Cagney, the same James Cagney of the higher quality studio of Warner Brothers. What's a top actor like James Cagney doing over at Grand National instead of at the majors as MGM, Columbia, United Artists or even Paramount? Well, it had something to do with a contract dispute, which kept him away from his home lot for nearly two years. Since Grand National, not First National, initially began in early 1936, how fortunate for the studio to have acquired a top name like Cagney working for them? How unfortunate for the studio to have lost his services following his second with the studio, a musical titled SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT (1937). How fortunate to have Cagney return to his home studio where he truly belonged, and continue to work on films that were to become classics. As for those done at Grand National .... well, let's take a look at his initial offering of THE GREAT GUY. It's not a gangster film idolizing a popular crime boss but actually a crime story placing Cagney on the right side of the law attempting to rid corruption. Having done something similar the year before in G-MEN, the misfortune for GREAT GUY is not having much gun play nor fast-pace action to make this equivalent to a Warner Brothers production.

The story opens with Joel Green (Wallis Clark), chief deputy of the Bureau of Weights and Measures, injured in a car crash, now in a hospital. Knowing the accident was a set up, Green calls for his friend, Johnny Cave (James Cagney), a former prizefighter working with the department of Weights and Measures, and assigns him in his place to acquire enough evidence on the corrupt district leader Marty Cavanaugh (Robert Gleckler). With the assistance of fellow Irishman Pat Haley, whom he calls Aloyisus (James Burke), Johnny teaches him the tricks of the trade of chiselers at the Paradise Market defrauding shoppers by exposing eights on chickens, putting false bottoms in baskets of strawberries, and cheating drivers of their gallons of gas. As for his love life, Johnny is engaged to Janet Henry (Mae Clarke), secretary to city official Abel Canning (Henry Kolker). Janet loves Johnny but finds him too conceited and quick tempered, but overall honest. Refusing to accept bribes even from the city Mayor (Douglas Wood), Johnny later has his work cut out for him by being abducted by hired thugs who frame him on a drunk and driving charge unless he gives up his investigation to expose the gang leader responsible for corruption.

The supporting cast includes Edward Brophy (Pete Reilly); Bernadene Hayes (Hazel Scott); and Edward McNamara as Captain Pat Hanlon, whose great scene has him standing outside the door smoking his cigar while his pal Johnny takes care of the ring leader. The big surprise in GREAT GUY is the casting of James Burke, better known for playing cops, playing the dopey sidekick in the El Brendel tradition, sporting an Irish derelict compared to Brendel's Swedish one. This was one of the few opportunities seeing Burke in a sizable part typically suited for the likes of an Allen Jenkins or Frank McHugh.

With all the ingredients of a Warner Brothers programmer, down to Joseph Sawyer (a Warners stock player) as one of the mobsters, what GREAT GUY lacks is polish and production values. Overall, GREAT GUY turns out to be a reunion of sorts between Cagney and Mae Clarke, his grapefruit victim from THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931), and co-star of LADY KILLER (1933) the one where he dragged her across the room by the hair. This time they are on friendly terms, as an engaged couple who gather together for lunch in a cafeteria and, with a touch of humor, talking things over at a furniture store with a salesman (Arthur Hoyt) trying to interest them with the display.

Virtually unknown even by film buffs, GREAT GUY is one film in Cagney's filmography list that doesn't get a mention in his 1977 autobiography, "Cagney by Cagney," though his second Grand National starer did. Not until the age of video recording of the 1980s or late in the 1970s on commercial television has GREAT GUY been given some exposure. Circulating prints from 1980 and over suffer from being ten minutes shorter than its actual 75 minute release. Abrupt cuts are noticeable, especially one scene involving Mary Gordon as Mrs. Ogilvie and the corruption involving milk deliveries at the orphanage, found in current video, DVD and public TV late show broadcasts. While a complete version with clearer picture quality won't change GREAT GUY from its low-budget status in the Monogram Studios tradition to a Class "A" Warners production, but restoration will make a big difference on how to view this one, especially with the great guy himself, James Cagney. (***)

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.