Cidade Sinistra

Frisco Kid (1935)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The Barbary Coast in San Francisco is the setting in this story of Bat Morgan (James Cagney), the man who would become the countries first racketeer. This is a decent little film but there's not enough energy to keep things moving as well as it should. Cagney, with a funky little haircut, is in good form but this is certainly not one of his greatest roles. The supporting cast is in good form and includes Margaret Lindsay, Ricardo Cortez, Donald Woods and George E. Stone. Cortez steals the show as the top guy in town but Stone adds some very good comic relief as Cagney's buddy. The highlight of the film is a terrific fight sequence between Cagney and a large man with a hook for a hand. The final twenty minutes deal with the city getting tired of the thugs and deciding to take the law into its own hands. We get another mob scene where they want to hang the bad men and this here is where the film should have taken off but things stay pretty bland and never get too exciting.

It's 1854 San Francisco, the wickedest city in the world. Bat Morgan (James Cagney) walks into a saloon and gets shanghaied. He barely escapes. He turns the table on Shanghai Duck and starts his rise from the city's Barbary Coast.

I do love James Cagney but I don't necessarily love Bat Morgan. He's a cocky son-of-a-gun. At the start, he's the underdog and that's very compelling. It's rough and tumble. That would have been great if it stayed that way. His rise is too smooth until he faces some resistance from the father. The slower middle stalls the movie. This is fine but it's not the best.

Mediocre Warner Bros. period piece which goes off to a good start, but is hampered by a predictable narrative, an unfocused storyline and a lack of exciting moments, not to mention Jimmy's terrible hairdo in the later stages.

The picturesque Barbary Coast setting is a plus, though, and this one's the first movie I've seen, that features a lynch mob whose anger you actually understand (though the people are portrayed just as sheepishly dumb as always.)

Not Cagney's best hour, to be sure.

5 out of 10 hooked hands

It seems odd this drama from Cagney's main star period would be obscure until you watch it.

Cagney is dynamic as ever but those two cinematic black holes Margaret Lindsay and Donald Woods stop the film dead in its tracks whenever they appear in a scene.

Lindsay, who Warners tried their damnedest to make into a star, is stiff and affected in the female lead. Her scenes with Cagney become more an interesting example of star quality and naturalism versus posturing for the camera than believable love scenes. In their close-ups he is animated and alive and she seems to be waiting for him to finish talking so she can flatly deliver her lines.

Woods is even worse but his role is smaller so he is less irksome but when he's not on screen you don't miss him.

As far as the film's storyline it's standard stuff about the clash between the Barbary Coast and Nob Hill society. If you're a Cagney fan it's worth checking out but one viewing will probably be enough.

I don't understand why this film has low ratings. It is simply great. I've always been a huge Cagney fan. And I'm not partial nor do I play favorites when it comes to a good film. Thus- my simple, honest, basic review....

You will not get bored. You will be hooked into the movie from the start and you will truly appreciate the work that went into this movie. The idea of it is pretty unique and it was not exactly easy to make a film set in such a time. 1850's. Imagine that. But don't be put off. There is a 1930s appeal. And you can see this being made in our modern times. There is also a gritty edge to the plot. Cagney is a sailor who was robbed and left for dead. He brilliantly comes back with a smart vengeance. And the other characters keep you interested as well.

I don't want to give too much away, but you will be on Cagney's side right from the start and not just because you love the guy. The story is not lame and overly simple. The actors all pulled together and made this wonderful.

And Cagney is dynamite. As expected.