O Filhinho da Mamãe

The stars here never give a bad performance, so that I had fun watching this film despite a routine dissension-causing romantic rivalry between James Cagney and his brother, Pat O'Brien, for lovely Olivia de Havilland and an improbable ending. My only complaint was the character of Allen Jenkins, a fighter who starts swinging crazily every time he hears a bell. That got to be a bit tedious, although it was an important part of the plot. O'Brien plays a policeman while his younger brother, Frank McHugh, plays a fireman. They're sort of a microcosm of the Irish in New York City, with Cagney playing a would-be fight manager of Jenkins, and Mary Gordon trying to keep her family together. McHugh and Jenkins provide much of the comedy and the boxing match at the end was very well staged and quite exciting. You can't really go wrong with this film.

Filmmakers sometimes forget: A newspaper reports that Harvey Perry is the welterweight champion, but he's introduced into the ring as the middleweight champion.

It made my heart warm to see the scenes with Olivia de Havilland looking up into James Cagney's eyes, and it made me smile when Cagney skipped rope in his short shorts while helping a boxer train. Olivia de Havilland was 19 and this was just her second film, so for that alone it's worth taking a look. If you don't like those two actors though, you can certainly skip this one, because it's mediocre at best. It tries to be a romance, family study, comedy, and boxing film, and doesn't do any of them particularly well. Ultimately it decides to be a boxing film, but even then it can't help itself but show too much of the stupid antics of one of the three brothers (Frank McHugh). The other throwaway character is the boxer named Carbarn Hammerschlog (jeez, what a name, played Allen Jenkins). Jenkins doesn't look a bit like a boxer, and his character is a clown who starts swinging his fists maniacally any time he hears a bell ring (a tired and unfortunately repeated gag). The love triangle involving two brothers (Cagney and Pat O'Brien) and de Havilland has some nice moments, including those with the dear old mom (Mary Gordon, who was ironically Scottish, not Irish). Cagney looks pretty good in the ring too, fighting stuntman Harvey Parry. It's a shame the script is so haphazard and unfocused.

Quintessential Irish-American movie mother Mary Gordon lives in a hectic apartment with her three "boys":

Pat O'Brien is a cop, Frank McHugh is a fireman, and James Cagney— well, Cagney has no real job apparently but he fancies himself a fight manager and is his mother's favorite.

It's a sentimental and predictable setup and while the dialog early on is certainly not great, the actors hang in there and make it work —particularly O'Brien and Cagney, who show a knack for taking exchanges that look absolutely awful on the page and giving them real bite:

O'Brien: "Say, let me tell you something, there's lots worse things than being a cop." Cagney: "But I don't wanna be a cop!"

The plot eventually adds Allen Jenkins as a streetcar conductor Cagney tries to turn into a boxer. Olivia de Havilland is fine as a police commissioner's daughter—she catches O'Brien's eye but Cagney catches hers, causing family complications.

It's all pretty dated, I guess, but the picture does pick up steam as Cagney spends more time on the screen, and you'd have to be a hardboiled viewer indeed not to enjoy seeing Cagney suit up and step into the ring himself as an emergency sub when Jenkins gets drunk just before the big fight....

Not a classic but the cast certainly makes this one worthwhile. Also, Allen Jenkins' character has a truly great name: Carbarn Hammerschlog.

"The Irish in Us" is a fine Cagney venue. He is surrounded by a good supporting cast with Pat O'Brien (Patrick O'Hara), Frank McHugh (Mike O'Hara) and Allen Jenkins (Carbarn Hammerschlog). Olivia de Havilland (Lucille Jackson) gives a solid and steady performance in only her second movie of her career. Veteran actress Mary Gordon (Ma O'Hara) lends a strong presence as the tough but caring Irish mother. The chemistry between the two women is very believable. The boxing scene between Harvey Parry (Joe Delancy), the champ and Cagney is non-stop action packed and shows Cagney at his best. I highly recommend this movie for all.

Irish in Us, The (1935)

*** (out of 4)

James Cagney, Pat O'Brien and Frank McHugh play brothers in this lightweight Warner comedy/drama. Cagney and O'Brien have a falling out after Cagney steals his girl (Olivia de Havilland) and this leads to various problems, which comes full on during a boxing match. This film really doesn't offer anything new in the various teamings of Cagney and O'Brien but there's enough charm here to make the film worth watching. Cagney and O'Brien always work well together and that's true here as the two make for some nice laughs and fighting. McHugh and Allen Jenkins add nice comic support in their roles and it seems Allen's character, a boxer who goes nuts when he hears a bell, was inspired by The Three stooges short Punch Drunk. de Havilland is also very good here in her supporting role. The film ends on a ten or fifteen minute boxing match, which is shot very nice, although it does lead to a rather hokey ending.