Jimmy the Gent

Have always had a thing for seeing films that have great casts or actors/actresses etc. that do a lot for me. That is yet another case of too many to count and list with 'Jimmy the Gent'. Love Bette Davis (i.e. 'All About Eve'), even when she featured in films that were not worthy of her, and James Cagney was great in 'White Heat' and 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'. Michael Curtiz directed two of my favourite films 'Casablanca' and 'The Adventures of Robin Hood'.

'Jimmy the Gent' is certainly worth the watch and definitely recommended, it is entertaining, well made and played with professionalism by people that clearly knew what they were doing and cared. Davis and Cagney did both do better though, in terms of both films and performances, and the same goes for Curtiz and his direction, particularly the above cited films on all counts. So to me it is not one of those must-see films. A longer length would have helped and if it tried to do a little bit less.

While not lavish, not that it needed to be, 'Jimmy the Gent' is well photographed with the right amount of gritty yet never cheap atmosphere. The music may not stay embedded in the brain a long time after, but it is a good match for the story's tone and at least appeals to the ears. It is breezily directed by Curtiz, while the script crackles amusingly and at its best hilariously.

The story has some fun twists and turns, is taut enough and is never dull. Cagney is in a role that plays to his strengths and gives a performance full of energy and that is entertainingly larger than life. Davis' character is not as interesting but she is charming and sassy, making the most of her role. The supporting cast are fine too, Allen Jenkins contrasting endearingly with Cagney.

On the other hand, there are times where the pace was a little hectic and the story over-stuffed. A longer length again would have helped.

Just over an hour felt far too short and with little time to go into more depth. Something that was missing here, giving the film a little emotional blandness.

Concluding, fun film if not great. 7/10

This pre-code film starring James Cagney has him playing Jimmy Corrigan who is a private detective specializing in finding heirs to large fortunes. He's in competition with Alan Dinehart who calls himself a "geneologist" and has just about the same set of ethics Cagney has. The only difference is Cagney lacks the polish of Dinehart and is less a hypocrite.

Now no one ever confused James Cagney with Ronald Colman on the screen and I daresay they probably were never up for the same parts, but Cagney dumbs it down to Leo Gorcey levels in order to contrast himself with Dinehart. It's effective though.

What makes this film special is that the leading lady is Bette Davis who was a year away from finally getting Jack Warner to give her a role with substance in Of Human Bondage. Speaking of class, you can see that Ms. Davis has it in abundance and that she wasn't going to be held down with supportive leading lady roles. Later on Cagney and Davis were given The Bride Came COD when both were big box office names.

Cagney is quite the operator here and I won't tell you exactly what he does, he does bend our legal system over backwards though. And if he's not exactly reformed, he does learn the difference between class and manners.

A delightful example of 1930's comedy, with James Cagney on fire as a tough and uncultured geneologist-scam artist who matches wits with an assortment of shady types in pursuit of a dead rich woman's fortune.

The dialogue is snappy and frequently laugh-out loud, the supporting cast led by Bette Davis is fine, and James Cagney is particularly hilarious in his portrayal.

One of the subplots involves Cagney's attempts to learn a little class with which to impress his love/nemesis Davis, and there is a sustained scene of hijinks concerning this that will have you laughing and commending Cagney's acting at the same time. All I can say is that I will never look at tea the same way again!

Finally, this movie is worth seeing just because it was directed by the great Michael Curtiz. This was the first time Curtiz was entrusted with a really major film project, and he makes the most of it. Of course, Curtiz would later direct Cagney in arguably his greatest role, that of Rocky in Angels With Dirty Faces (1938). Curtiz also directed such classics as Casablanca (1942), Captain Blood (1935), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), The Sea Wolf (1941), The Sea Hawk (1940), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942 - which won James Cagney an Oscar) and many many other great films.

Between Curtiz, Cagney, Davis, and the rest, there is a lot to like about this movie. It's not Heavy Drama, but if you like the kinds of witty and lighthearted comedies that flourished in Hollywood during the 1930's, you will enjoy this example.

Cagney was tired of playing mugs by this point in his career, but he played this one comically.(Humor is a Cagney trait in any of his roles.) He intentionally had the studio barber put bottle scars on his head just to annoy Hal B. Wallis!!! Ya gotta love that. His attitude towards Warner's was getting worse,understand? He could play a thug like DaVinci could draw a dame named Mona. But in spite of his frustrations with the studio,I personally view this as one of his most memorable performances of the 30s!!

Aesthetically speaking, this is a pretty average Jimmy Cagney film. It stars Cagney as the pretty typical fast-talking but likable schemer and Bette Davis in a rather forgettable role she probably detested. Miss Davis reportedly liked Cagney but longed for roles where she was more than just "the girlfriend". In this film she is slightly more, as she's bright and pretty assertive, but once again it was the type of role that would neither hurt nor help her career to get to the next level. She was quite good in the film, but indications of her future greatness just aren't all that obvious.

However, despite the film's averageness and Miss Davis' limited character and the film only earning a 6, I actually enjoyed the film quite a bit. It's exactly the type of formulaic Warner Brothers film I enjoy and I try to see every Cagney, Pat O'Brien or Edward G. Robinson film of this era I can find because they are just a lot of fun to watch. Yes, they are rather predictable, but somehow Warner still made the characters likable and compelling. In this case, Cagney plays his typical guy skirting the edges of larceny in the form of a guy running a company that seeks out lost relatives to inherit fortunes. I also thought that juxtaposing this unsophisticated lout of a character with the classy charmer who is wooing Bette was an excellent move--particularly in how this played out in the end.

A typical Cangey film with some very unusual plot elements and twists, this movie is just plain fun.