Showing posts with label James Cagney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Cagney. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

The Strawberry Blonde (1941)


The Strawberry Blonde (1941)

Biff Grimes would waltz with a strawberry blonde
And the band played on.
He'd glide 'cross the floor with the girl he adored
And the band played on.
But his brain was so loaded it nearly exploded;
The poor girl would shake with alarm.
He'd ne'er leave the girl with the strawberry curls
And the band played on.

Let's take a trip to New York City during the Gay Nineties with Raoul Walsh's film for Warner Bros. The Strawberry Blonde (1941). Adapted by screenwriting brothers Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein from a James Hagan play, the movie follows the story of two couples whose romances are complicated by one beautiful strawberry blonde.

Biff Grimes (James Cagney) is a struggling dentist, and not necessarily a very good one, trying to make ends meet for him and his wife Amy (Olivia de Havilland). He gets word that his old friend turned arch nemesis Hugo Barnstead (Jack Carson) is coming to him for some dental work. We flashback to when Biff and Hugo started fighting over the neighborhood cutie Virginia (Rita Hayworth). Thrown into the mix is Amy, a nurse with a progressive mindset. She clashes with Biff whose views are more traditional. We follow the duo as they naturally pair off and when things go sour for all involved. The story wraps up with one final encounter that leaves audiences satisfied.

Rita Hayworth, Olivia de Havilland, James Cagney and Jack Carson


The Strawberry Blonde has a fantastic cast. Among the four heavyweights that star in the film are some beloved character actors and familiar faces. Alan Hale plays Old Man Grimes, Biff's dad. He's a lovable rogue who can't hold down a job, loves a good bar fight and is a total flirt with the ladies. One object of his affection is Una O'Connor who plays a snooty neighborhood woman. Then there is George Tobias who plays Nicholas, a local barbershop owner and Biff's sidekick. He's also got an eye for the strawberry blonde but winds up with a giggle monster instead. George Reeves plays the punchy college man who picks a fight with Biff. Supposedly my favorite actress Susan Peters is in the film. After close examination I couldn't spot her. I suspect she's part of George Reeves' garden party harem but I can't confirm that.

"Freethinkers have a lot of time on their hands." - Amy

Of all the characters Olivia de Havilland's Amy was my favorite. She's a forward thinking suffragist who scoffs at societal gender norms. She eventually settles into a traditional life with Biff. This was another thankless role Warner Bros. threw at de Havilland in her post-Gone with the Wind days. She eventually broke free from the studio's contract after quite a battle. While this role isn't really worthy of her talent I think it's a fun role and in my opinion she outshines Hayworth's prim and proper strawberry blonde. I wasn't crazy about Hayworth at all in this film. Her character is beautiful but in the end rather pathetic. Her role is an example of how Hollywood sometimes tried to downplay her ethnicity.

This film has all the romance of the era. It's a nostalgia piece that pays tribute to the finer things of the Belle Epoque. There are barber shops, complete with barber shop quartets, ferry rides, beer gardens, saloons, gas lamps and horse-drawn carriages. The women wear Edwardian fashions and the men don boater hats, shirt garters, starched collars and big twirly mustaches. Orry-Kelly designed the costumes and they are of of course of top notch quality. Studios during the golden age of Hollywood would often take liberties with hair styles and clothing in period pieces but that's not the case here. Attention to detail lends to the historical accuracy of the style. It's a shame that the film is in black-and-white. Technicolor would have served it better.

This isn't a musical but music plays an important role here. Turn-of-the-century standards become the film's theme songs. Most notably The Band Played On plays a crucial part in the film. It gives the story its purpose, kicks off the initial drama and is both a boon and a curse for the main character Biff. The ending credits serve as a sing-a-long with lyrics and music encouraging the audience to sing The Band Played On. I've never seen this before and I thought it was quite fun.

The Strawberry Blonde (1941) benefits from a great cast, fun music, beautiful costumes, funny scenes, playful dialogue and an overall sweet story with a good dose of drama. There are some dull spots but overall it's a fun film. It tries to kick off with a bang but doesn't really get into a rhythm until the two female leads make their appearances. Regardless you should give this one a try. It's a fun movie for nostalgia buffs.


http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/6581483/type/dlg/https://www.wbshop.com/products/the-strawberry-blonde-mod

The Strawberry Blonde (1941) is available from the Warner Archive Collection on DVD-MOD.




Warner Archive Wednesday - On (random) Wednesdays, I review one title from the Warner Archive Collection. Thank you Warner Archive for sending me The Strawberry Blonde (1941) to review!

Sunday, October 19, 2014

New & Upcoming Classic Film Books (1)

 "I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book." - Groucho Marx

I've been on a reading frenzy lately and with so many good biographies and film books coming out I don't think I'll ever stop. It's so important for classic film enthusiasts to read and learn. It enriches the experience, develops the palate and informs the mind.

I've put together a list of new and upcoming classic film books. The publication dates range from September 2014 to March 2015 (specific on sale dates are subject to change). All title links lead you to the book's page on Goodreads. I've chosen a variety of books from big publishing houses to scholarly presses to small, indie and vanity publishers. This list contains biographies, reference guides, textbooks and more. Take a look through and maybe you'll find your next read.


edited by Randy Schmidt
Chicago Review Press
480 pages - September 2014


by Lesley L. Coffin
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers 
246 pages - September 2014 



by Gene D Phillips
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
204 pages - September 2014


John Wayne's Way: Life Lessons from the Duke
by Douglas Brode
Globe Pequot Press
128 pages - October 2014


A Companion to Fritz Lang
edited by Joseph McElhaney
Wiley-Blackwell
500 pages - October 2014


Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood
by William J. Mann
Harper
384 pages - October 2014


The 100 Greatest Silent Film Comedians
by James Roots
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
464 pages - October 2014


by Michael Slowick
Columbia University Press
400 pages - October 21st, 2014




by Peter Ackroyd
Nan A. Talese (Penguin Random House)
304 pages - On Sale October 28th, 2014




by John Kisch and Tony Nourmand
Reel Art Press
288 pages - On Sale October 30th, 2014




by William H. Mooney
Rutgers University Press
224 pages - On Sale November 3rd, 2014


by Marc Eliot
Dey Street Books
416 pages - On Sale November 4th, 2014


Hope: Entertainer of the Century
by Richard Zoglin
Simon and Schuster 
576 pages - On Sale November 4th, 2014


by Arthur Laurents
Applause Theatre & Cinema Books
192 pages - On Sale November 4th, 2014



by Ruth Barton
University Press of Kentucky
362 pages - On Sale November 5th, 2014


Early Poverty Row Studios
Images of America Series
by  E. J. Stephens and Marc Wanamaker
Arcadia Publishing
128 pages - On Sale November 10th, 2014


Anxiety Muted: American Film Music in a Suburban Age
by Stanley C. Pelkey and Anthony Bushard
Oxford University Press
320 pages - On Sale November 12th, 2014


 Grace: A Biography
by Thilo Wydra
Skyhorse Publishing
340 pages - On Sale November 18th, 2014


Saul Bass: Anatomy of Film Design
by Jan Christopher Horak
University of Kentuck Press
492 pages - On Sale November 18th, 2014 


edited by Anthony Slide
Columbia University Press
448 pages - On Sale November 25th, 2014


by Tim Snelson 
Rutgers University Press
224 pages - On Sale November 26th, 2014


Columbia Noir: A Complete Filmography, 1940-1962
by Gene Blottner
McFarland & Co
277 pages - On Sale November 30th, 2014



by James L Neibaur
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
228 pages - On Sale December 1st 2014



by Brent Phillips
University Press of Kentucky
368 pages - On Sale December 2nd, 2014



Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic
by Cecilia DeMille Presley and Mark A. Vieira
Foreword by Brett Ratner
Introduction by Martin Scorsese
416 pages - On Sale December 9th, 2014


Color and Empathy: Essays on Two Aspects of Film
by Christine Brinckmann
Amsterdam University Press
282 pages - On Sale December 15th, 2014



edited by Tom Hertweck
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
250 pages - On Sale December 16th, 2014



by Lea Jacobs
University of California Press

280 page - On Sale December 19th, 2014


Buster Keaton's Crew: The Team Behind His Silent Films
by Lisle Foote
McFarland & Co 
300 pages - On Sale December 31st, 2014


The Five Sedgwicks: Pioneer Entertainers of Vaudeville, Film and Television
by Michael Zmuda
McFarland & Co 
277 pages - On Sale December 31st, 2014



by Kristen Hatch
Rutgers University Press
208 pages - On Sale January 2015


Dalton Trumbo: Blacklisted Hollywood Radical
by Larry Ceplair and Christopher Trumbo
University Press of Kentucky
640 pages - On Sale January 13th, 2015

 Art Direction and Production Design
edited by Lucy Fischer
Rutgers University Press
272 pages - On Sale January 19th, 2015


Cinema Civil Rights: Regulation, Repression and Race in the Classic Hollywood Era
by Ellen C. Scott
Rutgers University Press
288 pages - On Sale January 28th, 2015


A Filmgoer's Guid to In-Jokes, Obscure References and Sly Details
by Matthew Coniam
McFarland & Co
On Sale January 31st, 2015


by Michaelangelo Capua
McFarland & Co
On Sale January 31st, 2015




By Peggy Caravantes
Chicago Review Press 
208 pages (juvenile) - On Sale February 1st, 2015


Follies of God: Tennessee Williams and the Women of the Fog
by  James Grissom
Knopf (Penguin Random House)
416 pages - On Sale March 3rd, 2015


Hitchcock Lost and Found: The Forgotten Films 
by Alain Kerzoncuf and Charles Barr
University Press of Kentucky
248  pages - On Sale March 6th, 2015



by William Wellman Jr.
Pantheon
608 pages - On Sale March 10th, 2015


Lois Weber in Early Hollywood
by Shelley Stamp
University of California Press
401 pages - On Sale March 13th, 2015


Hitchcock a la Carte
by Jan Olsson
Duke University Press
288 pages - On Sale March 20th, 2015


Alfred Hitchcock: The Man Who Knew Too Much
by Michael Wood
New Harvest
144 pages - On Sale March 24th, 2015

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Cagney by Cagney

Cagney by Cagney
Doubleday
Paperback, 202 pages
Originally published 1976
ISBN 9780385520263

Barnes and Noble
IndieBound
Powell's

"Acting is work, nothing more or less than work, and it comes into existence only with work." - James Cagney

By 1976, at least three biographies had been written about the already legendary actor James Cagney. Frustrated by what he thought was the proliferation of misinformation, Cagney set out to write his on autobiography and gave it, what he refers to as, a "fatheaded title": Cagney by Cagney.

James Cagney tells the story of life from his humble beginnings as a poor kid growing up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to his career as a film actor to his retirement. Told in a conversational style, Cagney offers us lots of stories especially those of the ordinary folks who influenced him in his early years and the fellow actors whom he would befriend along the way. He spends a lot of time talking about his mother, probably one of the biggest influences in his life, his brothers, his sister Jeanne and a bit about his father, a mysterious figure who died when Cagney was coming into his adulthood. What we don't read very much about is his wife, Francis Willard Vernon, whom Cagney refers to as "My Bill", or about his two adopted kids James Cagney Jr. and Casey Cagney. At one point Cagney writes that his wife asked to not be included in the book but Cagney refused to oblige her request. It might be because of that request that he refrains from going into too much detail about their marriage. There is some detail but not a lot, and perhaps she also asked him to also keep the kids out of the book too. I would have liked to have read more about their relationship because it was a fruitful marriage that lasted a lifetime and Cagney was known to remain always faithful to his wife even with the temptations that Hollywood offered.

Instead, Cagney focuses a lot more on the kids he grew up with, his mother and siblings and his many Hollywood friends including his lifelong friend Robert Montgomery and other buds such as Pat O'Brien, Frank McHugh and Ralph Bellamy. He didn't get along with everyone and when he decides to say something negative about those people he usually doesn't mention them by name.

I'm not sure if Cagney had help writing his autobiography but he wasn't a stranger to writing and over the years penned numerous rhymes and limericks for various occasions. He includes many of them, both old and new, in the text. It gives the reader a sense of his personality: humorous with a playfully devilish side. Cagney was not afraid to speak his mind. He devotes a lot of the book to his frustrations with the studio system and with Warner Bros. in particular. He went on to become part of the Screen Actors Guild and also started his own production company (Cagney Productions) with his brother and business manager Bill Cagney. He also discusses the ups and downs of being an actor, the artificialness of Hollywood and even devotes a chapter to his politics (he went from being a Liberal to being a Conservative).

I learned a lot of interesting tidbits about Cagney while reading this book. He was raised Catholic however he ended up learning Yiddish and used his skills many times throughout the years. Cagney was never interested in being on TV but made a few exceptions including one for his friend Robert Montgomery who had a TV show. He had some disdain for his gangster pictures that he made with Warner Bros. and only really liked the song-and-dance pictures. He never watched any of his films except for those musicals and even then he only wanted to see the song-and-dance numbers. He considered his crowning achievement to be Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and it's the only film he spends a considerable time talking about. Cagney liked to think of himself as a song-and-dance man and not as a gangster. He also discusses his somewhat frustrating experience with One Two Three (1961) which was the last film he did before his retirement (he went on to do a couple more but they were after he wrote this biography).

I particularly liked some of the issues that Cagney explores in the book. He was very fond of nature and owned a farm in Massachusetts. He was particularly interested in issues of conservation and the protection of the environment and discusses his concerns with the building of highways in the 1970s. Cagney was also concerned about how the present society was so fixated on building up heroes only to break them down. It's such a part of our culture today that it's difficult to think of a time when this didn't happen. Cagney also gives some really good advice about living a long fruitful life after retirement: get some hobbies! He picked up painting, martial arts and farming after he stopped acting and his new hobbies kept him going for many years.

Even though the book was fun to read, I was a little disappointed with Cagney by Cagney. I really wanted to know more about his gangster movies, his wife, how he and Bill came to adopt their kids, etc. I have read a few memoir type books recently and have grown a bit weary of them. Actors are performers and their books are often another type of performance. They have an agenda and they want to appear a certain way and sometimes that gets in the way of what the reader really wants out of the book. However, I'm very glad I read it and I can set aside my disappointment and treasure this book for what it is. If I want more, I know there are other Cagney biographies out there for me to enjoy.

I bought this book new at Barnes & Noble and while it's still in print it looks like there are limited new copies available out there.

This is my third contribution to my 2013 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge!




Friday, May 24, 2013

Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Classics Blu-Ray Review


Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Classics Blu-Ray 
On Sale May, 21 2013
Buy on:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Best Buy
Warner Bros.

The Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Classics Blu-Ray boxed set went on sale this week. There is also a Contemporary version of the same set with 4 different movies. The Classics set includes four of the best original gangster movies including Little Caesar (1931), The Public Enemy (1931), The Petrified Forest (1936) and White Heat (1949).

Thanks to Warner Bros. I got a chance to review this set. I've had a Blu-Ray player for quite a while but haven't really been upgrading to Blu-Rays quite yet since so many classics are still only available on DVD. I was happy to get this on Blu-Ray because I love the quality even with black and white films.

This set comes with four Blu-Ray discs, each with one of the movies  Each Blu-Ray has some extras including commentary, an intro by Leonard Maltin, a newsreel, a short, a trailer and a featurette. I don't believe these extras are anything new and were most likely available in the previous editions of these films on DVD.

I had a Twitter conversation with some folks about DVD and Blu-Ray extras. Some folks didn't care about extras and others thought really good extras could make or break a set. I liked what Laura from Laura's Miscellaneous Musings had to say. She says the best DVDs or Blu-Rays with extras are like a "film school in a box". The extras add to your knowledge of the film and that time period. I agree with her. Those types of extras really add big value to a set. I wouldn't say that this Blu-Ray set is a "film school in a box" however it's a nice introductory set for people who like the gangster movie genre but didn't know much about these films to begin with. Perhaps a "gangster film intro class in a box".

The Blu-Ray set also comes with a Bonus DVD (note it's a DVD not a Blu-Ray) which has the feature-length documentary Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film. The documentary has interviews with notable film experts. I noticed that almost all of the talking heads were men except for Molly Haskell. I found the documentary a bit repetitive and I lost interest in it. I do think it has value perhaps for someone who is learning about these films for the first time. I'm definitely going to give the documentary another shot!

The set also comes with a 32 page 2-color booklet (black and white with gold) which includes some information about the time period, the gangster movie genre and the specific films. I'm always happy to see booklets in DVD or Blu-Ray sets because I think they add nice value to the set.

I would recommend this Blu-Ray set as a gift to someone who you think would appreciate early gangster movies. This would make a great Father's Day gift especially since that's right around the corner. However, I think women would enjoy this set too because I know I love gangster films and can't get enough of them! Also, if you are a classic film enthusiast looking to encourage someone to watch more old movies, I think this would be a great way to convert them. The real value of this set is as a gift or as a collector's item.





I loved revisiting Little Caesar (1931), The Public Enemy (1931) and The Petrified Forest (1936). I was especially moved by The Petrified Forest and I connected with the film on this viewing in a way I hadn't done so before. The message of personal freedom and independence of spirit really struck me. White Heat (1949) is one of those films I always thought I had seen but really had not. It comes pretty late in the era of gangster movies and is famous for the last scene with James Cagney saying "made it Ma, top of the world!". I enjoyed White Heat immensely. I love Cagney and one of my favorite actors Edmond O'Brien plays opposite him. There are a lot of O'Brien haters out there. I know a particular blogger who found the worst picture of him she muster up to demonstrate how gross he was. Pshaw! Just watch O'Brien in White Heat and you'll learn to appreciate him. White Heat is such a fantastic film and I'm glad I got a chance to see it. And with this set you get three of the best actors at the top of their game playing the gangster roles: Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney.

Thank you to Warner Bros. for sending me a copy of this set to review!



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