First up is City for Conquest (1940) which features James Cagney and an impossibly young Arthur Kennedy as city lads whose struggles for fame, fortune and artistic expression are earned largely through Mr. Cagney's fisticuffs in the ring. Never mind that it costs Jimmy the Martyr his youth, his health, and his girl, (a never more fetching Ann Sheridan). It's tough when ya bruddah wants to be George Gershwin, but maybe it was all worth it, ya know? This pip is on tonight, Nov. 12th at 9:45PM ET. It will also be repeated on Jan. 3rd, 2008 at 9:15AM ET.
According to Mr. Cagney's bios, the film was originally much more hard-hitting about the social issues of the inner city, but the Robert Rossen script from an Aben Kandel novel was eviscerated by the Brothers Warner for, ahem, commercial reasons, (they wimped out). James Wong Howe's beautifully lit cinematography enhances this movie every step of the way as wellThe soaring Max Steiner music is a lively pastiche of Debussy meets Gershwin, and good actors breathe considerable life into the fast-moving proceedings.
Donald Crisp as a sterling fight manager who could've taught ethics at Harvard Law School is a treat, as is Anthony Quinn as a scum-bucket dancer who leads poor Annie astray with dreams of fame, a delightful Lee Patrick is swell as a heart of gold chorine and not to be missed is Elia Kazan as a likable hoodlum with honor in one of his few screen roles. If you're not misting up at the last scene, better check your pulse.
Next up is Blues in the Night (1941) on Wed., Nov. 14th at 8PM ET. This film is sometimes considered a precursor to film noir, and features a large cast with some particularly vividly drawn characters, a fatalistic mood, and moments of unexpected tenderness. Director Litvak again uses Elia Kazan as one of a ragtag band of musicians. Litvak blends the elements of a road movie such as Wellman's Wild Boys of the Road (1933), with the plot of a musical focusing on an attempt by jazz musicians to scrape by in a harsh, venal world while remaining true to their muse. Some great patches of music, mostly courtesy of Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, are very effective, and this part of the story is especially fine when Priscilla Lane, as the wife of n'er do well musician with flair, Jack Carson, sings "This Time the Dream's on Me". The rest of the cast is highlighted by a dynamite performance from a short-fused, would-be user Lloyd Nolan, a wonderful part for Wallace Ford as a sad loser, and a rather demented turn by a very intense Betty Field as a destructive female. Billy Halop, Howard Da Silva and Richard Whorf round out the large cast. The cinematography by Ernest Haller is exceptional, and the montages courtesy of Don Siegel are worth seeing, especially during a hallucinatory sequence experienced by Richard Whorf that surely influenced several later, more polished noirs. It may not be a near masterpiece, but the energy and commitment of the actors to the material does dazzle. Blues in the Night will also be shown on Dec 28th at 2:15PM ET on TCM.
