The Roaring Twenties. Raoul Walsh. 1939.
Hm! Raoul Walsh? That name sounds really familiar, but perhaps I’m thinking of… something else…
Oh wow!
It’s like three movies a year for decades. He directed 120 movies in total, according to imdb. I think I’ve seen at least a handful of these movies… but I’m guessing he was somebody the studios considered safe, reliable and… cheap?
His imdb pic is awesome.
Anyway.
Cagney! Bogart! In a ditch!
This is just awesome. It’s so snappy, witty and fresh — there’s not a millisecond wasted; it’s all repartee, action or montage.
This is so good! Walsh is a genius!
OK, it cooled down a bit from the stunning first half hour, and now it’s a bit plot heavy. Several love interests, betrayals, complications…
I mean, it’s really good, but it’s no longer “whoa”.
Cagney is absolutely stunning, though — I’ve never seen him this much just… going for it.
So…
… many…
… fantastic…
… shots.
Fantastic.
This blog post is part of the 1939
series.