Post by rmichaelpyle on Aug 14, 2009 5:16:54 GMT -6
Last night I watched the pre-cursor of "Crime School" (1938) with Bogart which I reviewed about a week ago or so. I watched James Cagney in "The Mayor of Hell" (1933), about a wardheeler who's given the chance to run a reform school, and who takes the job on rather nonchalantly, then finds that it's his metier, especially when he runs into an inmate who's a lot like he might have been as a kid. This version of the show is dynamite, although it has parts which seem somewhat truncated, probably due to budget. I'm a fan of the Bogart version, but this one is even more dynamic, especially the parts played by Cagney and Frankie Darro, an actor who should be far better remembered than he is. This was made the same year Darro made "Wild Boys of the Road", a genuine classic if ever there was one. Darro seemed to be on a roll, but his size, only about five feet tall, kept him from getting prime parts, and kept him playing juveniles for most of his prime career. He came back after a few years hiatus and played jockies and the like for a couple of more decades. Anyway, he's the leader of a gang of boys, all whom are caught beating up a gentleman in his store, taken to court, and many of them sentenced to reform school. Cagney comes in and cleans up the school run by nasty Dudley Digges (playing his part to evil perfection), falls for lovely Madge Evans, and in the end all is well. Also in the cast are Sheila Terry and Allen Jenkins in roles which are rather ill-defined, Arthur Byron as a hard-nosed judge who doesn't necessarily like Cagney (just the opposite of the Bogart version where the judge is a friend of Bogart), Edwin Maxwell, Harold Huber, and a host of great character actors and actresses. Best scene in the show is a tear-jerker: one of the boy's mother in front of the judge cracking under the sentence of her boy being sentenced to reform school. She's heart-rending. Overall a great show. Still holds up rather well, especially under the dynamic characterization by Cagney. I bought this from Warner Brothers at the same time I bought the Bogart version, although the Bogart version was part of the new Warner Archive releases. This one is not. It's simply one of Warner's standard releases, this one coming out about a year or so ago with several other Cagney releases. If you like Cagney, and who doesn't unless they just can't stand cocky, look for this one.
