La città del peccato

I had the very great pleasure this Thanksgiving week of seeing one of my sentimental favorites from the good old Late Show days (nights), City for Conquest. I had not seen it in more years than I should like to remember, but, as I watched, it all came back to me. James Cagney, who has always been a great favorite of mine, plays Danny Kenney (they always seemed to give James Cagney's characters names like "Danny" or "Tommy"), who takes up boxing to finance his younger brother's music career. Sizzling Ann Sheridan is Danny's girlfriend, who has ambitions of her own in the wider world. And indeed Ann Sheridan was a wonderful dancer, and her numbers with Anthony Quinn are erotic in only the way a great dance team can be. Anthony Quinn (man, he was HOT! He looked a lot like Rudolph Valentino) plays a slime ball who fills Peggy's ears with what she wants to hear. They can be a sensational dance team as "Maurice and Margalo" and conquer the world. Of course, she winds up breaking Danny's heart and Danny winds up blind. Soap opera stuff, to be sure, but it WORKS! I believe I once read that Warner Brothers hired a professional boxer to coach James Cagney in this role. Not that he needed much coaching, considering his Hell's Kitchen background. The coach was impressed with Cagney and asked him where he got those moves. "I'm a hoofer," Cagney replied. In any case, if you can avoid bawling your eyes out at the end of City for Conquest," you are stronger than I am! A must-see!

The story begins in the tenements of New York, with two brothers, one an aspiring musician and the other a fighter, who already has a yen for a pretty young neighbor who is an aspiring dancer. Cut to some years later, and the boxer is James Cagney, the musician's Arthur Kennedy, and the young neighbor is Ann Sheridan. All three of them are on the way to making it in their chosen careers, but in doing so, Sheridan's character falls in love with a sleazy ballroom dancer (Anthony Quinn). Cagney makes it big in boxing in order to help fund his brother's music career, before tragedy brings the three back together.

Cagney is Cagney as ever, but Sheridan seems a little too genteel as his tenement-bred girl - although that's partly the point - and I kept wondering why they didn't pick a dancer for the part. Whenever they need a dance number, they either shoot it from the waist down or cut to a long shot. It's too bad WB didn't have Rita Hayworth under contract - she would have been ideal, and a much better fit than the role she was doing over at Columbia at that time, in Ben Hecht's Angels Over Broadway (1940). Arthur Kennedy as the musical brother doesn't make a huge impression, but it's interesting to see Elia Kazan in a small role.

It has great camerawork with a great sense of the late 30s. I didn't realize until afterwards that the great James Wong Howe had a hand in this, but it figures. It's one of those films that feels like it fell a little short of its lofty ambitions, but it's so handsome that I hardly cared.

City for Conquest (1940)

*** (out of 4)

James Cagney's brilliant performance is the highlight of this film about a boxer (Cagney) who risks it all for the love of his girl (Ann Sheridan) and his brother (Arthur Kennedy). It's rather amazing at how great Cagney can be in so many different type of roles. Yes, he mainly played wise guys but whenever he broke this mode he just shows what a great actor he was and that's certainly true with his performance here, which has to rank as one of the greatest of his career. The transformations his character goes through is certainly a juicy role for an actor and Cagney nails all of the different moods without any problems. When the boxer starts to lose his site is when Cagney really shines and his performance here is brilliantly done. I'm not sure what they did to Cagney's eyes but whatever they did looked terrific. I didn't care too much for Sheridan as I thought she brought the film down and a better actress would have suited the film better. The supporting cast is excellent and features nice performances by Kennedy, Frank Craven, Donald Crisp, Frank McHugh and George Tobias. Anthony Quinn is terrific in his role as Cagney's rival and future director Elia Kazan also shocked me with how great he was. The big boxing scene was brilliantly filmed and looked extremely well bringing in all sorts of intense action. The ending is pretty hokey but otherwise this is a highly impressive little film.

"City For Conquest" is the story of five New York street kids who grow up and pursue their respective dreams. The film opens with an "Old Timer" (Frank Craven in a role similar to one he played in "Our Town" the same year) commenting on the story. He pops up at different point in the story to add his commentary.

Danny Kenny (James Cagney) is content with his life as a truck driver. He has been carrying the torch for Peg Nash (Ann Sheridan) since they were kids. She has ambitions of becoming a professional dancer. Mutt (Frank McHugh) is Danny's pal with no ambitions of his own but to follow Danny wherever that may lead. Googi Zucco (Elia Kazan - yes THAT Elia Kazan) grows up to be a prominent gangster after Danny helps him out on his release from prison. Eddie Kenny (Arthur Kennedy in his film debut), Danny's brother is an aspiring classical composer.

One night at a dance contest Peg meets "65th St. sharpie" Murray Burns (Anthony Quinn). They win the contest and Burns offers Peg the chance to fulfill her dream to become a professional dancer. Peg signs a contract with Burns' manager (Charles Lane) and the team sets out on the road to success. Danny meanwhile is talked into becoming a professional boxer. After defeating contender Kid Callaghan (Bob Steele), Danny is signed up by promoter Scotty MacPherson (Donald Crisp). Danny hopes that his success will bring him closer to Peg and that he will be able to support his brother's ambitions as well.

Both Peg and Danny become successful. Peg is offered a chance to play the big clubs and earn $850 a week. Danny meets her again one night and is given the impression that Peg is ready to marry him. Unfortunately for Danny, Peg chooses her career over marriage and leaves him in the lurch.

Peg becomes even more successful and Danny, despondent over the loss of Peg pushes Scottie for a title fight. Then tragedy strikes.

The last third of the film is a melodramatic typical Hollywood tear jerker. Cagney's performance, especially in this segment is outstanding. Sheridan, one of the few actresses of the day that could hold her own with Cagney is also compelling. Quinn also stands out as the oily dancer.

Others in the cast include George Tobias as Pinky, one of Danny's handlers, Lee Patrick as Gladys who befriends Peg, Jerome Cowan and Georgr Lloyd as gangsters, Ward Bond as the cop in the opening sequence, Frank Faylen as a band leader and Laurel & Hardy's favorite drunk Arthur Houseman as, you guessed it, a drunk.

Oddly enough, Cagney who was "just an old hoofer" doesn't get to dance in this film. He has to pretend that he can't dance instead.

With a first-rate cast, good boxing sequences, an excellent music score by Max Steiner, a smattering of romance and action sequences, this film has got to be one of James Cagney's best films. Besides, you get a chance to see Arthur Kennedy and Elia Kazan in their first film, and both are excellent. If Kazan weren't such a great director, he easily could have made a career as an actor. Be sure to notice the surprising scene where Anthony Quinn seems to force himself on Ann Sheridan, who pleads for him to stop as the scene fades. Surprising, because even an implied rape was against the strict code in 1940. I wonder how that scene got past the Hays Office.