City for Conquest (1940)

City for Conquest is James Cagney at his finest. All the three gangsters of the silver screen had their own signature role, and James Cagney's was a charming scoundrel, a little rough around the edges, with a quick temper and a quicker punch, who always has a dame waiting for him when he gets out of prison. In City for Conquest, the plot doesn't exactly follow that archetype, but it's a fantastic vehicle for Jimmy's brand of star quality.The worst part of the movie is unfortunately the beginning, where Frank Craven, a homeless bum, narrates and unnecessarily sets the scene. He's pretty irritating, but thankfully he disappears for most of the movie. A group of kids are shown to the audience, foreshadowing their roles as grown-ups, and shortly afterwards, James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, and Arthur Kennedy grace the screen. Jimmy and Arthur are brothers, and while Arthur has a passion for classical music, they're pretty poor. Jimmy loves his brother, and he becomes a boxer, managed by his friends Frank McHugh and Donald Crisp, so Arthur can focus on his music instead of money. Life threatens to take the three stars in different directions when Ann meets Anthony Quinn in a nightclub. Tony is a ballroom dancer, and he wants Ann to be his new partner; while she's on the road dancing and Jimmy's on the road boxing, will they be able to keep their long-distance romance alive?Anyone who loves classic old movies, like Dark Victory and Casablanca, will love City for Conquest. It's fantastic in a way only old movies can be, with just a touch of melodrama that magically becomes realistic in the black-and-white scenes. Jimmy is excellent, making the audience cheer and cry, and radiating bursts of energy whenever he's on the screen. It makes sense that his romantic rival is Anthony Quinn; no one else would have the magnetism to compete against him. Young Tony is extremely handsome and darling, and when you see his dance talents in this movie, you'll laugh that he's most remembered by his dancing in Zorba the Greek. Ann Sheridan didn't get to be as famous another redheaded dancer, Rita Hayworth, but I like her infinitely better. She's prettier, has a better figure, is an equal dancer, and is a far superior actress. The third major lead in the film deserves a very special mention. City for Conquest was Arthur Kennedy's first movie, but you'd never guess it when you watch him. He was actually discovered by James Cagney, so that adds an extra level of sentimentality to see them play brothers in the film. Arthur mimes his piano playing very well, and his conducting is one of the best I've ever seen from an actor. It's hard to believe after playing the sweet, sensitive brother, that some of his most famous roles were villains-but if you want to start off on the right foot with him, rent this movie first. Then check out The Glass Menagerie!DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not your friend. In the first scene while Frank Craven is narrating, the footage of the city is shown at tilted angles and it might make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

Dedicated to his craft, Jimmy Cagney underwent a grueling twelve week training regimen to lose weight and get into shape as a prize fighter. At forty two, his weight had gone up to a hefty one hundred eighty pounds, but his enthusiasm for the film motivated him to drop thirty five pounds for the role. Apparently the film recognized his actual weight in fight posters in which he's listed as a hundred forty five pound welterweight."City For Conquest" was one of three pictures teaming Cagney with feisty Ann Sheridan. Both actors are personal favorites of mine, and "Angels With Dirty Faces" earns a spot in my personal Top Ten film list. Like 'Angels' this one will tug at your heartstrings at the finale, although the situations presented are significantly different. Reduced to selling newspapers after a vicious fight in which he loses his eyesight, Danny Kenny (Cagney) is overcome with joy at hearing a symphony his brother (Arthur Kennedy) wrote. Equally moving, Danny is reunited with his childhood sweetheart Peggy (Sheridan).The picture is non stop in terms of action and dialog. From the opening scenes, there's always a sense of hustle and bustle emanating from the streets and neighborhoods of the picture's locale, New York City. In that respect it's vintage Warner Brothers, brought to life by the crisp black and white photography of James Wong Howe and Sol Polito.Backing up the principal actors are veteran Warner contract players Donald Crisp and Frank McHugh along with a couple of casting surprises. Anthony Quinn appears as the suave but seedy dance partner who guides Sheridan's character to stardom, and future director Elia Kazan pops up in a small but significant role as one of Danny's friends who goes the gangster route as time goes by. I have to say, his performance seemed pretty natural to me and had he stayed with it, might have made his mark as an actor with the same success he achieved on the other side of the camera.As good as the film is, and as well as it was received by the public when it was released, this turned out to be a picture Cagney didn't like at all. Part of that stems from his relationship with director Anatole Litvak with whom he argued constantly over the story's interpretation. So much so that he even wrote a letter of apology to Aben Kandel, the writer of the novel on which the film was based. Whether true or not, Cagney swore at the time never to watch another one of his movies. I don't think I would have bet the ranch on that one.Cagney's last professional work occurred in the 1984 TV movie "Terrible Joe Moran", in which he portrays a retired boxer. That picture offers up a number of scenes in which Cagney is shown mixing it up in the ring and for the longest time I couldn't figure out where the footage came from. Now I know that those clips were inserted from the boxing scenes appearing in "City For Conquest".

City for Conquest (1940)Great credentials here, from director Anatole Litvak to photographers (two of them) James Wong Howe and Sol Polito. That's enough for any movie. And music by Max Steiner, and throw in James Cagney, and you get a sense of the rich tapestry of New York that gets better and better as it goes, with even a small (sensational) part by Elia Kazan and Arthur Kennedy's first role.Now it's a little stretch to see Cagney as a fighter--he's fit about as much as I am, and has no boxer's physique. But the movie is a hair lightweight in a heartwarming way (this is no Raging Bull, nor even James Garfield, later in the 1940s). But it creates a great milieux, just as the war is going in Europe and the Depression is ending in New York. The streets are abuzz, and love is in the air. There are a lot of 1930s era effects that are quaint--the fast montages of the city, or of dancers--and the plot itself, of a couple destined for each other but buffeted by life's usual distractions, is sweet.And it all unfolds with such well-oiled perfection, the same era as Kane and Casablanca, and the same studio system and film stock. Great stuff, well made, and overcoming whatever conventional sentiments that thread through it all. It's even enjoyable without the plot, the boatride at night (think Weegee), the street scenes with kids everywhere (think Helen Levitt). It's a surprisingly honest, vivid movie.

CITY FOR CONQUEST is one of those dated Warner Bros. melodramas from the '40s that gives JAMES CAGNEY another of his pugnacious fighter roles and ANN SHERIDAN is all career minded and good intentions while she is romanced by Cagney. ARTHUR KENNEDY does a standout job as Cagney's composer brother with his eye on the big time concert halls.The tale of New Yorkers with dreams shattered is briskly directed by Anatole Litvak but borders on the melodramatic at every turn. It does give Max Steiner a chance to compose a symphony (supposedly by Arthur Kennedy) that adds some conviction to the story of an ambitious composer.Sheridan and Cagney do nothing here that they haven't done countless times before in other Warner melodramas, with Sheridan alternating between tough and tender with her self-confident charm and Cagney showing the more sensitive side of his character whenever the script calls for it. The main trouble is the lumbering script, which reaches a climax with the big fight scene and then limps painfully toward a slow moving conclusion.It's strange to see upcoming director ELIA KAZAN doing nicely in a supporting role, along with DONALD CRISP, FRANK McHUGH, GEORGE TOBIAS, ANTHONY QUINN, FRANK CRAVEN, LEE PATRICK and THURSTON HALL but there's an uneven mix of boxing and music that somehow doesn't jell into a satisfying enough melodrama. The ending is sure to pull on the heartstrings but seems a bit contrived. Sheridan goes through the entire film lovingly photographed with tear-stained close-ups as she gazes at Cagney, never more so than at the end. Their last scene together is little more than a compilation of clichés.Not one of my favorite melodramas from the Warner mill.Typical line of '40s dialog from Ann Sheridan: "It's just like running through a dark alley and suddenly coming out in warm sunlight."