The James Cagney
Collection (Roan Group Set)
Picture: C
Sound: C Extras: C- Films: C each
James Cagney had quite a career and the early peak was at
Warner Bros., but also took some commercial risks by trying independent
productions or unusual projects. The
Roan Group has collected three of those films in a James Cagney Collection
of their own that is not his best work, but among the most unusual that did not
work that well.
The Time Of Your Life (1948) is set in San
Francisco and has William Bendix, Ward Bond, Broderick Crawford and a few music
numbers. That does not make it a
musical, but that could have helped.
Instead, the place that Nick (Cagney) runs is the kind where they pass
it off as one where “everybody knows your name” and does not always. The drama is flat and it just never picks
up, as the place is just a dump.
Something To Sing About (1937) is a more
explicit Musical with forgettable tunes, William Frawley and Gene Lockhart
about New York Big Band leader Cagney ready to take the big jump to
Hollywood. Unfortunately, none of it is
exciting or believable, with a low budget that seems to be the least of the
projects problems.
Blood On The Sun (1945) is the oft discussed
anti-Axis WWII propaganda adventure drama where Cagney learned judo (look out
Jackie Chan) in this tale of an America spy (Cagney) in Japan in the 1930s,
certain they are up to no good. Sylvia
Sydney, Rosemary DeCamp, Wallace Ford and Robert Armstrong help make this the best
and most memorable of the three films by default, but that does not stop this
one from being dated. The portrayal of
the Japanese is not either PC or un-PC and not enough of an issue to bother
anyhow.
The 1.33 x 1 image in all cases are both black and white,
as well as a little softer than one would want, though this was pressed back in
1999. The Dolby Digital Mono is at
least the 2.0 kind, but is down a couple generations in all cases. Extras include an alternate take and lost
footage from Time, which is a nice plus. Overall, this is for Cagney fans only, though I give him credit
for trying something different in these cases.
- Nicholas Sheffo
