James Cagney thrills in a rare (and limber) song-and-dance performance as composer-entertainer George M. Cohan. This nostalgic biography is told in flashbacks, covering Cohan's formative years becoming Broadway's brightest star and touching upon his loves, musicals, and artistic triumphs. Director Michael Curtiz (The Adventures of Robin Hood) offers Cagney ample opportunities to invent an utterly charming performance in what is practically a one-man show. If you've never seen Cagney as a hoofer, you're in for a treat: his dancing is as dynamic as anything else he's ever done on screen. --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): James Cagney - Joan Leslie - Walter Huston Director(s): Michael Curtiz DVD Release Date: Released the 30 September 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $26.99 Your Price: $21.59YOU SAVE $5.4!
Buy it
(Please note that the DVD edition I am reviewing is the bare-bones Laserlight release that features the film and precious little else.)
GREAT GUY is a fun film. It's not especially complicated or insightful; it won't give you a new perception into the depths of the human experience. But for a film that barely lasts for over an hour, it's an entertaining chunk of action that's well worth viewing.
Since the running time of this film is only an hour and six minutes (the back of the DVD package incorrectly lists this as 75 minutes) one won't be surprised to find that this isn't a terribly demanding movie. But it's certainly engaging, and it's quite enjoyable to watch James Cagney as an official in the Office of Weights and Measures going around thumping people who don't perform up to... More Info about this DVD Director(s): John G. Blystone DVD Release Date: Released the 30 January 2003 Special Order
List Price: $7.99 Your Price: $7.99YOU SAVE $0!
Buy it
Cagney is a crusading newspaper editor in 1930s Japan who's come into possession of the "Tanaka Plan" for world domination. Amidst political intrigue and crossed loyalties, Cagney must now find a way to warn the outside world. A fine, entertaining melodrama that's based in fact, with Cagney as good as ever, but this time with judo chops. If only the Japanese knew some kind of hand-to-hand combat, they might be able to stand a chance against Cagney. Dated only by its condescension toward the Japanese, Blood on the Sun never slacks its pace, providing quick-witted patter all along in the mark of the classic Hollywood style. It seems peculiarly American (in an inadvertent way, of course) that in the film's final moments the day should be saved by none other than Ward Cleaver (Hugh... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): James Cagney - Sylvia Sidney Director(s): Frank Lloyd DVD Release Date: Released the 19 February 2002 Usually ships within 24 hours
List Price: $7.98 Your Price: $7.98YOU SAVE $0!
Buy it
This gimmicky film noir stars Humphrey Bogart as an escaped criminal who undergoes plastic surgery and holes up at the home of Lauren Bacall's character while healing and preparing to prove his innocence. If you can last through the first half-hour of this thing--which is shot entirely from the subjective view of Bogart's bandaged face, which we don't see until later--you might find ample reason in the stars' performances to stick around for the conclusion. But director Delmer Daves (A Summer Place) tests a viewer's endurance with such an obvious, attention-getting ploy. The least of the Bogart-Bacall vehicles (The Big Sleep,To Have and Have Not, Key Largo). --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Humphrey Bogart - Lauren Bacall Director(s): Delmer Daves DVD Release Date: Released the 04 November 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $19.98 Your Price: $17.98YOU SAVE $2!
Buy it
By turns hard-nosed and ribald, They Drive by Night smashes through a vintage Warner Bros. yarn about truck drivers, the Depression, and one duplicitous dame. The opening reels are a forceful look at the dangerous lives of independent truckers (George Raft and Humphrey Bogart as brothers--Bogie in the supporting role, though he would soon eclipse Raft in Hollywood), battling the system and the economy. The final section veers into a less exciting murder frame-up, but Ida Lupino is so delicious as the Black Widow, it works. The robust humor of director Raoul Walsh dominates the film, with some truly hilarious double entendres aimed at outfoxing the censors. At the center of many such one-liners is Ann Sheridan, as a waitress who slings more than hash. It's close to being a classic,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): George Raft - Humphrey Bogart Director(s): Raoul Walsh DVD Release Date: Released the 04 November 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
List Price: $19.98 Your Price: $17.98YOU SAVE $2!
Buy it