Each Dawn I Die (1939)

This is one of the best of the late 30's Warner Bros crime movies starring Jimmy Cagney with a very impressive supporting performance from George Raft. The seldom seen movie is a recent DVD release on the Warner Bros label and is available both separately and in the set Warner Gangster Classics Vol 2.

As the 30's began sound was introduced into the movies and Warner's quickly released a couple of gangster movies that still hold up today: Public Enemy starring James Cagney and Little Caesar starring Edward G Robinson.

These movies established Warner's as THE gangster studio and the censors began to lobby the Hays Office to stop the production of movies that glorified the gangster.  It was a legitimate concern and after a few years Warner's began to modify their storylines to emphasize the law enforcement angle or the crusading reporter angle rather than showing the gangster and making him an attractive character in his own right.  This was a bit of a ploy as Jack Warner and Hal Wallis still emphasized the robberies, car wrecks, shoot outs, and other action that Depression audiences craved only cloaking them thinly with a few shreds of socially significant commentary from the law enforcement viewpoint, for example.  Many of the greatest action movies ever made date from this era and if you like action movies the 30's - 40's Warner Bros catalog will be very interesting to you.

Each Dawn I Die starts out with a crusading reporter Frank Ross, played by James Cagney, who learns of corruption in the local government involving a candidate for governor but is framed in a very interesting scene where he is knocked cold, doused with whiskey, and put behind the wheel of a car with the accelerator floored. The car rockets through an intersection and t-bones another car killing three. The next thing you know, Cagney is sentenced to do the book for manslaughter in prison and the movie stays there for most of the running time.

George Raft stars as Hood Stacy a career criminal from a similar background to Cagney's character but each went their separate ways, Cagney to law abiding citizen and Raft to criminal. This is a common theme in movies but these two play it uncommonly well as guys drawn to each other by circumstances even though they were on different sides of the law by nature yet the justice system brought them together and they became an effective team and each comes thru for the other when the chips are down.  Raft, of course, was rumored to have ties to organized crime and was a known associate of Bugsy Siegel, who was one of the big NYC crime lords during the 30s and 40s.

Now Jimmy Cagney is one of the best actors who has ever been in pictures and has a repertoire of shtick that is truly remarkable. His little urchin's grin; other facial expressions; body language; athletic, cat-like moves; and mile-a-minute vocalizations with a thick NYC accent combine to make very memorable characterizations that cut to the chase.  A minute of running time by James Cagney is easily worth any ten minutes with a present day leading man.  There is simply no comparison and more people should become familiar with this actor's work. Crystal clear DVD is now available and once seen, you will no doubt be a fan.

Each Dawn I Die has a more complicated script and works out more complex problems than the earlier gangster movies but does so in a hard hitting fast moving way that only takes 92 minutes. If you watch this after the bloated uncertain-paced 2 ½ hour Public Enemies currently appearing in theaters, I'll bet you will prefer Each Dawn I Die by a large measure.

The Warner Bros DVD is available both separately and in the set Warner Gangster Classics Vol 2.  The DVD contains the very well preserved B&W movie in 4x3 theatrical format and running 92 minutes.  The DVD is in the Warner Night at the Movies format with several features that would have appeared with the feature presentation at the time it appeared in theaters in 1939.  The extras include: A full length commentary; a Looney Toons cartoon; a feature on Santa Anita Racetrack; a newsreel; a featurette on gangster lingo called Stool Pigeons and Pine Overcoats; and a radio broadcast with George Raft and Franchot Tone reenacting the play from Each Dawn I Die, as well as the theatrical trailer and some other stuff, too.

This is one of the top gangster/prison movies I've had the pleasure to see. Highly recommended.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening