Directed by:
Raoul WalshCinematography:
Sidney HickoxComposer:
Max SteinerCast:
James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Margaret Wycherly, Steve Cochran, John Archer, Wally Cassell, Fred Clark, Claudia Barrett, Harry Lauter (more)Plots(1)
Cody Jarrett (James Cagney) leads his gang to a mountain hideaway after a mail coach robbery on the California border ends with five men dead. With the law closing in, Cody falsely admits to a lesser crime committed at the same time in Illinois and goes there to serve his sentence. Not convinced by his confession, US Treasury investigator Philip Evans (John Archer), sends undercover agent Hank Fallon (Edmond O'Brien) to act as Cody's cellmate in the hope of uncovering more information about his crimes. Meanwhile, on the outside, 'Big Ed' Somers (Steve Cochran) is after Cody's gang and his wife Verna (Virginia Mayo) and has arranged to have his former leader killed in prison. However, determined not to rot in prison, Cody vows to escape and go after those who have wronged him. (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
(more)Reviews (2)
A cruelly masculine noir that in its day dominated action crime movies the same way Heat would do almost fifty years later. With an amazing pace, uncompromising editing and a script whose quality and plot creativity becomes all the more breathtaking the higher the number of derivative and dodgy gangster flicks you’ve seen. Cagney is great, but the others second him ably – the infiltrated cop even so ably that you end up rooting for him, even though the star is supposed to be Cagney's cold-blooded and loud-mouthed psycho. But that’s only a small weakness of an otherwise flawless genre movie. 90%
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James Cagney once again presents one of his villains, except this time he is a real psychopath with depth. And, of course, Cagney manages to portray the character perfectly. At first, it doesn't seem very remarkable, but that's just the clothing. Then the film completely takes over. A great symphony of a brilliant actor with excellent direction, leaving the viewer breathless.
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