Shhh, I have a secret. I like prison movies. Classic ones that is. I was just thinking about the movies I'’ve recoded off TiVo lately and it just dawned on me. In the past week or so I've watched Each Dawn I Die & 6,000 Enemies.Each Dawn is prime Jimmy Cagney. While he's not a gangster in this film, he lives, breathes & nearly becomes one when he'’s sent to prison.
6,000 Enemies, which is probably lesser known than Each Dawn, is just as entertaining. Walter Pidgeon stars as a DA who gets framed and sent to prison. In prison, he's surrounded by criminals he's sent to jail - hence the 6,000 Enemies. To gain the confidence of his fellow inmates, he'’s shoved into a legal boxing match against the jailhouse "leader"” (the criminal "“boss "– whatever you'’d call him). While Walter gets the crap beaten out of him, it'’s replaced with respect from the other inmates who wanted to kill him anyway. This film has the most rushed ending I'’ve seen in a classic film in a long time. I won'’t blow the ending for you though...
Posts
4 comments:
Each Dawn I Die is marvelous! Made me a Raft lover for life. I adore Cagney to pieces, especially when he's playing the gangster or generic hoodlum ( Angels With Dirty Faces, White Heat, Public Enemy.) But his early 30's non-gangster flicks are not to be missed as well (Footlight Parade, Taxi, Picture Snatcher, Blonde Crazy, The Crowd Roars etc....) He's tres sexy to boot. Can't wait to see Jimmy The Gent next month on TCM. Another one of my honeys ( Allen Jenkins) is in it too.
Yeah, I used to watch so many gangster movies that in HS my best friend nicknamed me "Rocky"
Ta-ha....
I also love 30's gangster films, but HATE stuff like The Godfather and The Sopranos. Go figure.
We're so alike it's scarry
Post a Comment