newyorkette

Cagney at his most glitteringly insane. The train’s headlight piercing the first shot. The lip permanently curled into a gangster snarl. As Cody, addressing his earnest sidekicks, “Just do it! Stop the gabbin!’,” and “Why don’t you give him my address too?” The first shot of gangster-moll Virginia Mayo, snoring. Cagney’s quasimodo-ish but strangely effective head-clutching and moaning. Pre-Actor’s Studio criminal insanity. “Top of the world, ma!” The best explosive ending till Dr. Strangelove.
Just watched it for the upteenth time: White Heat, 1949, dir. Raoul Walsh, of course.
For another favorite, His Girl Friday, see Em’s love-rant, we seem to have been doing the same thing tonight: [Emdashes]

Posted Friday, February 24th, 2006 at 2:30 am under art, literature & other distractions. Feel free to trackback from your own site. All images on newyorkette.com are the intellectual property of Carolita Johnson, and you must ask (and receive) express permission to use them or reproduce them in any way whatsoever.