It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The adverts announced at the time:"CAGNEY MEETS A RAFT OF TROUBLE IN 'EACH DAWN I DIE' " And indeed he does.If you can forget aboout the plot holes and improbabiliities, this is still a very entertaining gangster flick, made right at the end of the cycle and in the same year as THE ROARING TWENTIES (in which James Cagney sparred with Humphrey Bogart in what is the best prohibition drama ever made).Though not as good as THE ROARING TWENTIES, EACH DAWN I DIE is still a cracking film. The main pleasure is in watching a superb ensemble cast of Warner contract players all at the top of their form, supporting Cagney and Raft who are clearly enjoying their only chance to act together (they had been friends since vaudeville days).Warners clearly aimed to out do THE BIG HOUSE (1930) the famous early talkie that was perhaps the first film to show life inside a penitentiary. There's plenty of action here and the pace is fast. Maybe Mike Curtiz would have given it even more zip than Willam Keighley, always a somewhat pedestrian director in my opinion.Of course the final third of the film becomes a tad cliched and overly sentimental but that was fairly typical of the times (it would not play today).It's also great fun spotting the different sets on the Warner backlot that were re-used in this film. There's allso a good punchy score by Max Steiner who, for some weird reason, gets no on-screen credit.Pretty Jane Bryan acquits herself well as Cagney's girlfriend (1939 was a great year for her, with her outstanding performances in THE OLD MAID and WE ARE NOT ALONE). In the scenes where Cagney is in 'the hole' and later, pleading with the probation board, we even get a hint of his portrayal of Cody Jarrett (White Heat) that is still ten years ahead in the future.Thoroughly enjoyable and well worth seeing, for all lovers of these stars and Warner Bros crime dramas.

"Each Dawn I Die" may not lend itself to realism but your typical film-goer doesn't look for plausibility in a plot. He/she is hoping to be entertained and if any part of a film is well made, then so much the better. James Cagney was now having much more of a say in his choice of films at "Warner Bros." and some of his choices between 1938 and 1942 are amongst his very best. He gives "Each Dawn I Die" everything he has got and more. He is a journalist who is a victim of an elaborate set up after he threatens to expose the District Attorney regarding allegations of corruption. Cagney finds himself found guilty on a trumped up charge of manslaughter and is sent to prison. There he struggles to maintain hope that his name shall be cleared by the hard efforts of those who believe in him. Cagney is convincing as someone who is rather vulnerable as well as being tough and is the performance to watch. Whilst in prison, he befriends convict George Raft and other inmates besides. All kinds of turmoil occur in the film's running time, not to mention the gritty moments as well. The script is perfectly OK for what the film is and the sets uses for the prison serve their purpose effectively. The build-up to the climax is very good and the climax itself is shattering. Cagney and Raft work well together and it's a shame they weren't in more films together. For Raft, "Each Dawn I Die" was one of his stronger vehicles. Watch and enjoy!

Directed by William Keighley, with a screenplay written by Warren Duff and Norman Reilly Raine, this drama features James Cagney, George Raft, and Jane Bryan (among others). What begins as a fairly interesting story becomes rather muddled and unbelievable toward its end, though it's definitely NOT formulaic. However, there's no faulting the acting whether it's Cagney's intensity, Bryan's commitment, or Raft's tough guy persona.Cagney is a newspaper writer who upsets the wrong people as he's trying to expose graft and corruption linked to some local officials (Thurston Hall, and Victor Jory). So, he's knocked on the head and put in a runaway automobile with a broken bottle of alcohol. The car runs into another car which turns over and bursts into flames, killing its three young occupants. Cagney is therefore wrongly accused and sent to the "big house" for 1-20 years. Bryan plays his girlfriend (Selmer Jackson appears briefly & uncredited as his editor) who works to get him out of prison.On the way to prison, Cagney meets gang leader Raft, who has a grudge against another tough on the inside named Limpy (Joe Downing). Max Rosenbloom plays Red, one of Raft's gang who's also in prison; Clay Clement plays Raft's lawyer. George Bancroft plays the honest Warden Armstrong, perhaps the fourth biggest role in the film; Willard Robertson and John Wray play tough guards who aren't above prisoner abuse. Stanley Ridges, Edward Pawley, and Paul Hurst play other convicts.Cagney looks the other way while Raft knifes Limpy, though he later denies doing it. After Bryan visits Cagney in prison, and brings his mother (Emma Dunn), Cagney agrees to help Raft escape. When Raft escapes, because Cagney had alerted his press friends to be ready for it, Cagney ends up having to go to "the hole" where he goes somewhat crazy for the injustice of it all. Because he won't admit to helping Raft, Bryan's appeal to Raft, now on the outside, for assistance is heard loud and clear. In an effort to feel like a "square guy" for once, like Cagney, Raft works to clear the newspaperman which leads to him actually giving himself up to get back into prison in order to locate Polecat (Alan Baxter), a con that had been one of Limpy's gang. Obviously it's at this point where the believability of the plot is lost.

William Keighley directed this memorable prison drama that stars Jimmy Cagney as newspaper investigative reporter Frank Ross, who was looking into political corruption and racketeering when he is knocked out, then framed for manslaughter after they make it look like he was a drunk driver. Frank at first handles this injustice with his head held high, but despite his paper's determination to prove his innocence, he grows increasingly bitter and despondent as time passes, and he is subjected to isolation. He does befriend gangster Stacy(played by George Raft) whom he helps escape to prove him innocent, but that help comes at a high price... Well-acted and compelling film may not be entirely realistic, but viewer will likely overlook that because of the storytelling skill on display here, and features one of Cagney's best performances.