That was an excellent one.

Thanks for the memories!

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

I doubt that any other film of the time had as many boisterous crowd or mob scenes as this one. So Cagney better be a human dynamo or he'll be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, whether it's crowds in big watering holes or lynch mobs hurtling down streets. It's Gold Rush Frisco of the 1850's. On the low end of town is the Barbary Coast, about as sinful and noisy as waterfronts get. On the high end of town are the swells and well-dressed folks, and by golly, never the twains shall meet. That is, until Cagney's ambitious low-born Bat Morgan schemes his way into both worlds and criminally networks them. Seems he's good at everything, except winning the hand of the classy Miss Barrat (Lindsey) who won't buck the social distance lying between them. So what will happen once his contrived empire starts to sprout holes.The flick's typical WB from the period—fast, tough, and not too sentimental. Cagney's Cagney, a pint-sized dynamo if ever there was one. He's about as dominating a character as Hollywood has had and perfect for the part. The plot-line itself is not too plausible, but the spectacle does compensate. I wish more time was spent on the details of Bat's scheming and social climbing. After all, that was Cagney's movie appeal-- his lower class drive against all odds.On the other hand, catch Ricardo Cortez as the one truly slick crook of the bunch. But what about Solly's (Stone) relationship with the domineering Bat. They're buddies, sure, but catch Solly's expressions when the two get close to one another. Too bad about the facile ending which is typical Hollywood of the Code period. Had the movie been made a pre-Code two years earlier, I wonder if the ending would have been the same.All in all, the storyline is pretty disjointed, really needing a longer runtime for its networking and class themes to develop. There's also the anti-lynching element that doesn't really grieve— after all, the victims are hardly innocent. However, it's really crowd atmospherics and Cagney, that's worth catching up with. Anyway, I expect every extra in Hollywood got a welcome WB payday, along with a chance to shout their lungs out.

Frisco Kid (1935) ** 1/2 (out of 4) The Barbary Coast in San Francisco is the setting in this story of Bat Morgan (James Cagney), the man who would become the countries first racketeer. This is a decent little film but there's not enough energy to keep things moving as well as it should. Cagney, with a funky little haircut, is in good form but this is certainly not one of his greatest roles. The supporting cast is in good form and includes Margaret Lindsay, Ricardo Cortez, Donald Woods and George E. Stone. Cortez steals the show as the top guy in town but Stone adds some very good comic relief as Cagney's buddy. The highlight of the film is a terrific fight sequence between Cagney and a large man with a hook for a hand. The final twenty minutes deal with the city getting tired of the thugs and deciding to take the law into its own hands. We get another mob scene where they want to hang the bad men and this here is where the film should have taken off but things stay pretty bland and never get too exciting.

For James Cagney's second costume picture and first in a 19th century setting, Warner Brothers took him to San Francisco's Barbary Coast for the Frisco Kid. Cagney's first costume role was in the all star production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Unfortunately in production values it was lost in the acclaim for the more expensive Sam Goldwyn production The Barbary Coast. Personally though I think this film is better.Cagney is fresh off a sealing ship in for his first visit to San Francisco and nearly gets shanghaied for another long voyage. Kindly Jewish tailor George E. Stone rescues him and when Cagney kills Fred Kohler, the man who is in charge of the San Francisco shanghai racket, in a bar room brawl he gains a certain celebrity status.But no matter how far he rises in power on the Barbary Coast, Cagney can't get the woman of his dreams, society gal Margaret Lindsay. And the battle lines are getting drawn in San Francisco, isolated as it is from the rest of America pre-occupied with slavery and the Civil War.Director Lloyd Bacon had a sure feel for the mood and look of Gold Rush San Francisco. Besides those mentioned, you'll see some good performances from Donald Woods, Lili Damita, Barton MacLane, and most of all Ricardo Cortez. His death scene and attitude towards the vigilante mob is may be the highlight of the film.Warner Brothers more than most of the other major studios liked to recycle plots and situations. I think if one watches Frisco Kid, one will see elements of The Oklahoma Kid and The Roaring Twenties.And those are two pretty good Cagney films also.

This is not the best film ever made; but, like the curate's egg, it is good in parts.The scene is set not in the wild west but in the early 19th century Barbary Coast of San Francisco. Bat Morgan is a sailor who has just come off his ship but is shanghaied by a gang led by the hook-for-hand villain the Shanghai Duck. He escapes, kills the Shanghai Duck in a fierce fight, starts working for a local shark named Morra. Hethen works himself up to be a local big-shot. he gets involved in a murder in an opera house by using his influence to get Morra the murderer out of jail. Tired of the lawlessness, local lynch mobs are formed. Morra is hanged but Bat Morgan gets a last minute reprieve, after the intercession of his newspaper-owner girlfriend.The plot is patchy and gets silly towards the end, but is rescued by tight direction, catchy background music, and some pretty good performances by some of the cast. Although in my opinion Margaret Lyndsay is not up to much as the newspaper owner, and Damita has very little to do as Morra's live-in girlfriend, Cagney gives his usual 500 per cent in the leading role. The biggest surprise is Ricardo Cortez, once regarded as a Valentino lookalike in the silent films: he makes a superb villain. The fight to the finish with the Shanghai Duck has just got to be Cagney's greatest screen fight.Very watchable.