That was an excellent one.

Please don't spend money on this.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

James Cagney is public investigator "Johnny", investigating a violent attack on Mr. Green, who is now in the hospital. Some pretty rough editing, or maybe it's just the fact that most copies are now in public domain, so the copies are pretty shoddy quality. We watch Johnny as he goes shopping and catches the clerks ripping off the customers in almost every department. Almost more of a documentary, this highlights how the public officials are keeping an eye on the stores and gas stations, to make sure the customer gets his money's worth. mildly interesting. I guess before they started officially checking up on businesses, companies were probably ripping people off left and right. Subplot with Johnny making wedding plans with Janet (Mae Clarke). a very small part of the film, to lighten things up. Shown on the Midnight Movies channel. It's okay. no big deal. Directed by John Blystone, who worked with Laurel and Hardy.... but died quite young at 45. heart attack. Story by James Grant... Grant had died in 1966, but earned so many credits after his death, right up to 2009!

. . . documenting how pretty much every American business in 1936 was short-changing its customers by 3% to 50% (the higher percentage always was in effect when defenseless orphans were involved) on EVERY transaction. Law enforcement existed primarily to squelch any dissent, destroy all evidence of greedy gouging, and to liquidate any particularly troublesome followers of the Ten Commandments. In GREAT GUY, James Cagney portrays the title hero, the one honest man left in the U.S., the chief deputy of New York City's Weights and Measures Bureau. He's under constant physical attack and lethal threats in GREAT GUY, and doesn't seem long for this world. America always has fancied herself "The City on a Hill," but if the Second Coming came tomorrow, GREAT GUY shows how the whips would be flying as a lot more than the money changers' tables got overturned. Things are far worse now than in 1936. Gasoline prices SPIKE as the value of a barrel of oil nose-dives and record inventory fills every storage tank available. Food packagers put less and less product in bigger and bigger containers. I recently bought a pair of jeans from America's largest retailer, and the pockets turned out to be weaker than this national chain store's brand of facial tissues. Laws seem to be written to allow the One Per Cent to filch and hoard 99% of the country's wealth. Are we Mice, or are we Men? Watch GREAT GUY to see the Fat Cats licking their chops!

Silly title doesn't hurt the charming performances and a story that holds together to make this a better than average picture for 1936. James Cagney introduces us to the corruption and thuggery of the rough and tumble world of... weights and measures. It's not quite a mystery, not an action picture, and pretty tepid for a thriller, but the story moves along and the characters and dialog are likable. Edward Brophy as Cagney's old boxing rival-turned-pal is fun, and the villains are the right combination of bureaucrats and thugs for Cagney to trade barbs and blows with. Mae Clark is a suitably smart fiancée for our hero, altho their bickering doesn't bode well for their future life together (Cagney has a couple of nice lines about her choice of hats). The plot revolves around Cagney, as Johnny Cave, taking over the Bureau of Weights and Measures when his boss is struck by a car. His crackdown ruffles feathers and gets him in trouble with types that can hurt his career--or his head. He perseveres as only Cagney can, with angry Irish swagger.

The interesting role for James Cagney is probably the main reason to watch "Great Guy". The role in itself is a fairly uncommon one for a leading role, and Cagney gives it his own distinctive style. The movie overall is a solid if rather predictable crime drama, with a couple of interesting details.Cagney plays a new official in charge of the bureau of weights and measures, which is a relatively creative choice for a movie hero. As Cagney goes about investigating various instances of fraud, his character gradually takes on more and more of the tough guy persona that you associate with Cagney. At the same time, the stakes become ever higher in his battle with the sources of corruption.The supporting cast is adequate, but they are generally overshadowed rather easily by Cagney. Mae Clarke is relatively appealing as Cagney's fiancée, but she mostly has to react to situations, since the script and dialogue don't give her much more to work with.The movie as a whole largely follows a familiar pattern, and with a lesser star it would have been a rather routine affair. Cagney brings it up a couple of notches, and his own performance certainly won't disappoint anyone either.