Excellent, a Must See

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

The opening twenty minutes works well, with Cagney getting fired as a movie usher and getting taken into a gang by a lost purse/gambling scheme. At this point the movie starts to make wild jumps that throw all believably out the window. For example, Cagney threatens a group of cheap gangsters with exposure and they let him into the gang. In the next scene, he is head of the gang and they own an expensive nightclub. How did that happen?A wealthy woman shows up at the nightclub and for no particular reason the gang does a robbery of her house. Why pick a nightclub patron as their target? It doesn't make any sense. One of the gang kills somebody during the robbery. Up to this point, the movie has been comical, but this makes Cagney into a real criminal who has caused the death of a maid. The movie turns dark and mildly suspenseful for about 15 minutes.The movie then goes completely off the tracks by having Cagney arrive in Hollywood and suddenly be picked to play an extra in a motion picture. The movie turns back into a comedy. Cagney is satirizing Cagney the actor, but this completely undercuts Cagney the gangster character in the first half of the movie.The first half of the movie is really a bad remake of "Blonde Crazy" (1931). That movie has Cagney as a conniving hotel bellhop, just as this movie has him as a conniving movie usher. In that movie too, Cagney is tricked by a scam into becoming part of a group of gangsters.That movie also makes some leaps, but it doesn't run out of ideas half way through as this movie does, or fall into a chaotic mess as this movie does.With the minor exception of Mae Clarke, the other actors are quite forgettable in their roles.

A tough guy turns gangster, but ends up a fall guy for the gang. Getting a break, he goes to LA where he winds up a movie star thanks to his tough demeanor. But can he escape his past.I love it when Cagney snarls at double-crossing crook Dumbrille. It's the classic tough guy in fine form. But whose idea was it to dude him out in foppish period costume, then curl his hair, and finally talk about gay parties getting busted. Of course, by that time, he's playing a foppish role in a movie. In short, it's all a put-on since he's now playing a role. Still, I expect the pre-Code innuendo was somebody's inside joke. Trouble is Quigley (Cagney) can't shake his gangland associations once he turns movie celebrity. Nor can he shake a double-crossing moll Mae Clarke once he starts romancing movie queen Margaret Lindsey.The gangland action is pretty standard, pepped up by Cagney's rough edges like manhandling the devious Clarke. However, once he gets into Hollywood, the movie-making sets are a lot of fun. Sort of like seeing how dreams are made, including the one we're looking at. And how about those antique flivvers flying down the road, as everybody's chasing everybody else at movie's end. Half the fun of these oldies is catching the styles of the day. No, this one's not as captivating as The Public Enemy (1931). Still, it's got the Irish dynamo in his prime, backed up by Warner's "ripped from the headlines of the day" production team. So what else can an old movie freak like me ask for.

James Cagney has a Field Day with this Crime-Comedy Appearing in Various Costumes (French Dandy, Indian Chief) as He Goes From Petty Crime to Movie Star in this Odd but Entertaining Pre-Code Movie that has some Racy Dialog Mixed in with a Whole Lot of Fun.It's Not a Great Movie but Mae Clarke Adds Some Spice and the Whole Cast is In On the Joke as Things Go Wildly From Hither to Yon as Nothing but Pure Entertainment. It's a Hoot of a Hollywood Self-Parody and Cagney Fans will Love it.Overall, Others May Find it Dated and be Slightly Offended by Some Political Incorrectness. Animal Abuse and Some Rough Treatment of the Weaker Sex. But the Snappy Dialog and the Sheer Absurdness to it All Make it a Must See for Film Buffs and those that Like Their Movies Breezy and Bawdy.

Thought I had seen all of James Cagney's films, but this film was a complete surprise to me and I enjoyed the unbelievable talents of Cagney in this film which is filled with comedy and drama. Cagney plays the role as Dan Quigley who is an usher in a movie house and gets himself fired for not abiding by the rules. Dan meets up with a bunch of con-men who try to cheat him out of fifty bucks and he discovers their racket and then decides to join them in other crooked adventures. Dan decides to go to Los Angeles, California and is soon discovered by a Hollywood producer who needs a person who looks like a crook and so Dan starts getting some bit parts in films and begins to be discovered as a great actor. Dan also meets up with Myra Gale, (Mae Clarke) who is a big film star and they get along just great until Lois Underwood, (Margaret Lindsay) is found in his bedroom by Myra and the relationship cools off rather quickly. This is a very entertaining film and Cagney is at his very best as far as I am concerned.