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Title: "He used to be a big shot."
Review: James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart are WW I buddies from the wrong side of the tracks; when they come home from the war they get involved in bootlegging. The impression offered is that Cagney is really just a victim of his environment and circumstances, that he's a good guy at heart. He falls in love with a girl from Mineola, though of course the match can never work. Bogie's role is very straight-forward: he's a sadistic killer. Cagney, as always, brings more to his role as Eddie Bartlett than expected - the bad guy with the good heart who finally does the right thing at the end. The bright, tough-guy dialogue is sparkling. The movie is very good; even the nightclub singing by Priscilla Lane, Cagney's flame, is good - MELANCHOLY BABY and IT HAD TO BE YOU in particular. Gladys George gets to say the classic end-line over Cagney's dead body lying on the church steps in the snow: "He used to be a big shot." Definitely worth a watch.
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