This is a classic title from the Warner Bros studio released in 1939 and starring James Cagney and George Raft. Even by today's cynical standards, its premise of an innocent man emotionally tortured by serving time in jail for something he didn't do is, to put it bluntly - alarming. The action comes at a fast pace, and Cagney gives one of his great, iconic performances, as he runs the emotional gamut from A to B.
The story concerns a reporter who, by honestly writing stories about political corruption for his newspaper, is framed by a powerful politician for a crime he did not commit and is sent to prison. Nobody believes in his innocence besides his girlfriend and a well-connected gangster (George Raft), who surprisingly enough, sympathises, presumably having first hand experience of what corrupt politicians are really capable of.
'Each Dawn I Die' is such a difficult film to sit through because the audience is well aware of Cagney's innocence from the beginning and it is discomforting to see how he becomes institutionalised by the system when he shouldn't even be where he is. Cagney's futile efforts in submitting to prison discipline when he knows that he has been railroaded become heroic as the film cleverly manipulates the audience into seeing everything from his perspective only. Unfortunately, being the honest and innocent fellow that he is, the consequence of this injustice is that he appears to temporarily lose his sanity, and decides to join in a prison escape. The escape doesn't go to plan, and the ending is downbeat and not at all reassuring about the life Cagney can expect on the outside as a convicted criminal.
There is an interesting subplot concerning Raft's character and to what degree Raft will go, to assist Cagney to get back at the politician who framed him (with Raft and his gang's assistance.) It is astounding how nobody - except for his girlfriend and Raft, - believes that Cagney is innocent when it's clearly shown to the viewer that this is the case. This is supposed to arouse sympathy for the underdog and his cohorts in prison, but it becomes irritating when the audience has no reason to disbelieve what they have already seen at the start of the movie. There are plenty of fights, memorable characters and the typically bleak Warners depiction of prisons which are enough to make sure that anyone watching in the audience stays on the right side of the law. The more demanding viewer may have cause to wonder how often the scenario of this film may happen in reality or whether it's just a typical Hollywood beat-up. But why spoil such an entertaining movie?
Taken at its face value this film is an entertaining prison melodrama from the Golden Years of Hollywood and a good example of Warner Brothers renowned sense of realism in its portrayal of American working class life between the Great Depression and WWII. It was a subject that other studios wouldn't touch but for that very reason, the studio's fortune was made by these stories depicting lives of crime and others mistakenly caught in its web through no fault of their own. (Admittedly this does not happen often, but it is a movie that we're watching.) 'Each Dawn I Die' comes highly recommended for lovers of these kinds of films, as well as everybody else who enjoys being entertained.
The story concerns a reporter who, by honestly writing stories about political corruption for his newspaper, is framed by a powerful politician for a crime he did not commit and is sent to prison. Nobody believes in his innocence besides his girlfriend and a well-connected gangster (George Raft), who surprisingly enough, sympathises, presumably having first hand experience of what corrupt politicians are really capable of.
'Each Dawn I Die' is such a difficult film to sit through because the audience is well aware of Cagney's innocence from the beginning and it is discomforting to see how he becomes institutionalised by the system when he shouldn't even be where he is. Cagney's futile efforts in submitting to prison discipline when he knows that he has been railroaded become heroic as the film cleverly manipulates the audience into seeing everything from his perspective only. Unfortunately, being the honest and innocent fellow that he is, the consequence of this injustice is that he appears to temporarily lose his sanity, and decides to join in a prison escape. The escape doesn't go to plan, and the ending is downbeat and not at all reassuring about the life Cagney can expect on the outside as a convicted criminal.
There is an interesting subplot concerning Raft's character and to what degree Raft will go, to assist Cagney to get back at the politician who framed him (with Raft and his gang's assistance.) It is astounding how nobody - except for his girlfriend and Raft, - believes that Cagney is innocent when it's clearly shown to the viewer that this is the case. This is supposed to arouse sympathy for the underdog and his cohorts in prison, but it becomes irritating when the audience has no reason to disbelieve what they have already seen at the start of the movie. There are plenty of fights, memorable characters and the typically bleak Warners depiction of prisons which are enough to make sure that anyone watching in the audience stays on the right side of the law. The more demanding viewer may have cause to wonder how often the scenario of this film may happen in reality or whether it's just a typical Hollywood beat-up. But why spoil such an entertaining movie?
Taken at its face value this film is an entertaining prison melodrama from the Golden Years of Hollywood and a good example of Warner Brothers renowned sense of realism in its portrayal of American working class life between the Great Depression and WWII. It was a subject that other studios wouldn't touch but for that very reason, the studio's fortune was made by these stories depicting lives of crime and others mistakenly caught in its web through no fault of their own. (Admittedly this does not happen often, but it is a movie that we're watching.) 'Each Dawn I Die' comes highly recommended for lovers of these kinds of films, as well as everybody else who enjoys being entertained.