So it's St. Patrick's Day, and something tells me to go through my unviewed stack of Jimmy Cagney films. I get to "The Irish In Us" and figure it's got to be cosmic serendipity, there's no question that this is the one for today. This 1935 film offers all the elements of an early Warner Brothers flick set in New York City, and an opening scene gets things going as Ma O'Hara (Mary Gordon) uses the old clothesline transfer to send a stick of butter to her neighbor across the way. Living in The City back then was probably pretty cool, it certainly played on screen as a 'good old days' kind of memory.
The title of the picture never even gives a hint that it's going to be a boxing story built around a romance, which itself is built around a rivalry between a pair of brothers, with a third brother thrown in for good measure. You couldn't ask for a better Irish trio than Pat O'Brien, Cagney, and Frank McHugh as the O'Hara's, and since it was a '30's era First National Picture, they found a way to get Allen Jenkins involved as well, as a moniker challenged fighter named Carbarn Hammerschlog, by way of Hershkowitz. Jenkins' bit consists of swinging away wildly any time he hears a bell ring, and that happens just enough times not to wear out it's welcome.
The main story though, has to do with Lucille Jackson (Olivia DeHavilland) coming between Pat (O'Brien) and Danny (Cagney), which forces Ma O'Hara to use all her motherly skills to keep the family from falling apart. There's really no question how all this will turn out, except for the result of the boxing finale which would be virtually impossible. I mean, even Rocky Balboa didn't win his first title fight, and he was ripped from a training regimen that would have put Danny and Carbarn into intensive care. I guess simpler times called for simpler solutions.
You know, I couldn't help thinking how much this picture resembled an East Side Kids flick from the same era. Cagney could have been Leo Gorcey's Muggs, O'Brien would have been Bobby Jordan's Danny, and I never realized how much of a resemblance there was between Allen Jenkins and Huntz Hall until he did his slapstick thing here. The East Siders also did a fair amount of boxing themed pictures, so from that perspective it isn't too much of a stretch.
It's too bad the film isn't available commercially; mine is from a private collector as are many of Cagney's earliest pictures. It's worth trying to catch it on one of the cable channels, most notably Turner Classics when they get into a Cagney riff. Come to think of it, they might have done that today, but I haven't checked. As a final thought, Frank McHugh and Allen Jenkins made quite a few pictures between them supporting Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. For an interesting switch from a boxing format to one involving professional wrestling, catch the pair in a 1938 Bogart picture called "Swing Your Lady". Once again, not available commercially, but it's worth it to catch Bogey in his goofiest role.
The title of the picture never even gives a hint that it's going to be a boxing story built around a romance, which itself is built around a rivalry between a pair of brothers, with a third brother thrown in for good measure. You couldn't ask for a better Irish trio than Pat O'Brien, Cagney, and Frank McHugh as the O'Hara's, and since it was a '30's era First National Picture, they found a way to get Allen Jenkins involved as well, as a moniker challenged fighter named Carbarn Hammerschlog, by way of Hershkowitz. Jenkins' bit consists of swinging away wildly any time he hears a bell ring, and that happens just enough times not to wear out it's welcome.
The main story though, has to do with Lucille Jackson (Olivia DeHavilland) coming between Pat (O'Brien) and Danny (Cagney), which forces Ma O'Hara to use all her motherly skills to keep the family from falling apart. There's really no question how all this will turn out, except for the result of the boxing finale which would be virtually impossible. I mean, even Rocky Balboa didn't win his first title fight, and he was ripped from a training regimen that would have put Danny and Carbarn into intensive care. I guess simpler times called for simpler solutions.
You know, I couldn't help thinking how much this picture resembled an East Side Kids flick from the same era. Cagney could have been Leo Gorcey's Muggs, O'Brien would have been Bobby Jordan's Danny, and I never realized how much of a resemblance there was between Allen Jenkins and Huntz Hall until he did his slapstick thing here. The East Siders also did a fair amount of boxing themed pictures, so from that perspective it isn't too much of a stretch.
It's too bad the film isn't available commercially; mine is from a private collector as are many of Cagney's earliest pictures. It's worth trying to catch it on one of the cable channels, most notably Turner Classics when they get into a Cagney riff. Come to think of it, they might have done that today, but I haven't checked. As a final thought, Frank McHugh and Allen Jenkins made quite a few pictures between them supporting Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. For an interesting switch from a boxing format to one involving professional wrestling, catch the pair in a 1938 Bogart picture called "Swing Your Lady". Once again, not available commercially, but it's worth it to catch Bogey in his goofiest role.