Jimmy Cagney escapes from the chain gang, although his partner, Neville Brand, takes a bullet. Cagney takes up with his sister, blonde Barbara Payton and knocks over a grocery store. Who comes knocking but corrupt Inspector Ward Bond and Lieutenant Barton Maclane. With the help of attorney Luther Adler, he involves the on-the-take cops in a plan to steal a bookie's take. However, Cagney also romances and weds brunette heiress Helena Carter, despite her powerful father's objections. Can the marginally insane Cagney keep all the balls in the air?
It's a fairly film noir picture for Jimmy, even though cameraman J. Peverell Marley shoots it in straightforward fashion. Jimmy is megalomaniacal; Payton's playing hints at incest. It's not one of Cagney's great pictures; he's calculating rather than a fore of nature. Still, given the top cast, with a goodly assortment of Warner's Irish Mafia in small roles. it's a great show, even though Gordon Douglas' direction is efficient more than atmospheric.
It's a fairly film noir picture for Jimmy, even though cameraman J. Peverell Marley shoots it in straightforward fashion. Jimmy is megalomaniacal; Payton's playing hints at incest. It's not one of Cagney's great pictures; he's calculating rather than a fore of nature. Still, given the top cast, with a goodly assortment of Warner's Irish Mafia in small roles. it's a great show, even though Gordon Douglas' direction is efficient more than atmospheric.