Ma!! Ma!!

I saw James Cagney play a Gangster for the first time in a nice little film theatre in Gothenburg. These Lynchesque curtains turned red and then opened up for the display of an absolute mind boggling picture "Public Enemy" from the nineteen thirties. Cagney and his mother stole the show, everyone could agree on that. The tough gangster had a soft spot and it was a short chubby Italian woman in her fifties.

I saw Cagney again in The Sopranos when Tony was watching Public Enemy while the world around him was falling to pieces. The scenes were beautifully picked out: two major actors in one frame. Gandolfini's sagging body in front of the television, tears in his eyes watching Cagney giving his mother loving taps on the chin with his fist.

I saw James Cagney yesterday once more and he was on the top of the world. One minute later several loud explosions skyrocketed him into thin air. Sometimes you're watching a film and you instinctly know that when people will ask about your top 50 in the future, it'll include this one.

White Heat by Raoul Walsh was such a piece.

This film had me focused from the very beginning and it just kept on rolling. The writing was close to perfect. I was even totally shocked when I saw the A-B-C car chase. A film from 1949 and they're pulling a stunt I have never seen on celluloid before! Then there's also the old Freudian trick with Cagney and his ma but it won't bore you. Ma is so evil you won't believe it. And Cagney is a monster! Not only literally in the story but his performance is phenomenal. He truly is on top of his game. One of the numerous memorable scenes is when he's in prison and during lunch he hears the news about his ma. Walsh directs that scene with so much bravoure that I can't believe I have seen almost none of his films.

And then there's also Virginia Mayo (Verna). Where does she come from all of a sudden? I don't remember seeing her in another movie but she will be on my mind from now on. She's beautifully looking and does a shining performance despite her role being pretty small. How did Marilyn Monroe become so famous when you had Virginia Mayo walking around???

You know a film has you tied up when you're giggling with the very very small details. Maybe even just watching the smallest detail in one particular scene would have convinced you. At the end Virginia Mayo jumps on James Cagney's back and the two of them are off to bed. She's giggling with joy like a little kid and tells him to "Grab the brass ring..." - a bottle of champagne on the table. Only the expressions on their face and the way they perform it would have made my evening.