Antonius Block Quite short even for the time period at 60 minutes, this film is notable only for being James Cagney's film debut, and for being the first of seven that paired him with Joan Blondell. The film titillates us early on with pre-Code naughtiness; for example, a penny arcade game, "Hit The Bull, Up She Goes", which has a woman seated next to a bulls-eye that, when hit with a ball, causes her to flip 90 degrees upwards and reveal her legs. Another is seeing a bathing outfit on leggy Evalyn Knapp that would fit right in in 2016. Unfortunately, the story is pretty simple and the film is marred by poor acting, most notably by lead Grant Withers, who's hard to watch. Even Cagney is uncharacteristically off in his performance. The only exception is Blondell, 24 years old and in her second film role, appearing as a tough-talking brunette, who steals every scene she's in.

utgard14 Middling Pre-Coder that's notable for being the film debuts of James Cagney and Joan Blondell (with her natural hair color, no less). The plot's about a family that runs a waterfront penny arcade and the trouble the youngest son (Cagney) gets into, including bootlegging and killing a guy. One for Cagney fans to check off their list but it's really not that great. The characters are all pretty unlikable and Jimmy shows little of that trademark charm & swagger in the role of a sniveling punk. Public Enemy would play to his strengths much better and, of course, make him a star. Lucille La Verne plays Cagney's mom and she hams it up in every scene. Grant Withers is pretty good as the ne'er-do-well turned good by the love of a woman. That woman being lovely Evalyn Knapp. She was my favorite part of the whole picture. The scene with her and Withers under the pier is probably the film's highlight. It's an early talkie so it creaks and groans but at least it doesn't seem like a filmed stage play, so points for that. Still, after it's over, you won't be in any hurry to tell your friends about it.

DKosty123 For a quickie filmed in 3 weeks at Warner Brothers in 1930, this movie is OK. Lucille Laverne, a silent actress, does a very good job talking and being the opinionated mother. When you see Joan Blondell in this, she is so young that you recognize the face and the voice immediately. The young figure is something you kind of expect. Blondell never had a petite figure but this is about as thin as you will see here. She does already have an impressive acting style, and an attention grabbing face.James Cagney over shadows all the other in the male cast. He dominates the rest so much that it almost seems like he is the star. That in spite of the fact he winds up getting black mailed by Blondell and is trying to cover up his murder of a hood.For 1930 on shooting schedule like a silent movie, and with a veteran silent movie director, it is a worthwhile film to check. Especially with Cagney, though the story based on a play called Penny Arcade is not real complicated. Lucille LaVerne's mom does kind of glue the film together when Cagney isn't around.There is a beach scene in this pre-code movie where Evealyn Knapp who plays Cagney's sister is on a beach in a bathing suit. The camera angles used were very complimentary to her though I suspect if Ms. Blondell had been used in this scene with her impressive cleavage, the scene would have become very memorable.

kidboots Whenever "Flying Down to Rio" is mentioned, it is usually to talk about the first pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers - not about the actual stars, who were Dolores Del Rio and Gene Raymond. This movie is in the same boat. James Cagney and Joan Blondell were in the original Broadway play called "Penny Arcade" that only ran for 24 performances. It was bought to the screen with a snappier title "Sinner's Holiday" and Cagney and Blondell were bought to Hollywood to recreate their roles. Apparently both were signed at the insistence of Al Jolson, who had bought the rights to the play and was determined to have the pair in the movie. I agree with the reviewer that says Cagney acted like a veteran, it is so hard to believe this was his first film. The nominal stars were Grant Withers and Evalyn Knapp. In 1930 Withers looked a good bet for stardom, his career had taken off in 1928, in 1929 he was in 10 films, in 1930 8 films. The next year he was still the star to Cagney's co-star in "Other Men's Women" but then things went wrong and by 1932 he was on Poverty Row.The opening shots really establish the seedy atmosphere of carnival life - tired looking dancers, rowdy carnival barkers. Ma Delano (Lucille LaVerne) rules the Penny Arcade and her family with an iron will. She is determined to keep her kids away from the booze that was the ruin of her husband, a champion prize fighter. Unbeknownst to her , her favourite son Harry (James Cagney) is in it up to his neck. He and Mitch McKane (Warren Hymer) have a bootlegging business on the side. When Harry kills Mitch, Ma Delano is determined to get her favourite child off - even if it means pointing the finger at Angel (Grant Withers), a likable, itinerant roustabout, who has caught the eye of Jennie Delano. But Jenni is a witness to the crime and there is some tense acting at the end as alibis are smashed and the right man is finally caught.Even though the story is interesting it is very "talkie" - what action there is , is often stopped while characters talk about their dreams and aspirations - it becomes "gooey" at times. Cagney and Blondell are standouts in their roles with a really natural acting style. Seeing Joan Blondell in this, her first role, I am surprised she spent the next couple of years in "girlfriend" type roles. Myrtle was a good role with plenty of different emotions and she proved she was a natural for stardom. This was also Evalyn Knapp's first lead in a feature but she didn't exactly set the film world on fire. Noel Madison also made his film debut - his face is instantly recognisable in countless films, usually playing low life gangsters and henchmen but his stage career was different in that he played mostly sophisticated characters. He was one of the founding members of the Screen Actors Guild and his membership number was 5.Recommended.