Watch City for Conquest For Free

Please don't spend money on this.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

(An excellent Warner DVD). Copyright 21 August 1940 by Warner Bros Pictures, Inc. A Warner Bros-First National Picture. An Anatole Litvak Production. New York opening at the Strand: 27 August 1940. U.S. release: 21 September 1940. 12 reels. Running time variously reported as 101, 103 and 105 minutes. SYNOPSIS: The film opens with the lead characters, Danny Kenny (Cagney) and Peggy Nash (Sheridan), portrayed as youngsters. As Forsythe Street pals, Cagney wins the heart of Sheridan and she promises to "always be his girl". By the age of seventeen Cagney has won amateur golden gloves boxing bouts and has a bright future in the sports world, but he wants a steady job to finance the music of his piano-playing brother (Arthur Kennedy). NOTES: Wexley did the bulk of the screen adaptation (under the supervision of William Cagney). Robert Rossen was brought in for revisions. James Cagney himself contributed some additional dialogue. For his fight sequences - none of which were faked - Cagney trained with Harvey Perry under the direction of the movie's technical advisor, Mushy Callahan, ex-world-welterweight champion. Film debut of Arthur Kennedy. Feature film debut of Elia Kazan. COMMENT: Famed Broadway director Elia Kazan wanted to get some movie experience and what better way than to take a leading role in a picture directed by Anatole Litvak! In fact I thought this slum-to-riches-to-slum saga chiefly memorable for Kazan's bravura portrayal. He knows how to steal every scene he appears in, - sometimes just by flicking his eyes. And his fall from grace is a real topper!I don't agree with those critics who say Cagney is more restrained than usual. I think he overdoes the part. The plot is hokey and familiar and corny and over-sentimental and is played rather too broadly. Typical Owen Marks editing - the occasional splices that don't quite match giving the film that jagged texture. Some typical Litvak crane shots and a very realistic and powerfully put across fight sequence. Craven's part in the TV version has been reduced to a walk-on at the beginning of the film.

I'm unashamedly a James Cagney enthusiast--in fact, he's my very favourite actor (like me, he's at least part-Irish, and he's more versatile than Orson Welles), so yes, I tend to be overly generous when I'm watching his films. But I really enjoyed this gangster/boxing hybrid film from the early 40's that, not only sported great acting by Cagney but also had wonderful performances by Ann Sheridan (I'm rather fond of redheads too), Anthony Quinn and a rare acting role for top-notch director Elia Kazan. Yes, it was melodramatic, a tearjerker and overly predictable--people talk about those qualities as if they were bad things.Also being an aficionado of many types of music, particularly jazz and classical, I found it highly compelling of the filmmakers to utilize music as a way of communicating the inexpressible (the trials and tribulations, dreams and pitfalls). Highly recommended for anyone who likes seeing filmmakers think outside of the box for once, and dare to try something different. Especially if you love Cagney and classic cinema as much as I do, I highly doubt you'll be disappointed.

If taken purely on script alone the film only amounts up to the usual fare we have seen a zillion times over the years. The basic formula being that two brothers are taking different paths in career choices and the elder brother is doing all he can to help realise his younger brothers dream of being a composer, yet thankfully here the film has a great deal more to offer outside of the usual standard fare.The elder brother boxes to support his younger brothers dream but he's tragically almost blinded in a gruelling 15 round fight where foul cheat tactics are used against him. The film then follows the love interest slant of the family & girlfriend closest to our stricken boxer, but thankfully the film manages to stay clear of drowning in a bowl of sickly syrup. Playing out with a very deep emotional heart the film only functions well because of its lead actor, James Cagney was 42 when he made this film, yet he looks like a lithe athletic man in his twenties such was his commitment to the role. He imbues such gusto into the role of Danny Kenny that he alone demands you watch this film, but he is also staunchly supported by Ann Sheridan,, Arthur Kennedy, and a very brash turn from Anthony Quinn. It's a film that tugs on your heart strings at times, and yes it has the audience begging for an uplift in the final reel, but it's done well and delivers all that you hoped for at the start of the film.The back story doesn't read so well tho, Cagney & director Anatole Litvak were continually at war during filming, and most of Cagney's input into the film was cut out, Cagney was so annoyed and sad with the final outcome, he wrote to Aben Kandel (the writer of the novel the film is adapted from} and apologised with sincerity, he need not of worried because the final result is very rewarding indeed, 8/10.

A nice cast elevates this melodrama about good-guy James Cagney ("Danny Kenny" ) trying to win over career-minded Ann Sheridan ("Peggy Nash"). Cagney's "Danny" is a regular kind of guy. All he wants in life is a nice, simple job and to settle down with his lifelong girlfriend "Peg.""Peg" likes him, too, but wants her dancing career and the limelight more. Several times she breaks poor Danny's heart. Meanwhile, Danny has a talent for prizefighting but no desire to do it for a living. He doesn't want to hurt anybody. Near the end, he resorts to a ring career only as a last-ditch attempt to win his girl......with tragic resultsThis is not a Cagney gangster movie nor a boxing film. It is simply a drama-romance with some boxing thrown in, and only one fight highlighted. That main event in which Cagney is blinded by his opponent cheating is a painful segment to watch, especially since it results in a brutal beating. What happens afterward makes this movie special.There are some memorable scenes in this movie, both tough and tender. The finish is an old-fashioned touching one guaranteed to bring a tear or two to anyone's eyes who has a heart.There are a number of dated lines of dialog, but hearing the lingo of the day is kind of fun. Cagney, as usual, is extremely interesting to watch. He's the best of a good cast. Included in that cast is famous director Elia Kazan, who plays "Googie." Kazan shows he could act, too. The film also marked the acting debut of Arthur Kennedy, who plays Cagney's brother "Eddie." Kennedy's role is a key one in the emotional ending.Overall, this is really good storytelling and movie-making, the kind that gives "the classic era" a good reputation.