ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

HotToastyRag City for Conquest is James Cagney at his finest. All the three gangsters of the silver screen had their own signature role, and James Cagney's was a charming scoundrel, a little rough around the edges, with a quick temper and a quicker punch, who always has a dame waiting for him when he gets out of prison. In City for Conquest, the plot doesn't exactly follow that archetype, but it's a fantastic vehicle for Jimmy's brand of star quality.The worst part of the movie is unfortunately the beginning, where Frank Craven, a homeless bum, narrates and unnecessarily sets the scene. He's pretty irritating, but thankfully he disappears for most of the movie. A group of kids are shown to the audience, foreshadowing their roles as grown-ups, and shortly afterwards, James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, and Arthur Kennedy grace the screen. Jimmy and Arthur are brothers, and while Arthur has a passion for classical music, they're pretty poor. Jimmy loves his brother, and he becomes a boxer, managed by his friends Frank McHugh and Donald Crisp, so Arthur can focus on his music instead of money. Life threatens to take the three stars in different directions when Ann meets Anthony Quinn in a nightclub. Tony is a ballroom dancer, and he wants Ann to be his new partner; while she's on the road dancing and Jimmy's on the road boxing, will they be able to keep their long-distance romance alive?Anyone who loves classic old movies, like Dark Victory and Casablanca, will love City for Conquest. It's fantastic in a way only old movies can be, with just a touch of melodrama that magically becomes realistic in the black-and-white scenes. Jimmy is excellent, making the audience cheer and cry, and radiating bursts of energy whenever he's on the screen. It makes sense that his romantic rival is Anthony Quinn; no one else would have the magnetism to compete against him. Young Tony is extremely handsome and darling, and when you see his dance talents in this movie, you'll laugh that he's most remembered by his dancing in Zorba the Greek. Ann Sheridan didn't get to be as famous another redheaded dancer, Rita Hayworth, but I like her infinitely better. She's prettier, has a better figure, is an equal dancer, and is a far superior actress. The third major lead in the film deserves a very special mention. City for Conquest was Arthur Kennedy's first movie, but you'd never guess it when you watch him. He was actually discovered by James Cagney, so that adds an extra level of sentimentality to see them play brothers in the film. Arthur mimes his piano playing very well, and his conducting is one of the best I've ever seen from an actor. It's hard to believe after playing the sweet, sensitive brother, that some of his most famous roles were villains-but if you want to start off on the right foot with him, rent this movie first. Then check out The Glass Menagerie!DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not your friend. In the first scene while Frank Craven is narrating, the footage of the city is shown at tilted angles and it might make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

JohnHowardReid (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.

jacobs-greenwood Directed by Anatole Litvak, this above average boxing drama features an all-star cast that includes James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Frank Craven, Donald Crisp, Frank McHugh, Arthur Kennedy, George Tobias, Jerome Cowan, Elia Kazan, Anthony Quinn, Lee Patrick, and the list goes on, including lesser knowns who were uncredited like Edward Gargan. John Wexley's screenplay was based on Aben Kandel's novel. Its ending should leave a tear in your eye.Cagney plays a truck driver who was also a Golden Gloves boxing champ in his youth; Sheridan plays his girlfriend. Kennedy plays Cagney's younger brother, a composer-pianist whose classical work isn't appreciated by anyone but his older brother. McHugh plays Cagney's friend and co-worker, Tobias another who also runs the gym where Cagney still boxes to stay in shape. Kazan plays another former kid from the neighborhood that Cagney & McHugh run into right after he's gotten out of jail, so they help him a little. Craven only has a small cameo, as a street bum. When Kennedy's scholarship is cut in half, Cagney enters the ring for the first time in 5 years to make up the difference. He wins and impresses (an honest!) boxing manager Crisp, but Cagney believes that all boxers end up punchy old men, and declines Crisp's offer to make a career of it.Out on the town celebrating his win, Cagney and friends go to a nightclub where Quinn is the dance master. Since Cagney doesn't dance, he lets Sheridan go with Quinn and the two win a dancing competition. With stars in her eyes, Sheridan pursues her dream to become famous dancing with Quinn, after she's told Cagney he has no ambition 'cause he's happy just being a truck driver. To impress and provide better for Sheridan, Cagney visits Crisp who insists he can make Cagney champ if he'll let him call the shots. Cagney agrees, and makes progress steadily rising through the ranks, until he's within a fight or two of a title fight. He then insists that Crisp get him a chance to fight the champ so that he can win back Sheridan from her now famous dancing duo with Quinn. Though Crisp would rather wait, he does what Cagney asks. Kazan, now a big success as a gangster, bets Cowan $50,000 that his old pal Cagney will beat Cowan's champ. Cagney loses the fight, and his sight, through dirty tricks by the champ and his manager in the ring. Kazan gets even with Cowan, but then gets the surprise of his life.That's really just the film's first half, even though it makes a pretty good movie (if somewhat incomplete) by itself. The second half is comprised of Cagney's struggle to be useful again, which inspires his brother Kennedy to strive for his dream of one day playing at Carnegie Hall. Sheridan is made to feel responsible for Cagney's condition by Crisp, and then ends up rooming with Patrick when she leaves Quinn's employ.The film's sentimental endings (there are two, really) are both tearjerking and satisfying.

talisencrw 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.