View this film critically and you'll find it's lack of continuity and exasperating story line to defy credibility. It begins right away with the non courtship of Verity Wade (Barbara Hale) leading to marriage with virtually no attempt to define what she ever saw in the smooth talking Hank Martin (James Cagney). When the swamp siren Flamingo (Anne Francis) apologizes to Verity for trying to feed her to the alligators, it was about that point I knew the rest of the film was meant only to take in Cagney's performance.
Here's something I really don't understand. In the scene attempting to prove that Castleberry's scales were rigged to underpay the cotton farmers, Jeb Brown's (John McInture) load weighed in at twenty two hundred pounds, and he was going to be paid on that. However when Martin's men raid the Castleberry office and come up with the 'right' scale weights, the re-weighing comes out at sixteen hundred pounds. It seems to me that Brown would have benefited from the original weigh-in, and the 'proof' showed that Castleberry wasn't a crook.
The most bizarre scene though had to be the trial of the dying Jeb Brown, with the jury declaring the man innocent right after he does kick the bucket! Even the newspapers reported it that way. The look on Verity's face right after the trial says it all - this is such a mess I can't believe it!
Had the power brokering and behind the scenes intrigue been more fully developed, the movie might have been a lot more compelling. Even the election outcome was made to seem like it depended a whole lot more on nice weather than a carefully executed victory plan. I mean, this was for governor of a state after all, and it seemed like the election would be in doubt if Martin's bayou friends from little old Cypress Bend couldn't make it to the polls. By the way, anyone know who won?
At least Cagney takes his role and runs with it. There's some of the 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' in his lively step and lots of energy in his portrayal. But even though he's one of my favorite actors, this movie's lion seemed to be operating in a circus.
Here's something I really don't understand. In the scene attempting to prove that Castleberry's scales were rigged to underpay the cotton farmers, Jeb Brown's (John McInture) load weighed in at twenty two hundred pounds, and he was going to be paid on that. However when Martin's men raid the Castleberry office and come up with the 'right' scale weights, the re-weighing comes out at sixteen hundred pounds. It seems to me that Brown would have benefited from the original weigh-in, and the 'proof' showed that Castleberry wasn't a crook.
The most bizarre scene though had to be the trial of the dying Jeb Brown, with the jury declaring the man innocent right after he does kick the bucket! Even the newspapers reported it that way. The look on Verity's face right after the trial says it all - this is such a mess I can't believe it!
Had the power brokering and behind the scenes intrigue been more fully developed, the movie might have been a lot more compelling. Even the election outcome was made to seem like it depended a whole lot more on nice weather than a carefully executed victory plan. I mean, this was for governor of a state after all, and it seemed like the election would be in doubt if Martin's bayou friends from little old Cypress Bend couldn't make it to the polls. By the way, anyone know who won?
At least Cagney takes his role and runs with it. There's some of the 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' in his lively step and lots of energy in his portrayal. But even though he's one of my favorite actors, this movie's lion seemed to be operating in a circus.