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By
NICK ZEGARAC
Raoul Walsh's "The Roaring
Twenties" (1939) is an unintentionally laughable
little bit of business that, at the time of its
release was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.
It stars James Cagney as Eddie Bartlett, a jobless
WWI veteran whose rags to riches story is
something ripped straight from the clichéd pages
of the American Dream: Eddie starts out as a cab
driver but winds up a successful bootlegger and in
charge of a fleet of taxis to boot. Of course none
of this is possible without the backing of his old
army pal, George Hally (Humphrey Bogart) also a
bootlegger. Another army pal, Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey
Lynn), has aspirations of being legit by
practicing law but everything goes slightly awry
when Eddie hires him as his lawyer. As the years
roll on, all flows like vintage champagne until
love and rivalry over the sultry Jean Hart
(Priscilla Lane) interfere.
What is particularly funny about "The Roaring
Twenties" today is its dated aversion to taboo
spirits. In one montage we get to see teens and
college students slipping one another liquor at
the malt shop while a voice over speaks ominously
of the perils of getting stoned. It's all fun and
games until someone wraps their car around a tree
during a hairpin turn. No kidding. It really does
happen in the film. So much for celebrating good
times!
Warner's DVD transfer is particularly pleasing.
Though there are several instances where second
generation print material has been substituted for
original camera negatives, the grayscale overall
is nicely balanced and quite pleasing with rich
and deep blacks and generally clean whites. Some
age related artifacts and film grain are present
throughout, particularly in the stock footage --
but nothing will distract you from this fond
farewell to the gangster era. Extras include a
newly produced featurette. Film historian Lincoln
Hurst does a good job of summing up the film,
while Leonard Maltin delights with his summation
of 1939 with "Warner Night at the Movies." |
