BY TIM MCGLYNN
Kino-Lorber
has released a Blu-Ray edition of the 1959 musical comedy, Never Steal Anything
Small starring James Cagney, Shirley Jones, Roger Smith and Cara Williams. If it doesn’t sound all that familiar it’s
because this movie is a very odd duck. A
musical without songs and dances, and a Damon Runyon type plot with characters
that get a little nasty at times.
James
Cagney, in his final musical performance, plays Jake MacIllaney, a crooked dockworker
and steward for the local stevedore’s union in New York City. He cheats, he schemes and he occasionally
embezzles funds, but he is somehow still a lovable chap who is well liked by
the rank and file. He dreams of becoming
the union president and hires a straight-laced lawyer, Dan Cabot (Roger Smith),
to help him keep one step ahead of the law. Dan is married to the lovely Linda Cabot (Shirley Jones) whom Jake
covets badly enough to enlist the aid of his sometimes girlfriend, Winnipeg
Simmons, a gorgeous redhead played by Cara Williams. Why Jake isn’t satisfied with Winnipeg is a
mystery, but he manages to convince her to seduce Roger away from his wife so
Jake can move in.
Meanwhile,
Jake is also plotting with his fellow longshoremen to remove the current union
boss, Pinelli (Nehemiah Persoff), and his stooge Sleep-Out Charlie Barnes (Jack
Albertson). Jake wheels and deals his
way through the union election and always manages to stay out of harm’s way from
the cops, Pinelli’s thugs, his lawyer and the two women in his life. He borrows freely from the chapter’s treasury
and manipulates both friend and foe to achieve his dream position with the
union.
Jake
is likeable simply because James Cagney is so charming at playing the
small-time crook with a heart of gold. He prances and hoofs his way through scenes even though there is no
dance music. In current movies this type
of character would be considered a total cad. Cagney, however, cons and bamboozles his underlings and has everyone
convinced that he is their best friend. He demonstrates his musical prowess in the wonderful number I’m Sorry, I
Want a Ferrari sung with Winnepeg. In
this tune, composed by Allie Wrubel and playwright Maxwell Anderson, he
convinces Winnipeg to put the make on Dan in return for a new car.
Shirley
Jones, looking terrific as a blonde bombshell, gives a spirited performance
despite not having much to work with in this script. Jones had established her place in Hollywood
with leading roles in the film versions of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma
and Carousel. Elmer Gantry and The Music
Man were yet to come for this multi-talented actress. She is allowed only one chance to showcase
her wonderful voice in this film with the cute number I Haven’t Got a Thing to
Wear.
Roger
Smith, as lawyer Cabot, was actually a protégé of James Cagney and appeared in
the Lon Chaney biopic Man of a Thousand Faces. Later on, television viewers knew him as Jeff Spencer in the popular
series 77 Sunset Strip. During the mid
60s Smith suffered a blood clot in his brain and was eventually diagnosed with
myasthenia gravis, which cut short a promising acting career. He then went to work behind the scenes as a
manager and producer for several actors including his second wife, Ann-Margret.
Cara
Williams began her career at age 16 at 20th Century Fox and
eventually worked her way into feisty leading roles in films such as Born
Yesterday, The Girl Next Door and The Defiant Ones. Her beautiful red hair is a delight in the
restored Technicolor print used for this Blu-Ray release. Also look for the
great character actors Nehemiah Persoff, Royal Dano and Jack Albertson in
small, but memorable roles as union stewards and enemies of Jake.
Based
upon a play by Maxwell Anderson, the direction by Charles Lederer of his own
script is crisp and funny with more than a passing nod to the stories and
characters of Damon Runyon. There is,
however, a bit of ugliness included when, for example, Jake and Linda have acid
thrown at them by two of Pinelli’s hoodlums. Also, the whole idea of Jake pimping out his girlfriend to help him
steal the wife of his young attorney is a plot line that will not go down well
with modern audiences.
At
some point director Lederer must have planned for this to be a Guys and Dolls
type musical. Why hire noted
choreographer Hermes Pan if there wasn’t going to be some spectacular dancing
sequences? The finished product,
however, is instead a comic drama with two songs and a bit of a male chorus
number to bookend the story. There
doesn’t seem to be any clues in the script where other songs and dances may
have been featured.
The
Cinemascope photography by Harold Lipstein and William H. Daniels is gorgeous,
and the color is heavily saturated with skin tones just a bit on the orange
side. The colorful costumes and set
designs fill the wide screen image beautifully. Since this film has only been seen during infrequent television
broadcasts and a 1980s pan and scan VHS release, this is probably the first chance
we have to see the full 2.35 aspect ratio since the original theatrical
screenings. Movies should never be
judged unless they are viewed in the proper screen width.
Kino
Lorber’s Blu-Ray boasts a clean, unscratched film source with the usual
Technicolor softness. The mono sound is
cold and crisp, and voices are presented at the proper volume. Extras on the disc include a theatrical
trailer and audio commentary from film historian Daniel Kremer and author Lee
Gambin. Both are knowledgeable and
amiable while providing extensive backgrounds on both performers and crew.
If
you are expecting a song and dance film like The Seven Little Foys or Yankee
Doodle Dandy you will be most disappointed. But an opportunity to see a charming James Cagney film that might be
unfamiliar is worth the purchase price, especially when presented in such a
handsome edition.
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