Review of Each Dawn I Die (1939) by Dave H — 07 Jan 2013
This is really an unsung masterpiece of the 1930s gangster genre. Jimmy Cagney plays a reporter framed for murder after exposing corruption in local politics. He's sent to one of the nastiest prisons around.
He meets and befriends career criminal George Raft and helps him escape, taking the brunt of the punishment for the escape on himself. This is a mean little genre flick which flies along with almost no filler.
Cagney is on the top of his game here, snapping and snarling his way through several superb monologues ... one that even ends with him bursting into tears. The prison riot/jail break finale is one of the most violent sequences of the 1930s.
This review of Each Dawn I Die (1939) was written by Dave H on 07 Jan 2013.
Each Dawn I Die has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
