Screenplay:
John WexleyComposer:
Max SteinerCast:
James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Frank Craven, Donald Crisp, Frank McHugh, Arthur Kennedy, George Tobias, Jerome Cowan, Elia Kazan, Anthony Quinn, Lee Patrick (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
In the East Side slums of New York City, Danny Kenny, his brother Eddie and Peggy Nash, all childhood friends from the tenements, pursue different paths to climb their way out of the gutter. Danny is content driving a truck until his brother, who dreams of writing a symphony of the city, needs money for music school. To earn Eddie's tuition, Danny accepts a boxing match, where he is spotted by fight manager Scotty MacPherson. Meanwhile, Peggy, seduced by the vision of her name in lights, becomes the dance partner of the despotic Murray Burns, and the pair set out on the vaudeville circuit. Desperate to win Peggy back, Danny decides to make something of himself and accepts Scotty's offer to be his manager. As Danny wins bout after bout, Peggy's tour ends, and she agrees to give up dancing for Danny. When the dance team is offered a contract in the big time, however, Peggy foresakes Danny to pursue fame. Danny, confident that winning the championship will win him Peggy, insists on a match with the mean and dirty boxer Cannonball Wales. To make sure that he wins the title, Wales puts rosin on his boxing gloves, thus blinding Danny. As she listens to the match on the radio, Peggy hears of Danny's pummeling, quits the dance team and returns to Danny, only to be sent away by Scotty. Blinded by the fight, Danny feels no self-pity and opens up a newstand. When Eddie, frustrated by his struggle for artistic recognition, is on the verge of selling out his talents, Danny inspires him to keep fighting. Eddie's symphony is finally accepted for performance at Carnegie Hall, and Peggy, now miserable and alone, goes to hear his debut. In a moving speech, Eddie dedicates his work to his brother, and after the concert, Peggy seeks out Danny at the newsstand, and the two are reconciled. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
James Cagney
USA
Best movies:
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
One, Two, Three (1961)
White Heat (1949)
Ann Sheridan
USA
Best movies:
Edge of Darkness (1943)
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
Dodge City (1939)
Frank Craven
USA
Best movies:
Keeper of the Flame (1942)
Barbary Coast (1935)
City for Conquest (1940)
Donald Crisp
UK
Best movies:
The Viking (1928)
The Sea Hawk (1940)
The Dawn Patrol (1938)
Frank McHugh
USA
Best movies:
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)
The Front Page (1931)
Arthur Kennedy
USA
Best movies:
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The Desperate Hours (1955)
The Window (1949)
George Tobias
USA
Best movies:
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Ninotchka (1939)
The Glenn Miller Story (1954)
Jerome Cowan
USA
Best movies:
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
The Song of Bernadette (1943)
Shall We Dance? (1937)
Elia Kazan
Best movies:
City for Conquest (1940)
Panic in the Streets (1950)
Anthony Quinn
Mexico
Best movies:
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The Road (1954)
Lust for Life (1956)
Lee Patrick
USA
Best movies:
Vertigo (1958)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Caged (1950)
Blanche Yurka
USA
Best movies:
The Song of Bernadette (1943)
Keeper of the Flame (1942)
A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
Joyce Compton
USA
Best movies:
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
Thurston Hall
USA
Best movies:
Dodge City (1939)
Virginia City (1940)
Rings on Her Fingers (1942)
Ben Welden
USA
Best movies:
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
The Big Sleep (1946)
A Song Is Born (1948)
Selmer Jackson
USA
Best movies:
Love Crazy (1941)
It Started with Eve (1941)
Sudden Fear (1952)
Joseph Crehan
USA
Best movies:
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Love Crazy (1941)
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
George O'Hanlon
USA
Best movies:
Rocky (1976)
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
Frank Faylen
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Edison, the Man (1940)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Margaret Hayes
USA
Best movies:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
Blackboard Jungle (1955)
Saboteur (1942)