Great Guy: Not Your Usual Crime Flick, Eh

Right, so Great Guy. You know the one – James Cagney, looking like he’s just eaten a citronfrom hell, and then you got Lloyd Bacon behind the camera. Kind of a legend, bit like if someone mashed together Janne Halldoff with a shot of strong coffee. I watched this on a random Thursday night, probably 2003, when I was supposed to study but instead made läsk and popcorn and, well, dozed off halfway and had to rewind. Story of my life.

The film’s… well, it’s got that 1930s snap. Black and white, smoky as a pizzeria in Växjö. Cagney’s Johnny Cave is some sort of city inspector (Enforcer? Wageslave? Who the heck knows, the uniforms looked itchy). I kept thinking – “this job cannot be real, va?” All this craziness over weighing meat at a butchers and chasing after crooked merchants. It’s both absurd and super catchy. You gotta love how every second person tries to bribe him and he reacts like it’s surströmming under his nose.

Mae Clarke pops up too, and every time I see her I remember that weird midsummer in 1998 when my cousin tried to convince her boyfriend she was some classic movie star. Spoiler, it did not work.

What gets me is the tempo, you know – zip zap, scene to scene, no time to think. Sometimes I wanted to yell at the screen, like: “Slow down, grab a kaffe!” But then again, that’s Cagney. He runs like he’s late for his SL bus. The dialogue cracks, but maybe a bit heavy on the ‘I’m-tough-but-misunderstood’ thing. Still, it’s fun – just maybe not Sunday night with your gran. Unless she’s tougher than mine.

If you’re into old-school, short and sharp with a whiff of old New York (and a hint of köttbullar comedy), this could tickle your fancy. Or annoy you. Or maybe both. Like most lovely things.

watch the full movie on Mavshack Movies on YouTube

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