alexanderdavies-99382
"Torrid Zone" was the final film with real life friends, James Cagney and Pat O' Brien. They made several memorable films together for the studio, "Angels With Dirty Faces" being the best. The above is a light-hearted and amusing film about the various struggles on a Mexican plantation. The script is fairly standard but the cast really a lot to the screenplay by giving good performances and demonstrating a flair for light comedy. Ann Sheridan is a very good leading lady for James Cagney. She plays a card shark and nightclub singer who is on the run. They and O' Brien play off each other to amusing effect. The gunfight scenes add a bit to the proceedings as well.Released in 1940, "Torrid Zone" probably did respectable business at the box office.
Karen Green (klg19)
This film is basically "The Front Page" set on a banana plantation, with the "Oomph Girl" thrown in for a love interest, but somehow it manages to transcend that sort of genre-typing.Everyone from Jimmy Cagney and Pat O'Brien (in one of the best of their 10 films together) to George Tobias shines in this snappy action-romance, sprinkled with the kind of dialogue that made the movies of the '30s and early-'40s the most fun ever. My favorite exchange in the history of film is in this movie...Helen Vinson (Gloria) is kissing Jimmy Cagney (Nick), and her cigarette has slipped from her fingers to the floor. The camera follows the cigarette down, and then a hand reaches in from out-of-frame to pick it up...the camera pulls back to reveal Ann Sheridan (Lee):Lee: This is how the Chicago Fire got started.Gloria: The Chicago Fire was started by a *cow*.Lee: History repeats itself.Now, how can you not love a film like that? Ann Sheridan singing! Pat O'Brien conniving! George Tobias as a Latin American bandit! Jimmy Cagney with a mustache!Sadly, Torrid Zone is not yet available on video, but it shows up on TV from time to time. Don't miss it!
B&W-2
This remake of "The Front Page" is an improvement, as far as I'm concerned. The combination of Wald/Macaulay and the Warner Brothers stock company is sure-fire ("They Drive By Night"!) Ann Sheridan is vivacious as a trodden-upon showgirl, singing "My Caballero" and trading vicious quips with the scheming O'Brien and the dynamic Cagney. Special mention must go to George Tobias, one of the funniest character actors of the studio age, who plays Rosario, the guerilla leader sentenced to death "just because I shoot a man..."
asta-4
Good movie - love the way Ann Sheridan goes head to head toe to toe with Cagney in some very snappy dialogue.
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