The Irish in Us

Moviecut—The Irish in Us

source: The Irish in Us

The Irish in Us

Well firstly I must wow the cast here...James Cagney, Pat O'Brian, Olivia De Havilland, Frank McHugh and Allen Jenkins....a truly fabulous group full of talent and Warner's cream brought together. This film is absolutely filled with laughter and the time just rolled by so quick. O'Brian and Cagney always work well together and this is no exception. A lot of humour, a little romance and then there's Ma...whenever Cagney has a mother in any film he calls her Ma. I watched this and thought what a sweet relationship they played out and wished I had shown that much affection and love to my mum... It really is a funny classic and one film that would never bore you. Go see it

Enjoyable comedy/drama from Warner Bros. with James Cagney and Pat O'Brien as Irish-American brothers who have a falling out when pretty Olivia de Havilland comes between them. I won't spoil the ending for you but, if you've seen even one Cagney/O'Brien movie before, you can probably guess who gets the girl. What makes this one work isn't the tired plot but the great cast, with longtime friends Cagney and O'Brien joined by their buddies Frank McHugh and a scene-stealing Allen Jenkins. All four of these guys are fun to watch and have a wonderful comedic chemistry with each other. Olivia de Havilland is lovely in one of her earliest roles. Mary Gordon is impossible to dislike as the saintly Ma O'Hara. It's a good movie of its type, lightweight mostly but serious in some parts. It's well-paced and the cast, as I said before, is excellent.

"The Irish in Us" is a fine Cagney venue. He is surrounded by a good supporting cast with Pat O'Brien (Patrick O'Hara), Frank McHugh (Mike O'Hara) and Allen Jenkins (Carbarn Hammerschlog). Olivia de Havilland (Lucille Jackson) gives a solid and steady performance in only her second movie of her career. Veteran actress Mary Gordon (Ma O'Hara) lends a strong presence as the tough but caring Irish mother. The chemistry between the two women is very believable. The boxing scene between Harvey Parry (Joe Delancy), the champ and Cagney is non-stop action packed and shows Cagney at his best. I highly recommend this movie for all.

Irish in Us, The (1935) *** (out of 4) James Cagney, Pat O'Brien and Frank McHugh play brothers in this lightweight Warner comedy/drama. Cagney and O'Brien have a falling out after Cagney steals his girl (Olivia de Havilland) and this leads to various problems, which comes full on during a boxing match. This film really doesn't offer anything new in the various teamings of Cagney and O'Brien but there's enough charm here to make the film worth watching. Cagney and O'Brien always work well together and that's true here as the two make for some nice laughs and fighting. McHugh and Allen Jenkins add nice comic support in their roles and it seems Allen's character, a boxer who goes nuts when he hears a bell, was inspired by The Three stooges short Punch Drunk. de Havilland is also very good here in her supporting role. The film ends on a ten or fifteen minute boxing match, which is shot very nice, although it does lead to a rather hokey ending.