Something to Sing About: Cagney, Chaos, and Hollywood Ego

Is it worth your time?

If you have a soft spot for pre-war Hollywood cynicism or just want to watch James Cagney tap dance while looking perpetually annoyed, then yeah, put this on. If you need tight pacing or a story that doesn't feel like it’s being made up as it goes along, skip it.

Cagney is, as always, the main event here. He’s playing Terry Rooney, a guy who genuinely hates the 'star' machine. It’s funny to see him try to keep his dignity while everyone around him acts like they’re in a Evelyn Prentice drama. He carries the movie on his back, even when the script starts to feel like a checklist of studio tropes.

The Hollywood machine is just weird

The studio head, played by Gene Lockhart, is basically a caricature of every bad producer ever. Every scene in his office feels like a fever dream of corporate greed. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in Bachelor Bait, where everyone is just talking way too fast because they’re terrified of silence.

There’s this moment where Cagney is being forced to change his name, his walk, and his entire personality. It’s meant to be funny, but it’s actually kind of exhausting to watch. You can see his eyes glazing over in the close-ups. It’s a very specific kind of misery that only actors can really pull off.

Small things that stuck with me

• The band scenes have this raw, loose energy that makes you wish the whole movie was just them playing in a cramped NYC club.
• There is a costume department montage that goes on for way too long. I think the editor just fell asleep at the desk.
• James Cagney looks genuinely exhausted in the dance numbers. It’s not 'polished performance' exhausted, it’s 'I’ve been doing this for ten hours' exhausted. It makes him more human.
• The lighting in the studio scenes is so bright it almost hurts to look at. It feels like they were trying to bleach the character out of him.

It’s not as dark as some of his later crime stuff, and it’s nowhere near as strange as Ghost City. It sits in this weird middle ground. Sometimes it feels like a genuine satire, other times it’s just a musical trying to find an excuse for a song break.

The ending is… well, it’s an ending. It just sort of stops. Don’t expect some grand, satisfying resolution where the studio learns a lesson. In Hollywood, nobody ever learns a lesson. They just move on to the next contract. 🤷‍♂️