Middling Pre-Coder that's notable for being the film debuts of James Cagney and Joan Blondell (with her natural hair color, no less). The plot's about a family that runs a waterfront penny arcade and the trouble the youngest son (Cagney) gets into, including bootlegging and killing a guy. One for Cagney fans to check off their list but it's really not that great. The characters are all pretty unlikable and Jimmy shows little of that trademark charm & swagger in the role of a sniveling punk. Public Enemy would play to his strengths much better and, of course, make him a star. Lucille La Verne plays Cagney's mom and she hams it up in every scene. Grant Withers is pretty good as the ne'er-do-well turned good by the love of a woman. That woman being lovely Evalyn Knapp. She was my favorite part of the whole picture. The scene with her and Withers under the pier is probably the film's highlight. It's an early talkie so it creaks and groans but at least it doesn't seem like a filmed stage play, so points for that. Still, after it's over, you won't be in any hurry to tell your friends about it.

Joan Blondell and Jimmy Cagney appeared in an undistinguished Broadway play "Penny Arcade" and it closed after only a couple dozen performances. However, according to IMDb, Al Jolson saw the play and liked it--particularly because of performances by the unknown Blondell and Cagney. So, he bought the rights and then sold them to Warner Brothers--and insisted the pair reprise their roles. However, it's very hard to see what Jolson saw in this play--and Cagney's performance didn't seem all that distinguished. And, if Cagney and Blondell hadn't gone on to become stars, I'm sure this film would have long been forgotten.This is the rather earthy story about a woman and her grown kids. She insists that her sons should not get involved with the bootlegging racket. Naturally, Cagney doesn't listen and soon gets in over his head. This leads to an argument with his boss and ends up with Cagney killing the man. So, it's up to Mama to try to save his sorry butt--and she's more than willing to pin it on an innocent man instead.Seeing Cagney in this film is interesting. He's certainly NOT the confident hood like he'd soon play in "The Public Enemy" or other gangster films. Here, he's really spineless and annoying--and you wonder how this role led to better things. It just wasn't that distinguished and the overall film looked like a very ordinary B-movie. The only standouts were Blondell (who was quite good in her relatively small role) and Lucille La Verne as the rather soul-less Mother.Is the film worth seeing? Well, if you are a huge fan of classic films and you are the type (like me) who wants to see all the films of a particular star, then this one is worth your time. Otherwise, it's just not all that good and it's just a time-passer...at best. And, I think its current score is a bit overrated.

Sinner's Holiday (1930) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Somewhat interesting drama about a small time crook (James Cagney) who kills a man in self defense but let's his sister's boyfriend (Grant Withers) take the blame. The most interesting aspect of this film is the fact that it was Cagney and Joan Blondell's screen debut. The film takes place inside Coney Island, which is another interesting thing to see. Other than that this early talkie is like many others of its day. There's way too much talking and none of it is very interesting. The direction is also pretty weak and there's just not too much life in the story. The relationship between Cagney and his mother played by Lucille LaVerne is also very strange in an incest type of way.

In 1929, James Cagney and Joan Blondell (neither of them well-known at the time) played supporting roles in a Broadway drama called "Penny Arcade". Warner Brothers bought the film rights and brought Cagney and Blondell to Hollywood to repeat their stage roles in the screen version, retitled "Sinner's Holiday". This was the first movie for both of them. (Blondell's second film, a quickie, was released before "Sinner's Holiday", a more prestigious picture.) The actual star of this film is Grant Withers, playing a gangster who's made a lot of enemies and needs a place to hide before he gets rubbed out. Withers is pretty good, and he deserves to be better known. Cagney's role is much smaller, but he's absolutely electrifying. As soon as he steps on screen, there's no question that he's the best actor in this movie ... one of the best actors in the history of films, in fact.Joan Blondell is boring in this film, as usual. Her appeal has always eluded me. At least in her other films she usually had something to do; here, she doesn't. There are good performances by Lucille LaVerne and Warren Hymer, in his usual typecast role as a dim gangster. Hank Mann, who was one of the original Keystone Cops (and who eventually outlived all the other Keystone Cops), is excellent here in a small role."Sinner's Holiday" suffers from the usual Warner Brothers complaint: low budget-itis. I saw the trailer for this film before I saw the movie itself. The trailer features a shot of amusement park rides in a funfair. This is obviously stock footage, but at least I expected the stock shot to turn up in the movie itself. Surprisingly, it doesn't. There's almost nothing on screen to convince you that this movie takes place in an amusement park. It looks like a stage play recorded on film, rather than a movie in its own right. Still, "Sinner's Holiday" has much to recommend it, and Cagney's performance alone is worth your time. I'll rate this movie 6 out of 10 points, or 7 if you're a Cagney fan. If you're a Joan Blondell fan, I don't want to know about it.