A Lion Is in the Streets [Blu-ray]

Director: Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh

Overview

James Cagney and director Raoul Walsh reunite with Cagney portraying a Huey Long-styled Southern governor named Hank Martin, who gains the support of poor voters and heads off to Washington to fight on their behalf, but soon finds he's become as amoral and corrupt as the politicos he set out to challenge.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/25/2023
UPC:	0810103689350
Original Release:	1953
Rating:	NR
Source:	WARNER BROS
Language:	English
Time:	1:28:00
Sales rank:	27,401

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

James Cagney	Hank Martin,Jennie Brown
Barbara Hale	Verity
Anne Francis	Flamingo
Warner Anderson	Bolduc
John McIntire	Jeb Brown
Lon Chaney Jr.	Spurge
Frank McHugh	Rector
Larry Keating	Robert J. Castleberry
Onslow Stevens	Guy Polli
James Millican	Mr. Beach
Mickey Simpson	Tim Peck
Sara Haden	Lulu May
Ellen Corby	Singing Woman
Roland Winters	Prosecutor
Burt Mustin	Swith
Irene Tedrow	Sophy
Fay Roope	Gov. Snowden
Henry Kulky	Polli's Butler
Sarah Selby	Townswoman
James Griffith	Castleberry's Secretary/Mayor's Clerk
William 'Bill' Phillips	Deputy Lewis
Sam McDaniel	Moses, Bolduc's Butler
Creighton Chaney	Spurge
Franz Waxman	Composer

Technical Credits

Luther Davis

Raoul Walsh	Director
William Cagney	Producer
Roscoe Cline	Special Effects
Luther Davis	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Although some feel that A Lion is in the Streets would have been better received had it not followed then earlier All the King's Men, which was also based upon the career of Huey Long, the fact is that Lion simply isn't as good as Men. The crucial difference is the screenplay; Lion's simply isn't particularly good, veering off into lurid melodrama on many occasions, stretching credibility in others, and failing to create any real, viable characters for the leading role to play off of. Fortunately, Lion does have a magnetic star turn from the irresistible James Cagney. The actor clearly relishes the part, taking hold of the screen from the moment he enters and never missing an opportunity to get under the skin of this grotesque but fascinating creature. True, it's not a flawless performance: his accent comes and goes (sometimes several times within one sentence), and at times Cagney goes a bit too far. But he gives Lion a much needed anchor and makes it hard to look away while he is on screen. As noted, the other actors have less to work with, but Anne Francis is strangely appealing as the swamp slut, and Barbara Hale does the best she can with the thankless role of the wife. Raoul Walsh pulls some nice directorial tricks, including almost making the infamous "dead man trial" work; he can't totally mask the screenplay's flaws, but he does make it look much better than it should. And he could have probably done even better, had the movie been shot in black-and-white, rather than in color, which adds to the lurid nature of the tale.