Lady Killer Film Analysis - Movie Review Example

FILM ANALYSIS by Film Analysis The film industry has been existence for many years which makes it one of the oldest industries together with the music industry. The characters in the gangster films strive to achieve wealthy status through illegal means such as robbery. Each character in a gangster movie aims at achieving the best price or reward which may be either money or assets (Thoms, 2002). There is therefore high competition in order to emerge victorious which result to killings seen in such movies where the gangsters target some specific areas such as the banks so as to get huge wealth by stealing. This paper therefore gives an analysis of a gangster movie titled Lady Killer and was produced in 1933. The best example of a movie in this category of gangster movies is the Lady killer which was produced in the year 1933. Several characters are involved in the movie which is full of criminal activities all through to the end. The movie runs for 76 minutes covering all the elements required in any movie such as the stereotypes used to convey the convections of the genre. The movie was directed by one of the famous movie directors in America by the name Roy Del Ruth with the assistance of several other characters. The writing of the movie was done by two characters also famous in the film industry. These were Darryl F. Zanuck and Rosalind Keating. Finally there was the star in the movie who was one of the best ranked movie actors in 1930s identified by the name James Cagney. This film was released into market on 3rd December the year 1933 (Jacobs, 1930). A short story was written relating to the events that take place in the movie that shows the flow of the actions making the genre. It starts where the star by the name James Cagney was fired from his job and being the only bread winner for his family, he decided to go into crime to get money. This was a risky task that the star decided to take because his brother by the name Jin Konny was working in the police department on the criminology department. The main characters in the Lady killer movie are people who are able to acquire different characters in the public. In the movie, the actions of every character determine its genre. This makes it hard for the police to track them while they are carrying out their criminal activities (Munby, 1999). For example the main actor in the movie by the name James Cagney has been able to act like a policeman making it hard for the police to identify him. In this film, some characters engage in different kinds of criminal activities and this makes it hard for the police to investigate them fully. A certain character by the name Rosalind Keating has acted as the main drug trafficker in the film. His task was to ferry illegal drugs and sell them to Los Angeles. In order to succeed in the robbery mission, James Cagney decided to join hands with Sityl Hitr who was not only a gangster but also a business man in the city (Hardy, 2000). The two ganged up together and carried out several crime activities including robbing a certain bank in the city. In the course of their criminal activities, there arose some differences after failing to disagree on their equal share of the money they robbed the bank. The two separate and now each of them carry their own criminal activities independently. In the following year, Sityl Hirt who was a partner to James Cagney is arrested while robbing an electronic shop in the streets. James Cagney has acted several films that have turned him into a Hollywood star in the crime movie category. Together with his ability to escape and control other characters in the film, James Cagney has made several advancements in acting other genres of films. Being a Hollywood star, the actor has been ranked top in the action movies stars of 1930s. This made his movies sell in large numbers due to their level of entertainment compared to other films. After James Cagney moves to Los Angeles, tension arises that makes his criminal mission to fail though he still pushes to break into Dan’s house. Unluckily the gangster finds nothing important because his mission was to take away with him the confidential documents belonging to Dan. Back at home police get into his compound carrying out an investigation on James Cagney whereabouts. The police arrested his wife as to help them in tracking James. Having realized this, James Cagney is forced to return home to rescue his wife though this was a hard task since the wife was already in the hands of the police. The success of James Cagney in being one of the best crime movie stars is his ability to change his appearance in the public. This has made it hard for the police to arrest him in his criminal activities. This has made him a Hollywood movie star and his films are still hot in the movie industry up to this time. One of the most evident things that made acquire the face of a real gangster was the moustache that he used to put on. The gangster wore very unique attire that made him appear like a hotel attendant. This was to help him hide from the police because the attire could make him look like the rest of the hotel attendants. The firing of James Cagney from the theatre acts as a strong point which has led to the success in being a star. The star is able to change his character where at one time he pretends to be a policeman and this helped him from being arrested. Together with the ability to change his character, the star was able to overcome all the police traps where ladies were employed to assist in the tracking. Due to the much spy activities that were being carried by the police trying to arrest James, the star decides to change his citizenship and move to the neighboring country. This acted as a string point for him which also gave him a chance to continue with his criminal activities. According to the scenario given above, one can simply summarize that the films were mainly meant to entertain the audience although some genres entertain and at the same time educate the audiences. There are several different genres of movies ranging from the action movies to the adventure movies which are mostly meant for the children. The action movies are mainly meant for the adults while the adventure movies mostly attract the children and young adults (McArthur, 1972). Apart from the main genres, there are the subgenres like the historical episodes which show the history and advancement of a certain thing or a living thing. Other subgenres are like the disaster, martial arts and the spy thriller. Apart from entertaining, the films have several other advantages associated with the industry irrespective of which genre they belong (Howard, 2006). They help us identify the culture of the different people in the film depending on their mode of dressing and their eating habits. Films are also a powerful means of conveying experiences in one’s life. This is seen when characters tell their life history in a movie. Finally the films are an art which has been one of the biggest industries due to its entertainment. Crime movies such as the Lady Killer were first written in form of a story after which the film is acted to enhance the written tales (Thompson, 2010). The movies are characterized by robbery with violence, negative competition which results to killings and a lot of bloodshed. This happens as the characters try to get the material wealth or the ultimate prize which is got by the one who come out victorious. Other crimes are associated with the gangster movies which are all aimed at acquiring wealth and fame by the characters. One of the major crimes associated with the gangster movies in the 1930s is the drug trafficking (Leitch, 2002). Other features are used to distinguish the different genres of films that are already in the market. Each genre including the subgenres has its own features that help identify it among other class of movies. In most cases, some genres are classified into one group because of their almost alike features. An example in this is the close relationship between the action movie genre and the martial art subgenre. In both of these genres, there is involvement of some supernatural characters that are able to act like super beings (Mason, 2003). Another major character is the animation that is evident in action films. This makes the distinguishing factor from other genres of films in the market today. There is also a lot of fiction where there are some super natural actions that are acted which are beyond the normal human being capability. Most of these movies in the different genres end up in suspense (Halbfinger, 2007). This has been one of the most common features of every kind of a film. Together with robbery, the characters in the movie are known to be drug dealers who compete to gain wealth through the business. There are also issues of prostitution where children are kidnapped and forced in to the business by the criminals so as to make money for them. This being an illegal act that is prohibited by the government, the characters in the crime movies maintain very high privacy in the business. Gambling is also evident in the crime movies where the characters invest a lot of money in games of chances. All this is done to gain wealth and fame which is usually the ultimate goal of every character in the movie. References Halbfinger, DM 2007, The Power and the Glitter: the Hollywood. Washington connection, Pantheon Books, ISBN 0394-56938-5 Hardy, P 2000, The Overlook film encyclopedia: The gangster film. New York: Overlook Press. Howard, H 2006, Crime Wave: The Film Goers Guide to Great Crime Movies. New York: I.B. Tauris and Co. Ltd., p. 7 Jacobs, L 1930, Rise of the American film, The Harcourt Brace, New York, 1930; p. 85 Leitch, T 2002, Crime films, New York: Cambridge University Press. Mason, F 2003, American gangster cinema: From “Little Caesar” to “Pulp Fiction.” New York: Palgrave. McArthur, C1972, Underworld U.S.A. (Vol 20 of Cinema One series), Secker and Warburg for the British Film Institute Munby, J 1999, Public enemies, Public heroes: Screening the gangster from Little Caesar to Touch of Evil. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Thompson, K 2010, Film History: An Introduction. Madison, Wisconsin: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-338613-3 Thoms, L 2002, Crime Films Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 26. Read More