On C List of Movie Reviews

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City for Conquest (1940)

Rate: 3
Viewed: 11/07

11/07: Although I've enjoyed some parts of City for Conquest until end of the boxing match, the film is a disaster.

It's a film noir in the absence of a plot. The narrator is terrible and keeps killing my motivation. Whenever he appears, I can't bear the sight of him. What does he have to do with the whole thing?

Some characters including Anthony Quinn's are abruptly dropped throughout while the boxing scenes are pathetic. James Cagney holds his own, but he's too old to play the boy. Every time Ann Sheridan is shown, she's either smiling hard or at the verge of tears.

I've never seen Elia Kazan on screen as an actor, and he plays Googi. After seeing his performance, I'll say he was wise to stay behind the camera not long afterwards for the rest of his life. Losing steam after the end of the boxing match, the rest becomes drawn out.

All in all, City for Conquest is a weak film noir that doesn't work on the whole.

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