Johnny Le Vagabond

Freed at last from his contract with Warners and with an Oscar in his back pocket from 'Yankee Doodle Dandy', James Cagney enjoys himself playing a romantic drifter in this independent production produced by his brother William. (Director William K. Howard had enjoyed a considerable reputation in the thirties but by the forties was fighting a losing battle with the bottle so the two Cagney boys probably had quite a bit of input behind the scenes.)

The general feyness of the piece is tempered by Cagney's obvious enjoyment at being permitted to show more sensitivity than he was accustomed to. (Among the supporting cast, as a sassy madam introduced in bare shoulders and answering to the name of Gashouse Mary Marjorie Main also extends her range displaying a retro glamour that gives Mae West a run for her money; admiring herself in a mirror and observing "I haven't been spoken to like that in thirty years!")