Each Dawn I Die

1939

Each Dawn I Die

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68%
liked it

Audience Score

User Ratings: 554

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AUDIENCE SCORE

68%
Average Rating: 3.6/5

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Movie Info

Otis Ferguson has said of Each Dawn I Die that "the story is of the kind you would have to see to disbelieve." And to be sure, the film is nothing more than a sampler of '30s prison-film conventions. But with the brilliant acting by James Cagney and the fast-paced and hard-edged direction of William Keighley, the film clatters past like an express train. Cagney plays Frank Ross, an innocent newspaperman who is railroaded into prison by a corrupt district attorney. In prison, he meets hardened-con Stacey (George Raft). Frank, at first, doesn't want to associate with Stacey and the other prisoners, but trapped in the hellhole prison, he more and more turns into a bitter con. Finally granted a hearing from the parole board, Frank pleads his innocence, but the parole board is headed by Grayce (Victor Jury), the man responsible for his imprisonment, and his parole is denied, and Frank becomes more hardened and embittered. By this point, Stacey has befriended him and agrees to help Frank prove his innocence. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

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Cast

James Cagney
as Frank Ross
George Raft
as 'Hood' Stacey
George Bancroft
as John Armstrong
Jane Bryan
as Joyce
Stanley Ridges
as Muller
Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom
as Fargo Red
Alan Baxter
as Polecat Carlisle
Victor Jory
as W.J. Grayce
Willard Robertson
as Lang
Paul Hurst
as Garsky
John Wray
as Peter Kassock
Louis Jean Heydt
as Joe Lassiter
Edward Pawley
as Dale
Joseph Downing
as Limpy Julien
Emma Dunn
as Mrs. Ross
Thurston Hall
as District Attorney Jesse Hanley
Clay Clement
as Stacey's Attorney Lockhart/Clay Clement
William B. Davidson
as Bill Mason
John Ridgely
as Jerry Poague, Reporter
John Harron
as Lew Keller, Reporter
Selmer Jackson
as Patterson
Robert E. Homans
as Mac the Guard
Harry Cording
as Temple
Abner Biberman
as Shake Edwards
Napoleon Simpson
as Mose
Cliff Saum
as Accident Witness
Tom Wilson
as Accident Witness
Al Lloyd
as Accident Witness
Jack Goodrich
as Accident Witness
Stuart Holmes
as Accident witness
Alice Connors
as Accident Witness
Fern Barry
as Accident Witness
Maris Wrixon
as Girl in Car
Garland Smith
as Man in Car
Arthur Gardner
as Man in Car
James Flavin
as Policeman
Charles Trowbridge
as Judge
Eddy Chandler
as Deputy
John Dilson
as Parole Board Member
Max Hoffman Jr.
as Gate guard
Henry Otho
as Guard
Lee Phelps
as Guard
Dick Rich
as Guard
Jack C. Smith
as Guard
Walter Miller
as Turnkey
Fred Graham
as Guard in cell
Wilfred Lucas
as Bailiff
Vera Lewis
as Jury woman
Emmett Vogan
as Prosecutor
Earl Dwire
as Judge Crowder
Frank Mayo
as Telegraph Editor
Mack Gray
as Joe
Bob Perry
as Bud
Al Hill
as Johnny the Hood
Selmar Jackson
as Patterson
Elliott Sullivan
as Convict
Chuck Hamilton
as Court officer
Joe Sully
Nat Carr
Wedgewood Nowell
as Parole Board Member
Jack Wise
as Convict
Granville Bates
John Conte
as Narrator
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Critic Reviews for Each Dawn I Die

All Critics (1)

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Audience Reviews for Each Dawn I Die

If your a Cagney fan this is a must see, he's dynamic as ever. The script is just the standard Warners 30's prison pic but it's professionally done. Raft is stiff as ever and Jane Bryan overacts terribly but if you're a fan of the genre this is as good as any of them.

jay nixon
jay nixon

Super Reviewer

After watching Each Dawn I Die you're not really going to wonder why its not one of James Cagney's more well known movies but its well worth the watch. This time out Cagney plays a tough guy reporter who gets framed for murder while trying to expose a corrupt would be politician. Inside he meets a career criminal who helps him clear his name. The first two acts are pretty solid but somewhere in the last act it kind of craps out. Its not exactly The Shawshank Redemption and its not quite Brute Force but for fans of Cagney and George Raft watching won't be wasted time.

Michael Gildea
Michael Gildea

Super Reviewer

Yet another great performance by James Cagney as a newspaper reporter who is set up by thugs and condemned to life in prison. George Raft plays a jailbird who claims to know how to help Cagney clear his name, if Cagney will help Raft escape from prison. Similar in tone and plot line to Mayor of Hell (which I saw immediately before this). Which treatment is more appropriate for prisoners -- vengeance and punishment or understanding and reform?

Cindy I
Cindy I

Super Reviewer

½

good gritty prison drama. cagney plays a reporter who goes in on a false charge and teams up with george raft to clear his name, ending, of course, in a full scale riot.

Stella Dallas
Stella Dallas

Super Reviewer

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