Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

"Each Dawn I Die" may not lend itself to realism but your typical film-goer doesn't look for plausibility in a plot. He/she is hoping to be entertained and if any part of a film is well made, then so much the better. James Cagney was now having much more of a say in his choice of films at "Warner Bros." and some of his choices between 1938 and 1942 are amongst his very best. He gives "Each Dawn I Die" everything he has got and more. He is a journalist who is a victim of an elaborate set up after he threatens to expose the District Attorney regarding allegations of corruption. Cagney finds himself found guilty on a trumped up charge of manslaughter and is sent to prison. There he struggles to maintain hope that his name shall be cleared by the hard efforts of those who believe in him. Cagney is convincing as someone who is rather vulnerable as well as being tough and is the performance to watch. Whilst in prison, he befriends convict George Raft and other inmates besides. All kinds of turmoil occur in the film's running time, not to mention the gritty moments as well. The script is perfectly OK for what the film is and the sets uses for the prison serve their purpose effectively. The build-up to the climax is very good and the climax itself is shattering. Cagney and Raft work well together and it's a shame they weren't in more films together. For Raft, "Each Dawn I Die" was one of his stronger vehicles. Watch and enjoy!

EACH DAWN I DIE (Warner Brothers, 1939), directed by William Keighley, is a powerful story revolving around two men of different backgrounds who meet while serving time behind prison walls. Taken from the novel by Jerome Odlum, this adds to the many prison related themes commonly produced by the studio at that time. Aside from its fine direction and assortment of familiar stock players, the major draw happens to be on two most notable tough guys of the silver screen: James Cagney and George Raft. Although they initially appeared together, ever so briefly, in a dance marathon sequence from Cagney's starring film, TAXI (1932), EACH DAWN I DIE, their only real collaboration together, is certainly a worthy offering for them both. As their individual styles and distinctive mannerisms combined make up one solitary movie, it's Raft who gets both the best notices and a much-needed career boost after previous mediocre assignments from his former home base studio of Paramount. The plot opens on a stormy night as Frank W. Ross (James Cagney), reporter for The Banton Record, arrives at a construction company where he witnesses through the window Jesse Hanley (Thurston Hall), district attorney running for governor, and assistant, W.J. Grayce (Victor Jory), burning up their books and documents. After the news reached the front page, and before gathering enough evidence that could send the corrupt politician to prison, Hanley beats Ross to the punch by hiring thugs to abduct and have him placed drunk inside a moving car that crashes and kills three innocent people. Found guilty on charges of manslaughter, Ross is sentenced from one to twenty years in Rocky Point Prison. The news leaves his fellow reporter associates, Joyce Conover (Jane Bryan), Bill Mason (William B. Davidson) along with his poor mother (Emma Dunn), in total disbelief as they watch the handcuffed Frank being taken away. While in prison, Ross (Convict # 14517) finds himself under strict rule by Warden Armstrong (George Bancroft), while he and the other prisoners under the mercy of Pete Kassock (John Wray), a sadistic guard. Because Ross has saved the life of fellow inmate, "Hood" Stacy (George Raft), an underworld thug (Convict # 14520) sentenced to 199 years, the two eventually become good friends. Knowing the men who framed Ross, Stacy promises to help him regain his freedom. The only way to accomplish this is to be on the outside. With Ross's help, a well-staged escape is planned. Although Stacy's escape proves successful, a slight mishap on Ross's part has Stacy going back on his promise. Convinced of playing part of the Stacy's breakaway, Ross goes through the motions of brutal punishment and endless time in solitary confinement. As each dawn he dies, Ross continues to wait and wait and wait for a promise from Stacy that may never be fulfilled.George Raft, an truly underrated actor, shows how good he can be when offered a role to perfection. Though Raft did win critical praise and attention as Stacy, Cagney, too, is equally convincing as Ross. His distinctive Cagney trademark shines through with crucial scenes as his confrontation with the warden as he shows how hard-hitting and rebellious he's become while in solitary, along with his element of surprise and emotion when face to face with the new head of the parole board. Powerful stuff.Regardless of frequent television revivals over the years, EACH DAWN I DIE doesn't seem to be as well known as it should be, or maybe that's how it currently appears. The film itself is well-constructed as it is suspenseful. Though essentially original in premise, the routinely used elements of prisoners working in juke mills, taking recreation time in the courtyard, well-staged fist fights, prison break attempts and unpleasant punishment methods are commonly found here. There's even time out at the movies where inmates come together in the prison theater with the orchestra of cons playing the hit tune originated from SHIPMATES FOREVER (1935), "Don't Give Up the Ship," prior to the presentation of an actual 1939 Warner Brothers release, WINGS IN THE NAVY. While Jane Bryan is the only major female member in the cast, the film does refrain from any cliché romantic angles. Also among the list of tough-guy types in active support include Stanley Ridges, Maxie Rosenbloom, Alan Baxter and Paul Hurst. Though EACH DAWN I DIE may have flaws, the story and fine acting by all makes up for it in the long run. Distributed to home video and available on DVD, look for it next time it's broadcast on Turner Classic Movies and see the film responsible for earning George Raft a newfound studio contract for Warner Brothers. (***1/2)

This is a classic title from the Warner Bros studio released in 1939 and starring James Cagney and George Raft. Even by today's cynical standards, its premise of an innocent man emotionally tortured by serving time in jail for something he didn't do is, to put it bluntly - alarming. The action comes at a fast pace, and Cagney gives one of his great, iconic performances, as he runs the emotional gamut from A to B.The story concerns a reporter who, by honestly writing stories about political corruption for his newspaper, is framed by a powerful politician for a crime he did not commit and is sent to prison. Nobody believes in his innocence besides his girlfriend and a well-connected gangster (George Raft), who surprisingly enough, sympathises, presumably having first hand experience of what corrupt politicians are really capable of.'Each Dawn I Die' is such a difficult film to sit through because the audience is well aware of Cagney's innocence from the beginning and it is discomforting to see how he becomes institutionalised by the system when he shouldn't even be where he is. Cagney's futile efforts in submitting to prison discipline when he knows that he has been railroaded become heroic as the film cleverly manipulates the audience into seeing everything from his perspective only. Unfortunately, being the honest and innocent fellow that he is, the consequence of this injustice is that he appears to temporarily lose his sanity, and decides to join in a prison escape. The escape doesn't go to plan, and the ending is downbeat and not at all reassuring about the life Cagney can expect on the outside as a convicted criminal.There is an interesting subplot concerning Raft's character and to what degree Raft will go, to assist Cagney to get back at the politician who framed him (with Raft and his gang's assistance.) It is astounding how nobody - except for his girlfriend and Raft, - believes that Cagney is innocent when it's clearly shown to the viewer that this is the case. This is supposed to arouse sympathy for the underdog and his cohorts in prison, but it becomes irritating when the audience has no reason to disbelieve what they have already seen at the start of the movie. There are plenty of fights, memorable characters and the typically bleak Warners depiction of prisons which are enough to make sure that anyone watching in the audience stays on the right side of the law. The more demanding viewer may have cause to wonder how often the scenario of this film may happen in reality or whether it's just a typical Hollywood beat-up. But why spoil such an entertaining movie? Taken at its face value this film is an entertaining prison melodrama from the Golden Years of Hollywood and a good example of Warner Brothers renowned sense of realism in its portrayal of American working class life between the Great Depression and WWII. It was a subject that other studios wouldn't touch but for that very reason, the studio's fortune was made by these stories depicting lives of crime and others mistakenly caught in its web through no fault of their own. (Admittedly this does not happen often, but it is a movie that we're watching.) 'Each Dawn I Die' comes highly recommended for lovers of these kinds of films, as well as everybody else who enjoys being entertained.

Folks, It doesn't get much better than "Each Dawn I Die" with James Cagney and George Raft... This is one of my top-5 all-time gangster / prison films from the golden era of Hollywood film-making...I thought James Cagney, George Raft, George Bancroft and Jane Bryan were just terrific in this film... I can watch this movie three or four times a year, depending on my mood and state of mind... I never seem to grow tired of this film... Probably never will, either....I am much more into the tough guy and mobster roles' actors like Cagney, Bogie, Robinson & George Raft made in their peak years in Hollywood... I never was big on Musicals' or Song and Dance films..... The years between 1930 to 1950 are no doubt my favorite years of classic film-making..... "Gangster & Horror" were at their best....MR.BILL Raleigh