The Roaring Twenties (1939)

Excellent drama starring James Cagney as Eddie Bartlett, a World War I veteran who turns to crime during Prohibition. He’s in love with a young singer who wrote to him during the war (Priscilla Lane) and ends up in business with another ruthless veteran (Humphrey Bogart) he cannot trust. As gang culture escalates, so do Eddie’s problems. Unsurprisingly, there isn’t a happy ending.

Cagney is excellent as the gangster who can’t make the girl he loves love him back. Lane is endearing and seems incredibly young as his would-be sweetheart. Gladys George is particularly convincing as Panama Smith, a cabaret club hostess and Eddie’s one true friend. Like her, you end up rooting for Eddie – despite everything – rather than moralising about his life choices.

The film covers a lot of ground, moving from the end of WWI to the early 1930s. Newsreel footage shows the changes in America that directly affect the characters. And while there’s an epic sweep, and plenty happens, it never feels slow or laboured because the pacing is so well judged.

Intermezzo (1939)

Tepid and mostly uninvolving drama about a celebrated violinist (Leslie Howard) who falls for his young daughter’s piano teacher (Ingrid Bergman). It’s only an hour and nine minutes long, racing through scenes and events in a way that seems unsubtle and even childish.

Bergman is believable enough as a young woman getting out of her depth. She had already appeared in a Swedish version of the same film in 1936, and she appears entirely comfortable reprising the role. Leslie Howard, however, completely fails to convey the passion or confusion he is supposed to be experiencing. There’s a lack of nuance throughout and this prevents you engaging with the characters. Indeed, the family dog is given more personality than the violinist’s wife Margit (Edna Best).

Everything is resolved far too easily, suggesting that the emotional stakes were never very high. Even the one moment of true drama – a car accident – is quickly dealt with and made as unremarkable as all the other events.