William B. Davidson

James Cagney between Warner Bros. contracts, starring for Grand National in a Hollywood satire he clearly relished. Terry Rooney, a New York band leader and hoofer, is shipped to Hollywood to become a movie star, hates everything about the factory system, and walks out on his own hit picture — while studio publicists try to manufacture a romance that has nothing to do with his real life. Evelyn Daw, William Frawley, and Gene Lockhart co-star, with Victor Schertzinger directing his own score. Cagney gets to tap-dance, roughhouse, and mock the industry that made him, and the film is far sharper than its poverty-row distributor suggests. The film entered the public domain through non-renewal of copyright.

Comedy · Musical · Romance

An RKO pre-Code adventure drama adapted from Rex Beach's 1909 novel, directed by George Archainbaud. Joel McCrea plays Boyd Emerson, a young man who heads to Alaska to make his fortune in the salmon fisheries and finds himself squeezed between ruthless cannery interests and two very different women — society girl Mildred Wayland (Jean Arthur) and Cherry Malotte (Evelyn Brent), the worldly saloon keeper who truly loves him. Louis Wolheim is memorable as George Balt, the rough-edged fisherman who becomes Boyd's loyal ally. Shot partly on location in Alaska, it was an early talkie showcase for McCrea on his way to stardom. The film entered the public domain in the United States in 1958 after its copyright was not renewed.

Drama · Adventure · Romance