"THE WAGON IS NEVER AN EASY RIDE".
In the wake of Paramount's enduring classic "Lost Weekend" (1945) comes this equally absorbing tale of alcohol addiction from Warner Bros. entitled COME FILL THE CUP. It is one of the best pictures of its kind thanks in no small measure to the presence of James Cagney who delivers a powerful performance first as a down and out alcoholic on the skids and then later as a reformed victim trying to sway others away from the demon drink. Produced in 1951 for the studio by Henry Blanke it was nicely written for the screen by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was based on the novel by Harlan Ware. Beautifully photographed in crisp Black & White by Robert Burks it was directed with fine care and attention to detail by Gordan Douglas.
Cagney plays Lew Marsh a reporter with The Sun Herald. But Lew has a problem. He drinks too much and his career is in tatters. Because of drink he can't hold down his job and is fired when he is five days late with a story. He becomes a hopeless vagrant. A dishevelled drunken bum staggering along the streets of the city waiting for the bars to open. Collapsing on the roadway he is taken to a hospital's alcoholic ward. On his release ("I hope I never see you again Marsh" the doctor tells him) he becomes acquainted with an ex alcoholic Charlie Dolan (James Gleason) who takes him in and rehabilitates him. Without ever drinking again he manages to secure his job back on the newspaper and after some years he is promoted to chief story editor. But now his boss (Raymond Massey) sends for him and asks for his help to stop his nephew (Gig Young) drinking. Reluctantly Lew takes on the job but faces a mammoth task.
The acting is superb from the entire cast. Cagney in particular is simply brilliant and here gives one of his very best performances. The film's early scenes of him drunkenly making his way along the city streets are quite riveting and harrowing in the extreme. Excellent also is James Gleason and the always polished Raymond Massey but extraordinary is the performance from the ill-fated Gig Young here revealing a remarkable talent. The sequence where he goes "cold turkey" and madly rummages through his apartment desperately searching for an elusive bottle of booze is a stunningly profound and concentrated piece of acting. Gig Young quite rightly was nominated for an Acadamy Award for his efforts in the picture. Also of note is the music score which features an attractive piano concerto written by Warner's music supervisor Ray Heindorf and the eerie background score which was composed by the uncredited Max Steiner.
COME FILL THE CUP is a great movie that hasn't dated at all since it was made and is just as vital, pertinent and appropriate today as it was in 1951 or, sadly perhaps, even more so.
In the wake of Paramount's enduring classic "Lost Weekend" (1945) comes this equally absorbing tale of alcohol addiction from Warner Bros. entitled COME FILL THE CUP. It is one of the best pictures of its kind thanks in no small measure to the presence of James Cagney who delivers a powerful performance first as a down and out alcoholic on the skids and then later as a reformed victim trying to sway others away from the demon drink. Produced in 1951 for the studio by Henry Blanke it was nicely written for the screen by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was based on the novel by Harlan Ware. Beautifully photographed in crisp Black & White by Robert Burks it was directed with fine care and attention to detail by Gordan Douglas.
Cagney plays Lew Marsh a reporter with The Sun Herald. But Lew has a problem. He drinks too much and his career is in tatters. Because of drink he can't hold down his job and is fired when he is five days late with a story. He becomes a hopeless vagrant. A dishevelled drunken bum staggering along the streets of the city waiting for the bars to open. Collapsing on the roadway he is taken to a hospital's alcoholic ward. On his release ("I hope I never see you again Marsh" the doctor tells him) he becomes acquainted with an ex alcoholic Charlie Dolan (James Gleason) who takes him in and rehabilitates him. Without ever drinking again he manages to secure his job back on the newspaper and after some years he is promoted to chief story editor. But now his boss (Raymond Massey) sends for him and asks for his help to stop his nephew (Gig Young) drinking. Reluctantly Lew takes on the job but faces a mammoth task.
The acting is superb from the entire cast. Cagney in particular is simply brilliant and here gives one of his very best performances. The film's early scenes of him drunkenly making his way along the city streets are quite riveting and harrowing in the extreme. Excellent also is James Gleason and the always polished Raymond Massey but extraordinary is the performance from the ill-fated Gig Young here revealing a remarkable talent. The sequence where he goes "cold turkey" and madly rummages through his apartment desperately searching for an elusive bottle of booze is a stunningly profound and concentrated piece of acting. Gig Young quite rightly was nominated for an Acadamy Award for his efforts in the picture. Also of note is the music score which features an attractive piano concerto written by Warner's music supervisor Ray Heindorf and the eerie background score which was composed by the uncredited Max Steiner.
COME FILL THE CUP is a great movie that hasn't dated at all since it was made and is just as vital, pertinent and appropriate today as it was in 1951 or, sadly perhaps, even more so.