The Crowd Roars

Directed by Howard Hawks, The Crowd Roars details the rivalry between sibling racers Joe (James Cagney) and Eddie (Eric Linden) and the degree to which it affects those around them (including Joan Blondell’s Anne and Ann Dvorak’s Lee). It’s a comfortably familiar premise that’s employed to mostly watchable (if rather forgettable) effect by Hawks, as the filmmaker delivers a paint-by-numbers melodrama that benefits from its raft of compelling performances – with Cagney and Linden’s stirring work here matched by their female costars, Blondell and Dvorak. It’s clear, too, that the picture’s racing sequences pack a far more exciting and visceral punch than one might’ve anticipated, although there’s little doubt, ultimately, that The Crowd Roars is at its best when focused on the entertainingly trashy personal antics of its four central characters. (Cagney’s Joe undergoes a fall from grace that’s nothing short of remarkable, for example.) And while the movie admittedly suffers from a handful of lulls throughout its 70 minutes, The Crowd Roars finishes with an engrossing climactic race that ensures it ends on a positive (albeit somewhat abrupt) note – which finally does confirm its place as a decent-enough effort from Hawks.

**1/2 out of ****