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would have been a better film if...


they had left the romance subplot out of it. It changed the too much. Agree or disagree?

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Unfortunately that was a necessary component to demonstrate how much Rodock had "evolved." Although I liked him MUCH BETTER in the early part of the film, when he was a hard@zz!! It's too bad that the liberal Eastern pansy and the Greek witch had to ruin him.

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To me it looked more like his own realization of what he was doing to the people he loved which culminated in the scene with the the Peterson kid, rather than the role played by the other two characters. The "Hollywood" ending was interesting, allbeit unexpected. A natural path towards self-destruction would be the more natural ending, however, this particular "happy ending" embodied the spirit of the West. In the absence of any form of legitimate law other than the one he made for himself, a powerful "Bad Man" could get away with almost anything.

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The only reason I watched this movie is because it had Irene Papas in it. Otherwise, it was just another oat burner.

I don't know everything. Neither does anyone else

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I agree but only partially. I think she is a good actress and a well-crafted moral compass, but on the other hand, if the lady was written out, there'd be a 10 minute film. It's all her talking.

The problem is Pappas talks more about Cagney's "problem" than we see it. The movie should have began with a hanging. Then cut to the opening credits after. Then have the narration after showing 1 year later, having established what Cagney does. Instead, we have to sort of just hear about what a man he is, and then we only see his Hanging Fever one time past the mid-point when its kinda too late. It works for the kid, who's the buried lead throughout, but too much has happened for this scene to make Cagney more effective an antagonistic protagonist.

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