Product Details

• Actors: James Cagney, Mae Clarke, James Burke, Edward Brophy, Henry Kolker
• Format: Black & White, EP, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Madacy Records
• VHS Release Date: September 19, 1997
• Run Time: 70 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630393434X
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #258,952 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Silly title, fun movie, March 10, 2002

By 

Andrew McCaffrey "The Grumpy Young Man" (Satellite of Love, Maryland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Great Guy (DVD)

(Please note that the DVD edition I am reviewing is the bare-bones Laserlight release that features the film and precious little else.)

GREAT GUY is a fun film. It's not especially complicated or insightful; it won't give you a new perception into the depths of the human experience. But for a film that barely lasts for over an hour, it's an entertaining chunk of action that's well worth viewing.

Since the running time of this film is only an hour and six minutes (the back of the DVD package incorrectly lists this as 75 minutes) one won't be surprised to find that this isn't a terribly demanding movie. But it's certainly engaging, and it's quite enjoyable to watch James Cagney as an official in the Office of Weights and Measures going around thumping people who don't perform up to their required specifications. The jokes all work and the action sequences are executed well.

The DVD isn't in great shape, though as this is a budget release one would suspect that this might be the case. The picture is a bit scratchy and there are numerous jumps and slight cuts in the action. The sound quality has similar flaws; several popping noises and other numerous audible distractions abound during the running of this DVD.

This is a fun film that's recommended to fans of James Cagney. It's a pleasant way to while away an hour of a Saturday afternoon if you find yourself with some time to kill. The Laserlight DVD itself contains a few flaws, so you may want to try to find a better version of the film.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Great Guy, September 19, 2005

By 

Steven Hellerstedt "SH" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Great Guy [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Jimmy Cagney didn't always play fast-talking, two-fisted bad guys in the 1930s. In THE GREAT GUY Cagney plays a fast-talking, two-fisted good guy who, due to a suspicious accident to the Boss, finds himself temporarily in charge of the Bureau of Weight and Measures for what appears to be New York City. Although the Boss warns him to `keep your head on your shoulders and your fists in your pocket' (love the dialogue in this one) Cagney is too much the crusader to heed such reasonable advice. When not running down short-shifting green grocers and heavy-thumbed butchers Cagney sets his sights on a juicy, and dangerous, nest of corrupt politicos.

Cagney is engaged to pretty young Mae Clarke, who rather conveniently is secretary to a city leader, a benign philanthropist by day and, Cagney hunches, a graft raking extortionist by night. The easily digested plot hinges on how Clarke responds to Cagney's accusations against her employer. Although Cagney doesn't push a grapefruit in Clarke's face this time around, they do engage in a series of pre-nuptial lovers' spats that add a nice bit of texture to an otherwise pleasantly unambitious movie. THE GREAT GUY is the type of movie that invites us to ask, while practically insisting we not worry about, such things as - Will Cagney compromise his integrity, by easing up on the grafting philanthropist, to save his relationship with the winsome Clarke? Will Clarke ever realize what a truly great guy this pugnacious, temporary manager of the Bureau of Weights and Measures really is?

There's something winning about a movie that entertains without breaking much of a sweat. Even Cagney, who could be a live wire when working with important Grade-A material, is relatively subdued. The good cast and bouncy action - especially Cagney - trim THE GREAT GUY with enough interesting bits of business to make palatable - downright tasty, as a matter of fact - a plot that is overly familiar and predictable.

3.0 out of 5 stars b-movie, December 13, 2011

By 

Michael J. Mason "melchizedek22" (toledo ohio) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Great Guy (DVD)

OK B-movie not on par with Cagneys WB movies,just average B-movie but Mae Clarke never looked better then she does in this movie