TV Obsessive
The Time of Your Life
Hal: One of the great hidden gems of ’40s cinema, The Time of Your Life is a Cagney family production of the stage play by Armenian writer William Saroyan. Produced by William Cagney and starring his siblings James and Jeanne alongside a terrific ensemble cast, the film has an atmosphere and attitude halfway between the urbane social-existential theatrical dramas of the mid-20th Century, and a traditional vaudeville variety hour. The resultant mix feels almost predictive of the stylings of the Coens, with characters and situations that feel not too far removed from their faintly surreal milieus.
James Cagney stars as Joe, an independently wealthy people-watcher who hangs out at Nick’s tavern tending to the woes and cares of the many patrons who come and go, to the bewilderment of the bar’s reliable owner Nick (William Bendix). Among the eclectic lineup who arrive to drink the day away are a hard luck dame (Jeanne Cagney), Joe’s lovesick disciple Tom (Wayne Morris)—whom Joe is always sending off on bizarre errands—a gifted tap-dancer convinced his true talent is surreal politically charged comedy (Paul Draper), and a scene-stealing, tale-spinning cowboy (a fantastic performance by James Barton).
Each of these characters gets their own moment in the spotlight, alternately wistfully touching or hilariously weird. There’s a wry undercurrent of social comment, but it’s treated with such an offhanded and ironic tone that it’s hard to take the film’s playful satirising of Union corruption too seriously. The film’s personal ethos comes together in Joe, beatifically passing down benedictions from behind a bottle of champagne that will never run dry and always comes with an extra glass for whomever will pull up a chair. As he sits at his regular table—his financial needs provided for by who knows what—part Irish mafia Don, part modern day saint, he dedicates himself to the pursuit of what he calls living a harmless life, helping others, even when they don’t yet grasp the long game he’s playing. With every action, he, like the movie, exudes good cheer and affection for humankind.
Only 215 people on Letterboxd have apparently seen The Time of Your Life, a criminally low number for one of the best American films of the 1940s, with a delicious script by Saroyan and William Curtis, terrifically lovable performances by the colourful ensemble and cinematography from Hollywood veteran James Wong Howe. It’s one of the most underseen films in existence and it’s one of the rare films I would recommend to absolutely anyone.
