A major motion picture touching on the topic of unwed pregnancies (although the word 'pregnant' is never mentioned) in 1956 must've been been pretty mature stuff. But I have a couple of problems: although Cagney's great as the steel tycoon searching for his abandoned son but he's practically 20 years too old to be completely believable (by the math involved his character should've been in his late 30's, not 57). If you can suspend that disbelief, Jimmy shows a lot of depth (this being in the last real active period of his career) and the script may have hit home, given that his children were adopted. Being an MGM picture means hauling out Walter Pigeon and he's also good in the role of the top flight attorney. This isn't a physical film, there's no fist fights or smoking guns, just a handful of old pros acting convincingly given a script that appears to be missing a few pages. It's also odd that for Steve Bradford to be such a notable former resident of the town, he doesn't get noticed or seems to feel the urge to look anyone up or harbor one nostalgic thought about the place; his life there is a complete mystery. Even the climactic confrontation feels empty. The ending seems a little strange today (dodging a spoiler) and feels added to tack on an upbeat ending.
Review of These Wilder Years
