Synopsis
After turning down several other Hollywood producers, playwright William Saroyan sold the film rights of his whimsical Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Time of Your Life to James and
William Cagney. The scene is a rundown San Francisco waterfront bar, populated by a group of lovable eccentrics. Joe (James Cagney), a philosophical souse, encourages all around him to indulge in their wildest dreams. Joe's pal Tom (
Wayne Morris), a born patsy, runs errands for Joe, the only person who has ever shown him kindness. Kitty (
Jeanne Cagney), a streetwalker, willingly allows Joe to sponge drinks off her in exchange for a few nice words. Harry (
Paul Draper), an enthusiastic but hopelessly untalented dancer-comedian, is hired by bartender Nick (
William Bendix) at Joe's urging. And Kit Carson (
James Barton), an addled old man who lives in a dream world, is prodded by Joe into weaving his unlikely reminiscences of the Wild West. It is Kit Carson (
James Barton) who solves everyone's problems by eliminating a particularly scabrous detective named Blick (
Tom Powers).
Time of Your Life was originally filmed with Saroyan's bizarrely humorous ending intact, but the preview audiences reacted negatively, forcing the Cagney brothers to shoot $300,000 worth of retakes. Though many historians have written off The Time of Your Life as a brave failure, the film was actually a hit, grossing $1.5 million. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide