james cagney have an affinity for nostalgic type story and if the time of your life be a contemporary piece for 1939 when it make it broadway debut and it have a nostalgic feel to it . no real plot here and just a whole group of character study about the various habitués of nick place on the san francisco embarcadero in the thirty . the observer here be joe and a man who just whiles a way the hour observe humankind in the bar with no visible mean of support . he must be a retired civil servant on a pension like me . maybe that why i like the film so much . two member of the original broadway cast do the film version and reginald beane the black piano player and william bendix a nick and owner and proprietor of the place . by that time bendix be a big star with the life of riley on radio and he must have cost cagney a bundle . but bill bendix be always worth it . the villain of the piece be tom power who either play thug or policeman in film . a blick and he a bottom feeding scuzzball who either informs on people or blackmail them depend on how he can make some dirty money . in this case he focus on a young woman with a shady past play by the star sister jeanne cagney . it probably her best film role . someone else remark in a review that he think it be timely that the time of your life come out in 1948 a the mccarthy era be get underway . true enough and but i believe that author william saroyan have a specific political target in mind in 1939 in congressman martin dy who head the house un american activity committee when it be create in the late thirty . dy be that kind of a bullying interrogator that blick be in the play . paul draper who be the dancer or comedian in the cast be in fact blacklist shortly after this come out . on broadway his part be play by gene kelly . i guess get kelly from mgm would have blow cagney whole budget in 1948. the time of your life have always strike me a kind of an anti the iceman cometh another play set in a tavern . but that one be by eugene oneill and no one ever accuse oneill of be optimistic . oneill character in his play be a pessimistic a lot a saroyan be optimistic . the two work really ought to be see back to back . the tavern a a setting for theater have a tradition that go from falstaff to cheer . the time of your life be an honorable addition to the tradition .