You Dirty Rat

Pairing‌‌‌ ‌‌‌wine‌‌‌ ‌‌‌with‌‌‌ ‌‌‌movies!‌‌‌ ‌‌‌See‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌hear‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌fascinating‌‌‌ ‌‌‌commentary‌‌‌ ‌‌‌for‌‌‌ ‌‌‌these‌‌‌ movies‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌many‌‌‌ ‌‌‌more‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌at‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌From‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Hell.‌‌‌ ‌This week, our three films all star the great James Cagney. Wine pairings accompany each film, of course.

You know, Cagney never really said “You dirty rat” in a movie. He did call people dirty rats a few times, but that “You dirty rat – you killed my brother” quote we grew up hearing impressionists do on Ed Sullivan is a pop culture invention. Sorry to burst your bubble, but that’s just the kind of dirty rat I am.

Cagney paired with Humphrey Bogart in 1939’s The Roaring Twenties. The script follows a trio of foxhole buddies through the Prohibition era. One is a lawyer, one is a bootlegger, and one is a cabbie. Well, at least one of them made an honest living.

The 1920s ruined a lot of honest guys, though. These pals started running booze to keep people wet during the dry years, which actually sounds honorable. If you’re running liquor during Prohibition, you could do worse for yourself than hooking up with someone in the legal field and someone in transportation.

Things don’t end well for Cagney the gangster here. His epitaph is delivered by one who knew him well: “He used to be a big shot.”

There is a boutique winery/wine bar in Woodinville, WA patterned after a 1920s speakeasy. Prohibition Cellars’ Scarface Syrah comes from the Walla Walla Valley for $65.
https://www.prohibitioncellars.com/

In the 1949 classic White Heat, Cagney is in the familiar territory of gangsterville. He tried to move away from the tough guy roles, but his career faded a bit and he, uh, bit the bullet, and went back to playing baddies. The tough guy in White Heat was really a mama’s boy at heart, although a psychotic mama’s boy.

The trail of violence runs through a couple of prison sentences. After one of them, Cagney’s character decides to get the band back together for some more robbing and killing and such. That was really all he knew how to do, even though he kept getting caught. His last opportunity goes by the wayside when he shoots the fuel tank on which he stands. Now, you can say that’s a stupid move. But if you’re a psycho gangster who wants to go out in a blaze of glory, that’s probably your only move. “Made it, Ma! Top o’ the world!”

A white heat wine could be mulled Pinot Grigio, if you have no Ripple in the house. But for a wine pairing that befits the top of the world claim, let’s look at Argentina’s Bodega Fernando Dupont. That winery sits nearly 8,000 feet above sea level in the Andes, and it’s in a valley. Oh, there’s a tasting room there, too, and they say it has quite the view. The reds are blends of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.
https://vinodelice.com/en/pages/producer-pages/domaine-bodega-fernando-dupont?srsltid=AfmBOorKY4D2PdXEfA21tG_zI3MuXJdVjsXL9tntxLezUZj2WtMsyOjj

1961’s One Two Three is set in West Berlin, before the wall between east and west was built. Cagney delivers a tour de force performance as a big wig with the Coca Cola Company. He is called upon by his boss in Atlanta to play host to the big guy’s teenage, southern belle daughter. While vacationing in the Rhineland, she gets hitched to a card-carrying commie. Cagney’s comic chops were never better, Horst Buchholtz turned in a stellar job as the Red Devil from the East, while Pamela Tiffin scored as the impressionable Lady Coke.

The movie was loosely based on the 1939 Wilder-penned film, Ninotchka, which lampooned the Soviet Union under Stalin. With the USSR still ripe for satire in the Cold War ‘60s, Wilder borrowed heavily from his previous work for One Two Three’s framework.

Cagney reportedly hated co-star Buchholz and wished he had “knocked him on his ass” for stealing scenes. My wife chuckled at that. “That’s rich coming from Cagney,” she said, adding with a grin, “Maybe we should talk to Mae Clarke about it.” Grapefruit for breakfast, anyone? Top o’ the world!

They drink a lot of Coke in One Two Three, but when in Germany, drink Riesling. Blue Nun was a popular German wine back in the ‘60s, but I’m Sure Jimmy Cagney wouldn’t even wish that on Horst Buchholz. How about ordering a Spätburgunder? It’s really a German Pinot Noir, but just saying the word puts me in mind of Cagney’s “Schlemmer!” Rudolf Fürst is considered a “magician” with the grape, and his wines run in the $30 range. One: buy the movie! Two: buy the wine! Three: enjoy your evening! Go!
https://weingut-rudolf-fuerst.de/en/

Randy Fuller

NowAnd Zin Wine – www.nowandzin.com
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