Cagney and Davis fans will want to give this one a try and for completists it will deliver a fair amount of fun. However most of the story is rather hokey, and even though the chemistry between the principals don't seem to be what you might expect from a pair of romantic leads, they do spar verbally rather well, which is what I look for in any good screwball comedy. The pair worked before in 1934's "Jimmy the Gent", another picture featuring snappy dialog in which Cagney had a stronger presence than his co-star at the time. This time out they're about on equal footing, with Cagney's character taking pains to stay one step ahead of oil heiress Joan Winfield (Davis), her fiancée Allen Brice (Jack Carson), and authorities determined to capture the man who kidnapped the wealthy socialite.
Some of the attempts at slapstick seem forced, as in repeated landings of Miss Davis on various cactus plants, the first time requiring Cagney's help in extracting the offending needles. One wonders what might have been going through Miss Davis' mind as this scene was being filmed, or those of theater goers of the era who already had an entirely different impression of the celebrated actress. For me, the best scenes were those involving Pop Tolliver (Harry Davenport), as demonstrated in the understated handling of his first breakfast meeting with the pair ('You take bacon too.'), and later his surreptitious partnership with Steve Collins (Cagney) to outwit the authorities.
The 'C.O.D.' business of the title references the basic plot element of the story - Collins, seeing an opportunity to pay off his airplane, haggles with Joan Winfield's father (Eugene Palette) to deliver his unmarried daughter before an elopement seals the deal. At ten dollars a pound they strike a bargain, eliciting a mid-flight response from Miss Winfield that would frustrate Cagney's character throughout the picture - "You're not even good enough for the cuss words I know."
Some of the attempts at slapstick seem forced, as in repeated landings of Miss Davis on various cactus plants, the first time requiring Cagney's help in extracting the offending needles. One wonders what might have been going through Miss Davis' mind as this scene was being filmed, or those of theater goers of the era who already had an entirely different impression of the celebrated actress. For me, the best scenes were those involving Pop Tolliver (Harry Davenport), as demonstrated in the understated handling of his first breakfast meeting with the pair ('You take bacon too.'), and later his surreptitious partnership with Steve Collins (Cagney) to outwit the authorities.
The 'C.O.D.' business of the title references the basic plot element of the story - Collins, seeing an opportunity to pay off his airplane, haggles with Joan Winfield's father (Eugene Palette) to deliver his unmarried daughter before an elopement seals the deal. At ten dollars a pound they strike a bargain, eliciting a mid-flight response from Miss Winfield that would frustrate Cagney's character throughout the picture - "You're not even good enough for the cuss words I know."