11 March 2011

Looks a lot like the underworld

As activate participants of The Great Movie Ride in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, guests are often inundated with memorable film scenes that make them remember the simple pleasure of taking in some cinema. Of course, as with every trip to the picture show, it only takes a few bad apples to ruin the feature. In the case of The Great Movie Ride, those thugs and villains first make their presence known along a stretch of road known as Gangster Alley, which happens to run right by Patrick J. Ryan’s Bar.Patrick J. Ryan’s Bar, set right across the entrance of Gangster Alley, is one of the first set pieces seen in the Underworld scene of The Great Movie Ride. It is an altogether fitting saloon hall to be present in the scene as the seedy side of film is always populated with bars and because Patrick J. Ryan and his alcoholic establishment are both featured in The Public Enemy, the same film James Cagney is acknowledge for with his Audio-Animatronics figure.

In the 1931 film, Patrick J. Ryan, most commonly referred to as Paddy Ryan, is a bootlegger played by Robert Emmett O’Connor who recruits Tom Powers (James Cagney) into the booze bootlegging business. Paddy Ryan’s bar is the base of operations for his crew, a site that meets its untimely end by being bombed by a rival gang mere minutes before the film’s protagonist is met with his own death scene.

Luckily, those visiting The Great Movie Ride get a chance to see Patrick J. Ryan’s Bar, pre-bomb renovations. A fitting way to start their adventures in the Underworld.

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