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Download, Watch online Angels with Dirty Faces Movie.
| Genres: | CrimeDramaFilm-N |
| Starring: | Humphrey Bogart, Huntz Hall, Ann Sheridan, Pat O'Brien, James Cagney, George Bancroft, Bobby Jordan |
| Director(s): | Michael Curtiz |
| Country: | USA |
| Year: | 1938 |
| IMDB Rating: | 7.9 |
Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connolly were tough kids who grew up together in the toughest part of New York --- Hells Kitchen. Early on, Rocky gets sent to reform school, where he learns how to be a first class criminal. Jerry, who had escaped from the law, goes straight and becomes a priest. As adults, they reunite in the old neighborhood Jerry works with the kids who, like he and Rocky, could end up on either side of the law. Rocky has returned looking for a safe place to stay till he can get back into his old racketeering organization -- something that his old partner isnt anxious to have happen. Lots of rapid fire wisecracks, roughhousing and gunfire ensues.
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Angels with Dirty Faces (iPod) | Resolution: 480x320 px | Total Size: 343 Mb |
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Angels with Dirty Faces (DivX) | Resolution: 720x480 px | Total Size: 1407 Mb |
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Movie Photos: We have taken some photos of "Angels with Dirty Faces". They represent actual movie quality.
Visitor Reviews: (20)
Rick 12 May 2012
Gotta love Cagney!!
This is one of my all time favorite Gangster movies. James Cagney gives an Oscar Nominatedperformance as Rocky Sullivan. Pat O'Brien givesa good performance as Rocky's former partner in crime who is now a Priest in the slum. HumphreyBogart plays non other than a gangster in a smaller supporting role. Ann Sheridan plays a former hard on her luck lady who likes Cagney's (Rocky). And the Dead End Kids bring their unique comedy to this excellent late 30's gangster film. This is must see movie if your a huge Cagney fan like me.
James Alex Neve 12 May 2012
Whadda ya hear! Whadda ya say!
A Cagney classic, dealing with all the morals and ambiguities ofgangsterism and growing up on the wrong side of the tracks. JamesCagney is Rocky Sullivan, a well known gangster who's relationship withchildhood friend, and new-born Christian Jerry Connolly is jeopardisedwhen Rocky takes on a young brood of would-be hoodlums. Jerry doesn'tlike them looking up to a gangster, Rocky just wants to earn a buck.Soon they find themselves in a war that could spell the end of theirrelationship.'Angels With Dirty Faces' deals with themes of lost childhood bycontrasting two former friends who took very different paths aftertheir young years. Sullivan took the easy route of petty crime,eventually becoming a gangster. Connolly, who could have fallen intothe same trap, decides to enter the priesthood, with his street smartsintact, in order to try to and prevent young New Yorkers from followingSullivan's suit. The film also shows Cagney's character as a man ofconflicting morals: he wants to help out Jerry at the church and aidhis former friend's plight to protect the younger generation fromsuccumbing to corruption, yet gets them to perform errands for him inexchange for big bucks. The "Dead End" kids look up to Rocky more thanJerry because they like who he is: A gangster, a man who came fromnothing but made it to the top by stealing, gambling and fighting.The film has a fantastic cast: There is able support from HumphreyBogart as a lawyer to George Bancroft's crime boss, playing slightlyagainst type. The only role that is somewhat underused comes from thepossible love interest for Rocky, Laury Ferguson (Ann Sheridan). Asidefrom one great scene in which she meets Sullivan for the first time in15 years, her character is relegated to a back room observer. PatO'Brien's turn as Jerry is wonderfully underplayed for it's time. Butit is inevitably Cagney's show, as his screen presence is brimming withbravura and spirit.Sullivan is the epitome of an anti-hero. He's a man of principles andfeels for his former neighbourhood, yet can't put his past behind him.There are obvious influences, a modern day one being The Sopranos, inparticular the protagonist Tony Soprano, who borrows from thecomplexity of Cagney's character. One minute you route for him as thehero, the next you see him for the exploitative mobster he is. Thefinal scene is one that could never be pulled off in today's cinemas.Of a man who chooses the selfless act over pride in order to aid hischildhood friend.
slymusic 01 May 2012
What do *I* hear, what do *I* say?
From director Michael Curtiz comes a brilliant Warner Bros. gangsterpicture, "Angels with Dirty Faces", featuring a superlative cast ofthespians: James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Ann Sheridan, Humphrey Bogart,George Bancroft, and the "Dead End" Kids. Cagney plays William "Rocky"Sullivan, a notorious gangster with a "kiss my ass" attitude, aroundwhom trouble always swirls and over whose eyes the wool can never bepulled. In short, Rocky has the town in the palm of his corrupt hand,thus influencing probably hundreds of other younger thugs, six of whomare played by the Dead Ends. Amazingly, one of Rocky's best friends isFather Jerome "Jerry" Connelly (Pat O'Brien), who as a youngster fought& stole with Rocky but has now taken the straight & narrow path intopriesthood. Realizing that Rocky hasn't changed over the years, FatherJerry strongly urges Rocky not to encourage the younger generation toadmire him. Rocky's lawyer is James "Jim" Frazier (Humphrey Bogart), aseverely dishonest man with a gang of his own, trying to delay as longas he can the exchanging of $100,000 to Rocky.My favorite scenes from this impressive feature film include thefollowing. When showing Rocky to his room, Laury Martin (Ann Sheridan)slaps him and pulls down his hat, something she waited fifteen years todo, after which Rocky's bed collapses. I love the basketball sequencewith the Dead End Kids, during which the cheating never stops,especially when Rocky takes over as the ref. I also like the poolroomsequence with its atmospheric piano music, as well as Father Connelly'sact of slugging a patron (Dick Wessel). Rocky briefly shoots it outwith some of Frazier's hoodlums on the rooftop of the El Toro, withgreat musical accompaniment by Max Steiner. In probably the mostemotionally effective sequence in the picture, Father Connelly is intears when Rocky feigns being scared stiff going to the electric chair(Jerry had persuaded Rocky to discourage the Dead End Kids by actingscared, so that the kids no longer worship Rocky in their memories;Rocky flatly refuses to perform this act until the very last fewseconds of his life). And finally, I can recall once having a tear inmy own eye upon listening to the St. Brendan's Church Boys Choir at thevery end of the picture, when Father Jerry persuades the Dead End Kidsto join him in a prayer for a boy who couldn't run as fast as Jerrycould.The various urchins played by the Dead End Kids in "Angels with DirtyFaces" are completely unlikable thugs, devoid of any vestige of properconduct. I'm not convinced that reformation is right around the cornerfor these youngsters at the closing of this film. One can only hope soafter the end credits.
30 April 2012
Angels With Dirty Faces
It's no coincidence that both "Angels" and "Casablanca" were directed by Michael Curtiz, since there's very little wrong with either picture. Cagney is the quintessential gangster with a heart of gold, and his real-life friend Pat O'Brien is equally strong as Father Connolly. Beautifully realized in every respect-- one of the all-time champs.
28 April 2012
Post Production Code Gangster Classic!
"Angels With Dirty Faces" was James Cagney's first film for WarnerBros. following his two year contract dispute. During that time heappeared in two films for the poverty row studio Grand National. With afew concessions to The Production Code (introduced in 1934) it isnonetheless one of the great all time gangster films. The touch oflegendary director Michael Curtiz is evident throughout.The story begins in the 1920s with two boyhood pals "Rocky" Sullivan(Frankie Burke) and Jerry Connelly (William Tracy) in the Hell'sKitchen Neighborhood of New York. Rocky gets arrested by the police andis sent to the reformatory after a botched break in while Jerryescapes. While in prison, Rocky learns the evils of gangsterism fromwithin and forges a life of crime and growing up to be James Cagney.Meanwhile Jerry has become a priest in the Pierson of Pat O'Brien.Rocky returns to the old neighborhood and becomes involved with a groupof teenagers (The Dead End Kids) who are headed in the same directionas Rocky. Fr. Jerry prevails upon Rocky to help him straighten the boysout before its too late. Rocky also meets up with a girl from hischildhood, Laury Ferguson (Ann Sheridan).Meanwhile we learn that Rocky has served three years in jail to protecthis former partner and lawyer Jim Frazier (Humphrey Bogart). He hasalso entrusted Frazier with $100,000 from an earlier caper. Rocky goesto Frazier to demand his money and learns that Frazier is now involvedwith crime boss Mac Keefer (George Bancroft) and that they plan tocheat him out of his money. Hey, nobody double crosses Rocky.Cagney is typical Cagney, bold, brash and cocky as Rocky. O'Brien asthe Irish priest was a role he was born to play. Sheridan looks lovelybut has little to do. Bogart, who was still 3 years away from majorstardom, does well as the yellow back stabbing lawyer. The Dead EndKids - Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell,Bernard Punsley) would move to a "B" series (without Hallop) aftertheir Warner contract expired in 1939. The performances of FrankieBurke in particular and William Tracy as the young Rocky and Jerry areexcellent."Angels With Dirty Faces" is probably best remembered for its ending.don't miss it.
edalweber 28 April 2012
Nearly REAL homicides in this movie
This is a very well made movie,with good performances by allconcerned.However, most people are unaware that one scene was much more"realistic" than they imagine. In his autobiography Pat O'Brien tells atypical story of Mike Curtiz's sadism.In the scene where the boy actorsplaying Cagney and O'Brien as boys are fleeing through the rail yard,itappears that they are nearly run down by a switch engine.Most peoplewould figure that this was merely an illusion, trick photography. Itwas not;those boys came as close to being killed as it appears.Curtizhad carefully instructed the engineer as to exactly what speed he wasto operate the locomotive in that scene,and the engineer was careful tofollow instructions precisely.After the scene was over, and theengineer saw just how near he had come to killing the two boys, he wasso shaken that he could barely climb down from the engine. When herecovered,he went over to Curtiz and demanded to know what was goingon. Curtiz smiled with satisfaction and said"VERY GOOD.I deliberatelydid not tell those boys that you would be going so fast because Iwanted it CLOSE!" O'Brien said that only quick work by the film crewprevented the engineer from killing Curtiz with his bare hands.
Justin Miller 23 April 2012
Terrific story slightly halted by unrealism
Angels with Dirty Faces is a clever gangster story that could've been a serious classic if not for its unrealistic characters. Meet Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly, two down-on their luck youths. Rocky Sullivan is sent to jail as a child and eventually grows up to become a ruthless gangster. Jerry Connelly instead becomes a man of God. The two continue their friendship despite their differences up until Jerry's attempt to expose corruption upsets Jerry's employers and a test of loyalty between the two friends is about to ensue. Angels with Dirty Faces never fails with its brutal nature of hard-living but several of the characters just don't seem to appear real. The "Dead End Kids" seem way to over-the-top even for the 30's and some of their dialogue just doesn't seem to fit for the time. Nevertheless, the story and the amazing acting never fail in Angels with Dirty Faces.
Neil Doyle 22 April 2012
Cagney and O'Brien at their finest...
You can't miss with Michael Curtiz at the helm, Max Steiner doing themusic, Ann Sheridan and Humphrey Bogart in supporting roles, the DeadEnd Kids for "the kids", Pat O'Brien as a priest fighting ganglandcrime, and James Cagney as Rocky Sullivan, doing one of his bestgangster impersonations.It's a tough crime drama with a tug of war between O'Brien and Cagney,boyhood pals, who find themselves reunited twenty years later whenCagney's out of prison and O'Brien's a priest. It's O'Brien's missionto try to save the "angels with dirty faces" from being filled withhero worship for Cagney's pugnacious villainy.The climactic scene has Cagney headed for the electric chair withO'Brien requesting that he show some streak of cowardice so the boyswill stop using him as a role model for a life of crime.Once again, poor Bogart ends up writhing around on the floor riddledwith bullets after he and George Bancroft double-cross Cagney. It's thetypical Warner crime melodrama done with their usual finesse and wellworth seeing if you're a fan of Cagney, O'Brien and Bogart--or theyoung Ann Sheridan.
toonnnnn 21 April 2012
Angels with dirty faces youngsters please watch and see a real star
Iwatched this movie on DVD the other day,it brought back memories ofwatching old movies on a Sunday afternoon at my grandmothers.This filmin many ways,is one of the finest gangster movies ever made, Cagney'sperformance as Rocky Sullivan is as fresh today as it ever was, thestory starts when two young boys try to steal from a rail car, they arechased and the slower one becomes a gangster the quicker one apriest.Cagney's gangster is a free spirit, but he ends up working forthe mob lead by George Bancroft and Humphrey Bogart, Cagney takes therap and goes to jail for 4 years, on coming out he wants back in to theorganisation which puts heat on the crime bosses.Cagney meets his oldfriend the priest and their friendship is renewed.The priest isconcerned the the dead end kids will grow up into a life of crime asthey admire Cagneys lifestyle and the easy way to get money.The prieststarts a reform movement backed by the news-media.Bogart decides thepriest must go but Rocky will not let his old friend be harmed, thesituation ends in violence and Cagney is sentenced to death in thechair.Cagney is not scared about dying, however the priest asks him tofeign cowardice on the way to the chair, Cagney refuses the old friendsshake hands then make their way down the last mile, just as Cagney isbeen put in the chair he screams and dies yellow.The priest sees thedead end kids and informs them that he died a coward and says lets saya prayer for a boy who could not run as fast as me.The DVD is supberb Ihope this film is discoverer by a new generation because this a supberbmovie.
ThMadman 21 April 2012
A great film showing how delicate fate can be.
A great film which has earned its place as a timeless classic, as it dealswith one of the most timeless of subjects; the evolution of humancharacter.Where it is all too easy to work with the black and white concept of goodvs.evil, this movie intensely covers all the shades of gray in between. Italso very successfully portrays how seemingly insignificant events canbringabout radical changes in a person's life. The lead characters, GangsterRocky Sullivan and The Rev. Jerry Connolly, were performed brilliantly.Notyour typical sinner and saint, these were "every-man" type characters withsubtle and complex personalities. Overall, this movie is as entertainingasit is thought-provoking.
Werner 20 April 2012
Morale ? Double Morale ? or just entertainment with a front ?
The story seems to be well known, as well as the Warner Brothers"enveloping" their straight forward crime action into some moralcommentary or some warm words of "Crime doesn't pay". However, it takesa relentless tongue-in-cheek actor like Pat O'Brien to carry thismessage thru. And turning a tough-as-hell criminal like James Cagney toa yellow coward in the last minute for the sake of saving others fromfollowing in his footsteps ? That forgiven, we get a nice little actionpacked movie, with H. Bogart in a secondary role, in which he couldn'toutlive a bigger name of that time like Cagney. (They actually nevermade a movie later, when his improved status would have allowed forthat). So, all in all, 1 out 10 taken out for the morale, it is 7points still.
JoeytheBrit 19 April 2012
Whaddya hear, whaddya say?
I watched this for the first time in maybe twenty years the other day,and it was a little like coming face-to-face with a rarely seen uncleyou used to worship as a child. Twenty years later, it still looksgood, but somehow some of the charisma has worn away. Perhaps it's methat's changed and not the film, but whatever the reason, I've knockeda couple of stars off its rating.Cagney is one of my favourites, and he was at his peak here, despitehis ongoing battles with Warners. He's his typically pugnacious self,strutting across the screen, nervously hitching his shoulders andstretching his neck as if his collar is too tight, deliveringback-handers with a curled lip. Bogart is unrecognisable from his laterpersona, a weasely lawyer out to cheat Cagney's Rocky Sullivan out ofthe $100,000 he owes him. It's almost the same role he played in TheRoaring Twenties, their other outing from the same period, and it's ashame that they never played against each other once Bogie's tough-guypersona had been perfected. Just imagine what sparks could have flownthen.The main reasons the film didn't quite live up to myexpectations/memories are two-fold. Firstly, the Dead End Kids are justdownright annoying with their endless yelling and sniping. Out of them,for me, it's only Leo Gorcey who comes out with any credibility, therest are just interchangeable yells with no depth or characterisation.The other problem is the pious saintliness of Pat O'Brien's FatherConnelly. Cagney acts the socks off him, because he sounds like a NooYawk gangster, while O'Brien sounds like no one I've ever met  priestor otherwise. It's not necessarily his fault  it's the way those partswere played back then  but there it is. He is also the most impotentof characters, unable to coax the kids away from the life of crime intowhich they're drifting, unable even to come up with any ideas of how todo so Despite those  admittedly small  gripes, the film is still a greatway to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon. Cagney slips into his role withease, and demands your attention in every scene. The story zips along,and the ending, of course, is a classic  possibly the greatestopen-ended finale in movie history. Did Rocky turn yellow? I don'tthink so, somehow. He acts too bravely throughout the rest of the movieto become a coward in the final scene, and that core of decency inSullivan is always visible.
cordaro9418 10 April 2012
A signature WB 'Gangster' film...
Warner's christened the 'Gangster' genre with "Little Ceaser" andCagney's "Public Enemy" and suddenly re-lit the fire of the genre with"Angels.." not only great storyline but fine castings. Cagney andO'Brien had been cast in buddy films a few times prior and wereexcellent pals off the screen (though opposites just the same), and thefilm's fork in the road angle made for a great contrast. While Rocky'sdelinquent was crafted into cold machine, Jerry's escaped delinquentnot only wishes to take the rap but turns over the new leaf as aresult... "Don't be a sucker!" As many of the films of the time (seedirector 'Wild' Bill Wellman as a reference) preached of the system'sfailings, "Angels.." gave us the proof. Rocky's cold and heartlessmachine returns to the old home ghetto to churn the next generation of'Rockys' without even knowing it, while Father Jerry not only prays forhis pal's soul, but his downfall. Throw the rather sweet yet sensualAnn Sheridan into the mix and you have a movie. Warner's usual ploy ofroot for the gangster but cheer for his fall is in full swing as we seeit through the eyes of the 'Dead End Kids' angels with dirty faces...their hero dies a coward. Or does he? Cagney, often asked about hisperformance in Rocky's final scene, always said he left ambiguous for areason. You watch and you decide. A good film will always make youquestion or perhaps say 'That could happen', but a great film willoften leave you saying "Hey...did that.. wha?" (but in a good way) Agreat classic film.. a popcorn movie all day long and no bathroombreaks!
tedg 09 April 2012
Shoulder Driving
This movie works, and it interests me why.Regular readers of my comments know that I am on a grand quest to mapall the introspective and complex folding tricks used to ensnareviewers. I'm convinced they are important.But along comes something like this that is so simple and pure, itthrows all my obsessions with complexity into a cocked hat.This is so exceedingly simple and sappy and dumb and ordinary andstupidly moralizing that all of us would discard it if it were not forone thing: Cagney's character. And not even the fact that he created acharacter in the usual whole sense. Instead, he created a characteracting a character (so I suppose there is folding after all).Cagney was essentially a dancer and here he does some somewhat obviousposturing, especially the shoulder reset tick.Can one motion carry a movie, even carry it into permanence? Yes, itseems so. Yes.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.
nora_nettlerash 03 April 2012
"The hoodlum and the gangster are looked up to with the same respect as the successful businessman and the popular hero"
Towards the end of the 1930s something began to change in the crimegenre. It was no longer acceptable merely to show the gangster gettingkilled at the end  the protagonists of pictures such as Public Enemy,Little Caesar and Scarface (1932) were still getting viewed as heroes.Now, with the Hayes code in full swing, attempts were being made tomake the gangster appear un-heroic. The most prominent of theseefforts, Angels with Dirty Faces sees the ultimate crime actor of hisera, James Gagney, in a gangster movie with a difference.Needless to say, with the agenda it has, Angels with Dirty Faces hasits moralistic and preachy moments. Large parts of it however are moreor less the same as any other crime flick of the era, with bootlegliquor, underhand deals with corrupt officials, a sleazy lawyer(Humphrey Bogart), a moll (Ann Sheridan) and plenty of storytelling vianewspaper headlines. The problem here is that on the one hand none ofthese crime story elements are fully fleshed out, dull stock subplotsreducing Bogart and Sheridan to little more than bit parts. And on theother hand, the Christian moralism and in particular the last minutetwist seem tacked on and hard to swallow.The direction on Angels with Dirty Faces was handled by Michael Curtiz,and this is one of its saving graces. The picture opens with a typicalCurtiz crowd shot. The way he moves the camera is absolutely unique,and there are a number of visual gags  such as the "men at work" signwhich opens the scene where the dead end kids are trying to jimmy opena fruit machine. And at least, it being Curtiz, you know the actionsequences will be well done. It's all done in memorable shots andlightning-fast editing, so the audience gets a brief yet clearimpression of the violence without ever dwelling on it.The other saving grace to this picture is of course James Cagney, oneof the most talented stars of the classic Hollywood era. Of course, hewas right to break out of type-casting and seek more diverse roles inthe 1940s, but he plays the gangster so well. This is a great chance tosee him at the top of his game.This would have to be my least favourite picture of Cagney'sgangster-cycle that I have seen. It's very much a product of its time,and simply gets bogged down in its message. Still, there's just enoughhere to make it watchable. And at least it's better than that stupidSham 69 song.
Robert J. Maxwell 02 April 2012
Why, you dirty rat!
This isn't the best of the Warner Brothers' 1930s gangster movies butit's the clearest statement of the formula. It's got everything. It'slike a Romanesque mosaic. Here's Jimmy Cagney as Rocky Sullivan, theex-choir boy gangster who hitches up his pants and greets people with,"Whaddaya hear, whaddaya say?" His childhood pal is Pat O'Brian, now apriest living in the same neighborhood and trying to save the newgeneration of kids from turning into hoodlums. We have the Dead EndKids (or whatever they're called here) who think Cagney is a swell guy.Humphrey Bogart is Cagney's lawyer who swindles him out of his stash,then tries to have him killed when Cagney is released from jail. Thefamiliar girl with the pig tails grows up to be Anne Sheridan, who hasbig, pretty eyes but no New York accent. (Neither does Pat O'Brian,from Wisconsin, but I've given him absolution.) After the final shootout, with Cagney's foes dead and himself trapped in a tenement withtear gas coming through the windows, O'Brian shows up and takes thespeaker. "Rocky, you've got to come out!" "Go on back to da choitchwhere ya belong, Fodder!" (I just made that line up, but there are acouple of similar ones in the scene.) Rocky is convicted and sentencedto death. But he's a tough guy and won't break down. The Dead End Kidsmope over the headlines and promise themselves that Rocky will neverturn yellow at the end. O'Brian gets word of this and tells Rocky thathe holds the fate of these innocent kids in his hands. If he doesn'tturn yellow as he's marched to the chair, the kids will turn intomiscreants. If he shows he's frightened, his myth will die with him andthe kids will all become champion polo players overnight.Does Rocky develop a social conscience in his last moments and fakehysteria as he walks the last mile? Guess.The thing is, this isn't anybody's best performance and it is no one'sidea of the tightest script, yet you can gain a rather full grasp ofwhat these genre movies were all about by watching this single movie,and not having to sit through half a dozen others. If that's what youwant. This is like reading an abstract in a professional journal,except that it's fun to see it all laid out.
noahax 21 March 2012
Yet Another Classic Cagney Flick
This film definitely deserves its status as a classic. There are a few slowparts, such as a basketball scene that overstays its welcome by severalminutes, but Cagney's great performance more than makes up for any flaws.The final moments are quite riveting.
gazzo-2 20 March 2012
It's great......as Cagney always was......
This is very well made, especially that ending. They didn't monkeyaround here, they let you know exactly what happens w/ the electricchair, pretty strong stuff for a 1938 flick. I am of the opinion thathe faked the terror for his old pal O'Brien's sake, but of courseothers think otherwise. No matter--it's a chilling scene.The kids-Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, etc-essentially are the Stooges justyounger, but as believable a street gang as you will find for such anold flick. (I also enjoyed seeing the contrast of old style Hoop vs theway it's played today--they ever hear of dribbling??) Weaknesses-wellnot many. O'Brien is a block of wood, rarely impresses meunfortunately. I wasn't so sure that Ann Sheridan would fall for Cagneygiven their history, and it's true she isn't given that much to doafter awhile.Bogie was fun as a sniveling 'shyster' while George Bancroft made for aClaude Akins like baddie, I always think of him as the sheriff in'Stagecoach'.Michael Curtiz made many great films-Casablanca and Robin Hoodamongst'em-this one ranks up there too.*** outta ****. Cagney is great!
john.foulks 20 March 2012
GREAT Movie
This is one of my favorite movies, i just love Jimmy Cagney with the DeadEnd kids. I remember the first time i saw the movie, I was about thirteenyears old and loved it ever since. It had great acting, and I alsofollowedthe Dead End kids unto the East side Kids, and then the boweryboys.
JoeKarlosi 19 March 2012
Cagney in great form ****
(possible spoilers):James Cagney really struts his stuff in this one, and all his classic"caricature" type movements and traits are on vivid display here. Iloved the interplay between Cagney and Humphrey Bogart (in a supportingrole); also intriguing was the relationship between the now-grown RockySullivan (that's Cagney's character) and the straight-laced Jerry(played by Pat O'Brien), who was the childhood friend of Rocky andpartner in mischief who wound up spending his adulthood as a priestwhile his companion never was able to go completely straight.The Dead End Kids tended to get on my nerves at times, but I guessthat's partly what they're supposed to do, as street punks who idolizethe legendary Sullivan and want to follow in his infamous footsteps. Just want to mention that I thought the ending - with Cagney's changeof demeanor in the electric chair and the resulting disappointment ofthe kids who worshipped him - was a great cinematic moment by directorMichael Curtiz. People have debated whether or not Cagney is supposedto be genuinely afraid at the end or just putting on a show for thekids to learn something from. I'm of the opinion that he was actingcowardly, and that he did it primarily as a favor to his longtimefriend, Father Pat O'Brien. In the process he was able to help theyoung gang of thugs re-think their futures as well.