Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 08:20:58

"Whaddaya hear? Whaddaya say?"

James Cagney established in this movie the quintessential tough-guy gangster with his portrayal of Rocky Sullivan. Shoulders cocked, ever-present sneer, fast, clipped talk, "I'll spit your eye, copper" attitude - all were created by Cagney here. Rocky climbs the ladder of gangsterism, from reform school to the big house. His best friend from boyhood is Jerry Connelly (played by Pat O'Brien), who goes from hoodlum to priest. Rocky gets involved with NY gangsters, particularly James Frazier (Humphrey Bogart), and is able to cut himself in on their territory. He also becomes the hero to the Dead End Kids. The big scene is at the end where O'Brien asks Cagney to go to the electric chair as a coward instead of all bravura to show the Kids he's not so tough and shouldn't be idolized. He agrees and the scene is done all in shadows, to great effect. Cagney is riveting in his role, and O'Brien is just right as the priest who accepts Rocky for what he is and doesn't pontificate before him. A terrific movie; well worth a watch.Note: The shootout at the warehouse uded LIVE bullets.

whpratt1 2012-05-24 20:43:54

Great 1939 Film Classic

Have not seen this picture in a long time but it is always a greattreat to view it again, because it shows just what New York City'sHell's Kitchen looked like on the East Side of Manhattan in the 30's.There were old tenement homes and people use their windows to hang outtheir laundry to dry in the Summer. This film starts out with two boys,Rocky Sullivan, (James Cagney) and Jerry Connolly, (Pat O'Brien) andthey are typical poor boys who have fun fooling around and stealingthings from people. As time goes bye, these two boys grow up and gotheir separate ways in life. Rocky Sullivan wound up in reform school,and then prison and took the rap for James Frazier who owed Rocky hisshare of the money which was $100,00.00. When Rocky gets out of thepen, he comes looking for Frazier who is now a lawyer and he does notwant to part with this money and that is when the story becomes full ofaction and killing. The "Dead End Kids" gave a great supporting roleand Pat O'Brien, (Jerry Connolly) was outstanding playing the role as apriest. Enjoy.

Boba_Fett1138 2012-05-22 22:03:25

A gangster movie with a humane face.

It's mostly a movie that is made great by its Oscar-nominated story.It's a typical '30's gangster movie only with a more humane anddramatic twist to it, in which two childhood friends find each other onthe other side of the law, despite still having a strong friendship.It's not necessarily Michael Curtiz his best directed movie and it alsodoesn't feature Cagney or Bogart in their best or most memorable rolesbut it nevertheless is one great solid movie, that you'll not easilyforget.The movie might sound like a really preachy and moralistic one thatcondemns violence and says that is's better to come to church. Eventhough this perhaps in a nutshell is still what this movie is allabout, the movie itself luckily doesn't ever get preachy or moralisticlike. This is not just due to the fine written of the movie but alsothanks to the performances of the lead actors, that mostly make themovie and its story work out so effectively and realistic.Humphrey Bogart plays a sort of villainous gangster role in this one.He really wasn't an established actor yet back then and he's also thirdbilled actor for this movie. It really wasn't until the '40's that hereally finally had his big breakthrough and became an established actorand started playing leading roles in some big well known successfulmovies, such as of course "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon". But ofcourse the human face of the movie is being provided by James Cagney,who shows the realistic and human side of a tough hoodlum. Cagney ismostly known for his tough roles of course but he could also reallyplay some more 'soft' characters and he actually starred in somemusicals and romantic movies as well during his career. The other mainpart of the movie is being played by Pat O'Brien, a former tough guyfrom the neighborhood who used to hang out with the Cagney characterbut has now turned into a priest. Even though O'Brein isn't now days aswell known as Cagney or Bogart, he still was a big and well knownactor, especially during the '30's and '40's. He actually played in atotal of 9 movies together with Cagney and 5 with Bogart, often infront of Bogart as the movie's main lead.Gangster movies was popular genre in the '30's, with other genreexamples such as "Little Caesar", "The Public Enemy" and "Scarface, theShame of the Nation" being released during the same decade. EspeciallyWarner Bros. was leading with it. Nevertheless, "Angels with DirtyFaces" is still a movie that knows to be different and original withinits genre. It's the story that makes this movie original as well aseffective and memorable. Especially the ending is great and memorable.The movie constantly kept me waiting for the trademark Michael Curtizuse of shadows during its key moments but there it finally was at theending. Lots of things come together at the end and it makes the movieas a whole an even better and more powerful one. Even more so than italready was before that point. Besides its writing, the movie also received Oscar nominations for itsdirecting, by Michael Curtiz and James Cagney for his role of RockySullivan. It was Cagney's first ever Oscar nomination and he actuallywon his only Oscar 4 years later for his role in "Yankee Doodle Dandy",which also got directed by Michael Curtiz."Angels with Dirty Faces" is more dramatic, more involving and thereforperhaps also more memorable than the usual '30's gangster movie.9/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

noahax 2012-05-22 11:57:24

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.

soranno 2012-05-21 14:51:34

A classic early crime drama

Throughout the 1930's, Warner Brothers delivered many quality crime andgangster dramas that usually featured the likes of the studio'sdistinguished contract star roster. This 1938 release is one of the primeexamples. James Cagney and Pat O'Brien (who were frequently cast in filmstogether and this is their best one together) portray boyhood buddies whoreunite years later after Cagney is released from prison where he had servedfor many years for a petty crime that he committed while he was still a kid.Cagney has not learned his lesson that crime doesn't pay and so he returnsto his old neighborhood to set up his criminal hideout. Meanwhile, his oldfriend, O'Brien has given up being a street hood and has since become arespected priest who naturally doesn't think highly of the life that hisfriend has chosen for himself. To make matters worse, six young boys(portrayed by the Dead End Kids) whom O'Brien is trying to lead down theright paths begin to idolize Cagney. Humphrey Bogart also appears in a prebig box office star part as a lawyer and screen veteran George Bancroft alsocostars as a dishonest crime boss. Michael Curtiz' direction and MaxSteiner's musical score are also highlights. This film is one of the alltime great ones of the 1930's and an excellent showcase for its legendarycast and crew.

madjc7 2012-05-21 03:30:17

A glimpse into gangster behavior and its causes

The film is a great example of another age in movie-making. It's anaction movie, with plenty of violence, including gunfights, killings,explosions, and near slapstick fisticuffs, but there is also plenty oflingering moments to go with the wise-cracking and tough-guy posing,not to mention the moralizing that appears more than once. Cagney is athis best as a tough-guy gangster, and Pat O'Brien plays thestereotypical Irish priest with a heart of gold. You'll want to forgetthat Bogart plays a weasel of a lawyer who dies a coward.My favorites are the young men who play the gangster wanna-be's. Theirvoices, accents, and lines of dialog make them a memorable part of afilm that most people remember for Cagney as Rocky Sullivan and O'Brienas Jerry Connelly. The physical humor too makes them stand out,slap-happy characters as much like the Little Rascals or the ThreeStooges as they are hoodlums. Cagney too is excellent in his antics.It's in an early scene that Sullivan's and Connelly's lives divergefrom the small-time crooks they appear on their way to be. The two arerunning from the cops and one leaps over the fence and gets away whilethe other is caught and sent to reform school. It's worth askingyourself what that moral in the film seems to be.It's a great old action film, but be sure to note the story as whatHollywood offered in 1938 as a look into the status of crime and thecelebrity of criminals (Cagney was the same age as Al Capone, andBonnie and Clyde had only recently been killed). The film attempts toexplore the root causes of crime, poverty among them, and offers upsome ideas about reformation.Later movies might glorify criminals. This one doesn't.

stevefranciscus 2012-05-20 09:18:10

Cagney as a blubbering, gibbering mess!

I find the portrayal of a yellow-belly coward by James Cagney to bevery interesting. How a man can be reduced to a gibbering, blubberingmess in such circumstances is very believable. It is obvious that hewas all talk and is really a great yellow-belly. To beg and scream likethis is not dignified and proves that his yellow streak is formidable.I have never seen such cowardice on screen before and Cagney does itwell. He was born to play these yellow type characters. He playedyellowbellys in most of his films, no? Very good. As a child, I washaunted by a grown man in hysterical mode, screaming, crying andshaking like a shithouse.. Very shocking, indeed. I guess he got hisjust desserts but to display such a blubbering mess to his captors isvery weak. For certain.I was relieved when they pulled the lever to silence him once and forall. His begging, blubbering and crying was embarrassing.Cowardice indeed.

Chris Hardy 2012-05-19 23:20:19

For a Black and white movie this rocked

I`m not a big fan of black and white movies and wasnt happy when we wereforced to watch this in one of my seminars. However the storyline is superband James Cagney seems a great actor. I would definatlly recomend it anddont let the fact its black and white put u off. 8/10

2012-05-19 08:19:23

Great Catholic movie

This is a wonderfully entertaining movie about two friends: a gangster (Cagney) and a priest (O'Brien). The only difference between them was that when they were kids, one ran faster than the other from the cops. Cagney was caught and through the juvenile system became a gangster. O'Brien was not caught, he repented,and was called to become a priest. This movie is not only a wonderful family movie, it also is especially of value to any Catholic family. It portrays a priest who is willing to risk his life for the good of others and who is willing to especially go against his best friend (Cagney) to stop the crime wave in the city. He continues to love his gangster friend and cares for him no matter what. The story is one of friendship, of how even the worst of criminals still can have deep nobility in them if it is brought out by a true friend. The ending of this movie is simply the best I have ever seen: you will be surprised.

2012-05-18 19:27:50

Great!

Service was great and It was a nice surprise instead of waiting forever.

GodzillaVSJaws 2012-05-17 07:27:59

go dig a hole and jump in it

well, listening to the other reviews, they look at the acting andtechnical aspect of the film. I will not do that. I will give you anhonest answer as to why this movie pops into my head whenever peopleare talking about the greatest films of all time. But first, i wouldlike to point something out to you. I never would have seen or heard ofthis movie if it was not for TCM. So thanks TCM. But isn't it strangehow, whenever critics talk about classic films, all they ever mentionis Citizen Kane,Gone With the Wind,Rebel without a cause, orCasablanca. In fact, a Cagney film is not even mentioned. I could onlywatch Rebel for five minutes, literally five minutes, and then i had tochange the channel, i did not care to go back to it. All i saw ofCitizen Kane was, well, nothing, my mother said it was like tearing herhair out with her toes, i believe my mother. I don't trust thosecritics, so i didn't bother to see the other two. So why does this filmpop into my head often? Well, heres the answer. films like Lord of theRings and Toy Story both have three films in the trilogy. The endingsof both films are as emotional as anything we've ever seen in a film,or is it? Angels With Dirty Faces is roughly 80 minutes long, and itmanages to build up more emotion by the ending that you will ponder howit made you feel for the rest of your life. The only movie to beatAngels with its emotion would be The Passion Of the Christ. Mel's theMan.

Neil Doyle 2012-05-16 23:55:06

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.

George Tetsel 2012-05-15 18:43:31

Solid

This is a solid gangster flick out of the gritty 1930's. James Cagney ofcourse is brilliant, and a poignant ending makes up for a bit ofheavy-handedness in the part of 'Father Jeremy'. It's funny to see Bogartnot in control. All-in-all a classic.

john.foulks 2012-05-15 10:07:04

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.

2012-05-13 20:36:25

"Whaddaya Hear, Whaddaya Say?"

Rocky Sullivan (James Cagney) was always a troublesome kid, but what do you expect from a guy who grew up in the slums? The only difference between him and the man who became the preacher (Pat O'Brien) is that Rocky got caught stealing and the preacher didn't. So Rocky went to juvenile detention and graduated to the slammer thanks to his ties to bigshot gangsters. He agreed to take the fall for them at the advice of his lawyer (Humphrey Bogart) at the promise that he'd jump right back in with them when he got out. What a sucker he was.When Rocky gets out, he finds that his old friends have turned on him and used up his money. He doesn't take lightly to that and uses his intelligence to outsmart them time after time. In the meantime, upon returning home, Rocky meets up with some childhood friends including the preacher and a girl he used to pick on (Ann Sheridan). He also meets the new town hoodlums (The Dead End Kids) and becomes their idol. However, Rocky's life was never destined for a happy ending.This film is incredibly powerful because it comments on so many modern issues. Is the criminal a victim of his own free-will or of his environment? And in being a criminal, does that make him all bad? Also, the relationships between the characters are great because they're so well established. Cagney is perfect in the role, a street-wise, easy-going guy you can't help but love despite his imperfections. Also notable are the Dead End Kids, especially Leo Gorcey whose strong personality and looks are very similar to Cagney's. This is an excellent film that transcends the gangster genre.

2012-05-13 06:03:08

'Simply The Best'

There will never be another actor like James Cagney, they don't make them like him any more.Angels with Dirty Faces Is One Of His Finest Movies.Worth purchasing.

slymusic 2012-05-13 01:21:15

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.

edalweber 2012-05-12 16:13:41

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.

Tweekums 2012-05-12 08:57:05

Classic Cagney

James Cagney once again epitomises the gangster of the United States inthe inter-war years, here he plays Rocky Sullivan who's life took aturn for the worse when he got caught robbing in a railway yard andsent to reform school, from then on he was in and out of prison, eachtime for more and more serious offences. Meanwhile his friend who waswith him at the time and could run a little faster so didn't get caughtwent on to become the parish priest.When Rocky gets out fifteen years later he goes to see his crookedlawyer who has been holding on to a hundred thousand dollars for him.The Lawyer, played by Humphrey Bogart, has other ideas and thinks it isbetter to have Rocky killed than give him that much money. He givesRocky $500 saying he'll get the rest later, on his way home a group ofstreet punks pick Rocky's pocket but he follows them and gets in back,he also ends up befriending them. When the killers move in to attackRocky he spots them before they can strike and escapes leaving one ofthem dead. He then heads straight back to Bogart's and empties hissafe, among the items he finds there are books giving details ofvarious corrupt officials and their connections to the underworld. Hethen goes to Bogart's boss and demands the rest of his money.Not all his activities are criminal, he meets up with his old friendFather Connolly who is involved in youth work that involves teachingthe street punks basketball. When they have a match Rocky takes over asreferee and maintains discipline in a fairly unorthodox manner.Connolly sees that the kids idolise Rocky and his gangster lifestyle sovows that he will bring down the gangsters even if that means bringingdown his friend too. The other gangsters plan to silence the priest...permanently but Rocky has other ideas which lead to one of the mostmemorable of film endings.This is clearly Cagney's film and he is great as Rocky, Pat O'Brien isgood as his friend the priest and Bogart is good as the weasellylawyer. The "Dead End Kids" are less good as the street punks,sometimes coming across as a bit too smart-alecky, this doesn't spoilthe film though. If you haven't seen this yet and are a fan of gangsterfilms then I strongly suggest putting near the top of your too seelist.

2012-05-11 19:21:59

Cagney Heads Impressive Cast

This film certainly has an attractive cast with three Hall-Of-Fame male actors and the very pretty Ann Sheridan. I am glad to see fellow reviewers here share the love for James Cagney, my favorite classic-era actor.Cagney, as he was prone to do in his career, steals most of the scenes. He just dominates the screen and gets you very involved with his character, especially at the end. Pat O'Brien plays his normal somewhat-liberal and likable priest role and Humphrey Bogart is convincing as the crooked lawyer. Bogart was the bad guy in most films until he became a big star a couple years after this film.The "Dead End Kids" are a pretty tough bunch. Seeing them play basketball is quite a sight - more like rugby than roundball. The shootout-and-chase scene near the end was well-done with some great film-noir photography and the ending of the movie is quite memorable.Frankly, the first time I saw this I thought it was overrated but after the second viewing - and then seeing a nice transfer on this DVD - I changed my mind. It is anything but overrated.