Angels with Dirty Faces
Directed by Michael Curtiz. US. 1938. NR. 97 min.
- Sun, Feb 7, 2:00 pm
The ultimate 30s gangster movie, played to perfection by such pros as Jimmy Cagney, Pat O’Brien and Humphrey Bogart who stars in one of his most effective bad-guy roles. You know the story – two mischievous boyhood friends, one (Cagney) who gets caught, goes to reform school and becomes a top gangster, the other (O’Brien) who gets away and becomes a priest in the old neighborhood – but here it comes to life as a wonderful entertainment, featuring a star-studded cast including Ann Sheridan and The Dead-End Kids. Although the story has often been copied, and even parodied, it’s never been done with the humor, action, insight, and excitement that comes through in this gritty but charming production. Watch Cagney and be amazed, especially in two scenes – when he’s giving The Dead End Kids a basketball lesson, and when he’s about to walk the last mile. Bogart, in one of the myriad of hoodlum roles that he was typecast in, makes the role his own. For what it’s worth, those are real machine-gun bullets hitting the walls in the climactic scene. Those guys were really tough. (Bill Roth)