Angels With Dirty Faces

Buy This Item Angels With Dirty Faces by MGM (Video & DVD)  Available from Amazon  $19.98  on 8-9-2008     Gangster Rocky Sullivan (James Cagney) returns from prison to make a name for himself in the crime world. He's soon discovered by the Dead End Kids, who idolize him, and childhood pal Father Jerry Connolly (Pat O'Brien). The good Father has taken a different turn from Rocky and is struggling to bring the Kids around; while still friends with Rocky, he tries to persuade him to steer clear of the gang of urchins. Rocky runs afoul of the law, however, when he guns down his former partners Frazier (Humphrey Bogart) and Keefer (George Bancroft) after they betray him over a cut of crime-related profits. Seen as a whole, <I>Angels with Dirty Faces</I> may seem dated to many viewers, but its ending is still enough to bring chills. Director Michael Curtiz infused this gritty 1938 effort with an amazing amount of energy and pacing; the Dead End Kids, in their screen debut, supply a fair amount of comic relief along with their dramatic roles. It's also worth noting that at the time, the notion of a criminal being a product of his environment was a controversial one. The swaggering bantam-rooster role played by Cagney, one of the screen's greats, helped define how he would be perceived (and parodied) for years to come. This movie easily stands along with <I>The Roaring Twenties</I> and <I>Little Caesar</I> as one of the most important, archetypal gangster films of the '30s. <I>--Jerry Renshaw</I> Reader Reviews Slightly dated and just a little too sentimental towards the end ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is still a great movie mainly due to James Cagney's high-powered performance as life long criminal Rocky Sullivan. After his latest prison stint Rocky returns to his old neighborhood looking to get in on some of the action. Childhood friend and now priest, Pat O'Brien, is glad to see his old buddy but worries about Sullivan's influence on the local kids who idolize his violent ways. Sullivan's aggressive behavior doesn't sit too well with local bosses George Bancroft and Humphrey Bogart, so before too long the lead gets to flying. The scenes with Cagney (which are the majority of the film) are great, but the stuff with The Dead End Kids is annoying. They acted like a bunch of wannabe tough guys doing a "Three Stooges" routine. Ann Sheridan, while not being on the screen near enough, is beautiful. I've always found her to be one of the hottest women of the Golden Age. Followed, in name only, by ANGELS WASH THEIR FACES starring Ann Sheridan and Ronald Reagan. Cagney and O'Brien also starred together in HERE COMES THE NAVY (1934), CEILING ZERO (1935), DEVIL DOGS OF THE AIR (1935), THE IRISH IN US (1935), BOY MEETS GIRL (1938), THE FIGHTING 69TH (1940), TORRID ZONE (1940) and RAGTIME (1981). Also if you look fast enough you'll notice Harry Hayden as the pharmacist during the drug store attack. Harry starred bit parts and supporting roles in close to 250 films including MR.SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, HIGH SIERRA (another pharmacist), NOTORIOUS, THE KILLERS, FURY, OUT OF THE PAST and 7 movies by the great Preston Sturges. D: Michael Curtiz (MILDRED PIERCE, LIFE WITH FATHER) William `Rocky Sullivan - James Cagney (EACH DAWN I DIE, MISTER ROBERTS) Father Jerome `Jerry' Connelly - Pat O'Brien (SOME LIKE IT HOT, BOMBSHELL) James `Jim' Frazier - Humphrey Bogart (THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT, HIGH SIERRA) Laury Ferguson - Ann Sheridan (THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT, KINGS ROW) Mac Keefer - George Bancroft (STAGECOACH, EACH DAWN I DIE)

Angels With Dirty Faces Available from Amazon Price: $19.98 Updated on 8-9-2008.

SPONSORED LINKS