Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Michael Curtiz (CASABLANCA) directs James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and Pat O'Brien in one of the greatest gangster melodramas made during the Hollywood studio era. William "Rocky" Sullivan (Cagney) and Jerry Connolly (O'Brien), partners in mischief as boys, are separated when only Jerry is fast enough to get away from the cops after the duo steals fountain pens from a railroad car. Rocky, refusing to give the name of his friend, is sent off to a reform school where he falls under the influence of criminal elements. The grown-up Rocky's triumphant return to the neighborhood complicates the efforts of Jerry, now a parish priest, to keep a local group of boys (the Dead End Kids) out of trouble. When the gang begins to idolize Rocky, Connolly fears his good works may come to nothing. Meanwhile, Rocky vies for control of the criminal rackets in the neighborhood with mob boss Mac Keefer (George Bancroft) and a corrupt, double-crossing lawyer, James Frazier (Bogart). Curtiz's taut, suspenseful, yet suprisingly sensitive handling of the gritty urban morality play turned ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES into the first unqualified masterpiece of his stunningly prolific career. The archetypal gangster thriller, brimming with the magnetism and explosive dramatic energy supplied by the three male leads, was nominated for three Academy Award Nominations: Best Director, Best Actor (Cagney), and Best Original Story.

DVD FEATURES:

• James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart star in this gritty but heartwarming story of a gangster who turns his life around after meeting some special kids.
  Source: Warner Home Video
  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

   

  Michael Curtiz

• Star:

   

  Ann Sheridan, Dead End Kids, George Bancroft, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Edward Pawley, Pat O'Brien

• Producer:

   

  Samuel Bischoff

• Composer:

   

  Max Steiner

• Production Designer:

   

  Robert M. Haas

• Story:

   

  Roland Brown

• Editor:

   

  Owen Marks

• Cinematographer:

   

  Sol Polito

• Writer:

   

  Warren Duff, John Wexley

REVIEWS:

• "ANGELS finds Cagney absolutely riveting..." — Los Angeles Times
• "ANGELS was Cagney's gold-standard reference point." — USA Today
• "...[Cagney is] lovably cocky....A life lesson..." -- Rating: A- — Entertainment Weekly

REVIEWS: