44 of 1001 Movies: Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)

Michael Curtis brings the crime drama to life starring a top notch cast who really helps carry the emotional gravity of this film. I would say this film almost feels too short for the character complexity offered in the film, and that is a first for me.  By the end of the film you can't help but wonder where the remaining characters will wind up.

Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connolly were once childhood friends, and while their lives took different directions they can't help but still have that bond. Jerry is now a priest, and Rocky took the path of a gangster. Laury is Rocky old crush, and she also seeks to help out in the hopes of setting him in the right path. Rocky doesn't want to break free of his gangster ways, and eventually it leads him to a path he can't turn around when he murders two men. Jerry is also worried about the effect Rocky is having on teenage boys he is trying to help living the gang lifestyle.

Angels With Dirty Faces work because the cast works well together. They all have chemistry to make the emotions flow. For example, the young teenage gang talks quick, and easily with each other as if they have been hanging out their whole lives, and in some way you feel for them because you know they must have grew up rough lives. Rocky (James Cagney) and (Pat O'Brien) take the real lead with this one though. Their two friends who different lives have put a strain between them. They are working for opposing ends, but both with what seems the same goal.

I will say that Cagney's accent annoyed me a tad bit, and it was O'Brien that I favored between the two as far as characters go. The end scene with Jerry is so powerful, and I will admit it moved me a bit though thankfully not to tears. Though I'm sure Ann Sheridan is a good actress I didn't feel she stood out enough for me in the film to really take note of anything. I wasn't even sure at times if she was supposed to have chemistry with Rocky because it just seemed like they had none.

I think if you're into gangster films, and you're looking for one to really put on the list that will precede the others than this one would be it. It has a really good shootout scene that gets pretty intense. At the end of all the battles the ending feels a little rushed though. It's almost just tacked on to the end without ever getting to say goodbye to the characters. It also captures the era of the 30 really well. We see some of the roughest places, and not a glamorized version of the time.

Rating 3 of 5.