This is one of my favorite classics, with extraordinary acting of James Cagney, one of the best actors starring crime films, and his friend, Pat O'Brien, who once again played the role of a priest. In fact, O'Brien in his real life studied to become a priest, but later he quit for becoming an actor. The seed of criminality is here well shown, but not its causes. Why are these children finally criminals? It was not the intention of the director Michael Curtiz to go deeply into the problem, instead he treated it religiously. Men are products of the society where they live, obviously, some escape from bad examples while others continue to be spoiled for the whole life. Rocky Sullivan (Cagney) was the case, a spoiled child with some principles of friendship only, and hard with his enemies. His best friend (o'Brien) hopefully became a priest and took the life differently, trying to help and improve the behavior of the children in the community where he lives. Why one went in one way different to the other? this is not suggested in the film. We have only the facts and then you must figure out the reasons of such behaviors. Interesting film, anyway, with good acting of Humphrey Bogart too, who was a perfect actor for playing the roles of the villains, and always nice Ann Sheridan did it well too.
171 Reviews
An absolute classic
The_Void3 January 2005
Michael Curtiz has made some great films, yet the only one that tends to be well received among film fans is his contender for the best movie ever made - obviously Casablanca (and Robin Hood, to a lesser extent). However, the man has a wealth of other influential classics under his belt that don't tend to get the recognition that they deserve, and Angels With Dirty Faces is one of those films. To sum the film up easily, one would say that it is a crime drama. However; like the best crime dramas, this one has multiple themes that elevate it from being merely a film about crime, to being a character study, a portrait of what it is that makes a hero and a condemnation of criminals on the whole. The story follows Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connolly; two young New York thugs, the former of which is caught by the police and sent to a reform school, where, ironically, he learns to be a criminal. The latter escapes punishment and goes on to become a priest. The story follows these two men as they meet up as adults and have an effect on the lives of the kids of their old neighbourhood.
The focus of the film is always centred on the neighbourhood. This allows Curtiz to show us the effects that Rocky's criminal endeavours have on the kids of the neighbourhood more effectively. This sort of narrative would be employed in later films, such as the critically acclaimed 'City of God', and works well here too. The way the film shows how impressionable young kids can be influenced by adults works brilliantly, and Curtiz is able to continue this theme up until the powerful ending. James Cagney would later go on to achieve major fame in the incredible 'White Heat', but here he shows us what the quintessential New York gangster would be like. His performance, in short, is incredible and easily ranks among the best gangster roles of all time. The rest of the cast do well in their roles, with distinct New York accents helping to firmly place the audience in the city that the film is taking place in. Furthermore, the film is economic in the way it's plotted and it's also very exciting, and therefore guaranteed to delight it's audience.
Angels With Dirty Faces is an absolute cinema classic and quite why it isn't more famous is anyone's guess. Although not quite as good as Casablanca, this is a major notch in Michael Curtiz's filmography and I wouldn't have any qualms with recommending this to film fans at all.
The focus of the film is always centred on the neighbourhood. This allows Curtiz to show us the effects that Rocky's criminal endeavours have on the kids of the neighbourhood more effectively. This sort of narrative would be employed in later films, such as the critically acclaimed 'City of God', and works well here too. The way the film shows how impressionable young kids can be influenced by adults works brilliantly, and Curtiz is able to continue this theme up until the powerful ending. James Cagney would later go on to achieve major fame in the incredible 'White Heat', but here he shows us what the quintessential New York gangster would be like. His performance, in short, is incredible and easily ranks among the best gangster roles of all time. The rest of the cast do well in their roles, with distinct New York accents helping to firmly place the audience in the city that the film is taking place in. Furthermore, the film is economic in the way it's plotted and it's also very exciting, and therefore guaranteed to delight it's audience.
Angels With Dirty Faces is an absolute cinema classic and quite why it isn't more famous is anyone's guess. Although not quite as good as Casablanca, this is a major notch in Michael Curtiz's filmography and I wouldn't have any qualms with recommending this to film fans at all.
Say A Prayer For A Kid Who Couldn't Run As Fast
bkoganbing2 June 2006
Angels With Dirty Faces is a milestone film for the careers of both James Cagney and Pat O'Brien. Up to now they had been successfully teamed by Warner Brothers in a whole series of buddy films. In fact it is my contention that they popularized that particular genre. Here they are childhood friends, but as adults, adversaries due to the course in life they took.
Cagney came off suspension from Warner Brothers and agreed to do this film as his comeback of sorts. At first glance it seems just like another gangster flick, just what Cagney had been trying to get away from. But by force of personality and a superior script, Cagney turned the role of Rocky Sullivan into a classic and got his first Academy Award nomination.
As for O'Brien, this was his first clerical role. Usually O'Brien is the fast talking manager, press agent,etc. When playing a priest Pat O'Brien slows the pace of the dialog down to a crawl and it works. He greatly expanded his range here and there were many other classic clerical roles to come.
Cagney's a notorious gangster who's just been let out of prison after a three year stretch, taking a fall for his crooked attorney, Humphrey Bogart. Bogart was supposed to guard his $100,000.00 Cagney had squirreled away from illegal activities in the Twenties. Bogart's got a new partner now in George Bancroft and neither of them wants to cut Cagney in on anything.
Let's just say that Cagney in the usual Cagney fashion makes both of them wish they'd played it on the square.
Father O'Brien's concern is that notorious criminal Cagney is becoming a hero to some of the neighborhood kids in his parish. But he also can't forget that the two of them had been boyhood pals and that Cagney's first brush with the law was over a petty crime that O'Brien was equally guilty of. This is shown in a small prologue with three players portraying, Cagney, O'Brien, and neighborhood girl Ann Sheridan as kids.
Young Frankie Burke is astounding in his portrayal of the young Cagney. He has him down perfectly, he becomes Cagney. Angels With Dirty Faces is worth watching for him alone.
Those other juvenile actors with Warner Brothers at the time, The Dead End Kids, play the kids from the parish who come to idolize and idealize Cagney. O'Brien has one tough time trying to make them see that Cagney's life is not the way to go in life.
Angels With Dirty Faces still has a powerful message for today and film aficionados should see it because of that and because it was a key turning point in the careers of James Cagney and Pat O'Brien.
Cagney came off suspension from Warner Brothers and agreed to do this film as his comeback of sorts. At first glance it seems just like another gangster flick, just what Cagney had been trying to get away from. But by force of personality and a superior script, Cagney turned the role of Rocky Sullivan into a classic and got his first Academy Award nomination.
As for O'Brien, this was his first clerical role. Usually O'Brien is the fast talking manager, press agent,etc. When playing a priest Pat O'Brien slows the pace of the dialog down to a crawl and it works. He greatly expanded his range here and there were many other classic clerical roles to come.
Cagney's a notorious gangster who's just been let out of prison after a three year stretch, taking a fall for his crooked attorney, Humphrey Bogart. Bogart was supposed to guard his $100,000.00 Cagney had squirreled away from illegal activities in the Twenties. Bogart's got a new partner now in George Bancroft and neither of them wants to cut Cagney in on anything.
Let's just say that Cagney in the usual Cagney fashion makes both of them wish they'd played it on the square.
Father O'Brien's concern is that notorious criminal Cagney is becoming a hero to some of the neighborhood kids in his parish. But he also can't forget that the two of them had been boyhood pals and that Cagney's first brush with the law was over a petty crime that O'Brien was equally guilty of. This is shown in a small prologue with three players portraying, Cagney, O'Brien, and neighborhood girl Ann Sheridan as kids.
Young Frankie Burke is astounding in his portrayal of the young Cagney. He has him down perfectly, he becomes Cagney. Angels With Dirty Faces is worth watching for him alone.
Those other juvenile actors with Warner Brothers at the time, The Dead End Kids, play the kids from the parish who come to idolize and idealize Cagney. O'Brien has one tough time trying to make them see that Cagney's life is not the way to go in life.
Angels With Dirty Faces still has a powerful message for today and film aficionados should see it because of that and because it was a key turning point in the careers of James Cagney and Pat O'Brien.
Cagney's First Screen Award Performance
theowinthrop5 June 2006
The rise and fall of Rocky Sullivan, tough guy gangster but square fellow, was the subject of this excellent film by Warner Brothers in 1938. It has several things going for it that maintains it's high ratings among gangster films and Cagney movies.
For one thing, Cagney's brilliant performance as Rocky won him his first major film award - the 1938 New York Film Critics Award for best actor. It is frequently forgotten that Cagney won this award four years before his Oscar winner in "Yankee Doodle Dandy", but in actuality the performance was the high point of the work he did (up to that time) as a gangster (his performances in "White Heat" and "Love Me Or Leave Me" were way in the future). It drives home how much of a struggle it was for Cagney to get out of the gangster mode, and why his George M. Cohan was such a striking change for his fans.
Secondly it was the sequel (the first sequel) of the Bowery Boy feature films after their introduction in "Dead End". Oddly enough, in that film, Humphrey Bogart was the out and out gangster "Baby Face" Martin, who was the villain in the film. Baby Face enjoyed his following with the gang of boys in that film. Here, though, Bogart was playing a weaselly lawyer named Jim Frazier, who is cowardly - quite a different type from Baby Face, who is angry at the state of his world and how ugly it has become. But Baby Face, at least, had guts.
The Bowery Boys are again a gang of street kids, who Father Jerry Connelly (Pat O'Brien) is trying to keep on the straight and narrow. Here, however, they worship Rocky, the local punk who did rise in the underworld and made a name for himself. But Rocky is Jerry's oldest friend, and he is also willing to help the priest with the boys.
The story deals with how Bogart and his new boss, Mac Keefer (the unjustly forgotten George Bancroft) have gotten control of over 100,000 dollars (1930 style dollars - about twenty million in buying power today), that belongs to Cagney. Cagney wants it back, and when Bogart and Bancroft keep putting him off he uses strong arm methods to force them into line. Eventually things blow up, and Cagney ends up in a gun battle that leaves a dead cop. He is tried and found guilty for this murder, and goes to the death house. This leads to one of the most frightening moments in Cagney's film career - when we see his final moments when being taken to the electric chair to be strapped in. I guarantee once seen you will never forget it.
There are one or two interesting points of a historical nature about Cagney's performance as Rocky. First, that massive gun battle that is shown (where he kills the cop and battles the police department from a building. It actually happened! In about 1931 there was an incident in Manhattan when a young hood, "Two Gun" Crowley, held off police after a homicide in a battle that lasted nearly an entire afternoon. Crowley (like Rocky) was defeated by tear gas. Like Rocky, he too died in the electric chair.
It has been pointed out that Cagney based some of Rocky's mannerisms on a drug addict character he knew in his old Hell's Gate/Yorkville area when he was a kid. Cagney mentions this in his memoir CAGNEY. But there is a curious second source. In his youth, Jimmy Cagney came from a family that struggled but managed to have food on the table and clothes on their back. But some of his playmates were not so lucky. One was a fellow nicknamed "Bootah" (because of the oversize boots he was forced to wear) whose real name was Peter Heslin. Cagney always was friendly with Peter, but their lives drifted apart. On April 5, 1926, Heslin was engaged in an armed robbery when an off-duty police officer, Charles H. Reilly, tried to stop him and was shot and killed. But Heslin (who was also wounded in the encounter) was captured shortly afterward. He was tried and convicted, and finally executed on July 21, 1927. That same night, a star was born on Broadway where Jimmy Cagney made a name for himself as a singer and dancer in the show "Broadway". Cagney was aware of the tragedy playing out with his friend at Sing Sing that night. He mentions Bootah's execution in his memoirs. Newspaper accounts of Heslin's electrocution do not mention anything unusual, but one wonders if (when Cagney was doing the scene) he thought of his unfortunate friend and added a bit more power to those last moments of the film.
For one thing, Cagney's brilliant performance as Rocky won him his first major film award - the 1938 New York Film Critics Award for best actor. It is frequently forgotten that Cagney won this award four years before his Oscar winner in "Yankee Doodle Dandy", but in actuality the performance was the high point of the work he did (up to that time) as a gangster (his performances in "White Heat" and "Love Me Or Leave Me" were way in the future). It drives home how much of a struggle it was for Cagney to get out of the gangster mode, and why his George M. Cohan was such a striking change for his fans.
Secondly it was the sequel (the first sequel) of the Bowery Boy feature films after their introduction in "Dead End". Oddly enough, in that film, Humphrey Bogart was the out and out gangster "Baby Face" Martin, who was the villain in the film. Baby Face enjoyed his following with the gang of boys in that film. Here, though, Bogart was playing a weaselly lawyer named Jim Frazier, who is cowardly - quite a different type from Baby Face, who is angry at the state of his world and how ugly it has become. But Baby Face, at least, had guts.
The Bowery Boys are again a gang of street kids, who Father Jerry Connelly (Pat O'Brien) is trying to keep on the straight and narrow. Here, however, they worship Rocky, the local punk who did rise in the underworld and made a name for himself. But Rocky is Jerry's oldest friend, and he is also willing to help the priest with the boys.
The story deals with how Bogart and his new boss, Mac Keefer (the unjustly forgotten George Bancroft) have gotten control of over 100,000 dollars (1930 style dollars - about twenty million in buying power today), that belongs to Cagney. Cagney wants it back, and when Bogart and Bancroft keep putting him off he uses strong arm methods to force them into line. Eventually things blow up, and Cagney ends up in a gun battle that leaves a dead cop. He is tried and found guilty for this murder, and goes to the death house. This leads to one of the most frightening moments in Cagney's film career - when we see his final moments when being taken to the electric chair to be strapped in. I guarantee once seen you will never forget it.
There are one or two interesting points of a historical nature about Cagney's performance as Rocky. First, that massive gun battle that is shown (where he kills the cop and battles the police department from a building. It actually happened! In about 1931 there was an incident in Manhattan when a young hood, "Two Gun" Crowley, held off police after a homicide in a battle that lasted nearly an entire afternoon. Crowley (like Rocky) was defeated by tear gas. Like Rocky, he too died in the electric chair.
It has been pointed out that Cagney based some of Rocky's mannerisms on a drug addict character he knew in his old Hell's Gate/Yorkville area when he was a kid. Cagney mentions this in his memoir CAGNEY. But there is a curious second source. In his youth, Jimmy Cagney came from a family that struggled but managed to have food on the table and clothes on their back. But some of his playmates were not so lucky. One was a fellow nicknamed "Bootah" (because of the oversize boots he was forced to wear) whose real name was Peter Heslin. Cagney always was friendly with Peter, but their lives drifted apart. On April 5, 1926, Heslin was engaged in an armed robbery when an off-duty police officer, Charles H. Reilly, tried to stop him and was shot and killed. But Heslin (who was also wounded in the encounter) was captured shortly afterward. He was tried and convicted, and finally executed on July 21, 1927. That same night, a star was born on Broadway where Jimmy Cagney made a name for himself as a singer and dancer in the show "Broadway". Cagney was aware of the tragedy playing out with his friend at Sing Sing that night. He mentions Bootah's execution in his memoirs. Newspaper accounts of Heslin's electrocution do not mention anything unusual, but one wonders if (when Cagney was doing the scene) he thought of his unfortunate friend and added a bit more power to those last moments of the film.
Once the Dye is Cast...
Xstal3 September 2023
The fork begins to split after attempting to commit, a theft from rolling stock that starts the countdown of a clock, where the option Jerry takes, means that he'll get all the breaks, and the dice that roll for you, leaves you locked in a curfew. Some years later, in a cycle, you return to your old ground, where you're looking to recoup, from an acquaintance a few grand, but there's cheating and deception, though you find yourself protection, it all leads to a big shoot out, with a pistol in each hand. Alas you're captured and convicted and then sentenced to the chair, you are cool and quite collected and the thought just does not scare, but does a chat turn you all yella, is it for real, are you that fella, and does it really make a difference to remove future despair.
Cagney Heads Impressive Cast
ccthemovieman-129 October 2005
This film certainly has an attractive cast with three Hall-Of-Fame actors and the very pretty Ann Sheridan.
James Cagney, my favorite actor of classic films, once again 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. It must be one of the highlights of this entertaining film because I remember it so well....it was so different from any other basketball game I've ever seen!
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 DVD - I changed my mind. It is anything but overrated.
James Cagney, my favorite actor of classic films, once again 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. It must be one of the highlights of this entertaining film because I remember it so well....it was so different from any other basketball game I've ever seen!
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 DVD - I changed my mind. It is anything but overrated.
Post Production Code Gangster Classic!
bsmith555212 February 2005
"Angels With Dirty Faces" was James Cagney's first film for Warner Bros. following his two year contract dispute. During that time he appeared in two films for the poverty row studio Grand National. With a few concessions to The Production Code (introduced in 1934) it is nonetheless one of the great all time gangster films. The touch of legendary director Michael Curtiz is evident throughout.
The story begins in the 1920s with two boyhood pals "Rocky" Sullivan (Frankie Burke) and Jerry Connelly (William Tracy) in the Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood of New York. Rocky gets arrested by the police and is sent to the reformatory after a botched break in while Jerry escapes. While in prison, Rocky learns the evils of gangsterism from within and forges a life of crime and growing up to be James Cagney. Meanwhile Jerry has become a priest in the Pierson of Pat O'Brien.
Rocky returns to the old neighborhood and becomes involved with a group of teenagers (The Dead End Kids) who are headed in the same direction as Rocky. Fr. Jerry prevails upon Rocky to help him straighten the boys out before its too late. Rocky also meets up with a girl from his childhood, Laury Ferguson (Ann Sheridan).
Meanwhile we learn that Rocky has served three years in jail to protect his former partner and lawyer Jim Frazier (Humphrey Bogart). He has also entrusted Frazier with $100,000 from an earlier caper. Rocky goes to Frazier to demand his money and learns that Frazier is now involved with crime boss Mac Keefer (George Bancroft) and that they plan to cheat him out of his money. Hey, nobody double crosses Rocky.
Cagney is typical Cagney, bold, brash and cocky as Rocky. O'Brien as the Irish priest was a role he was born to play. Sheridan looks lovely but has little to do. Bogart, who was still 3 years away from major stardom, does well as the yellow back stabbing lawyer. The Dead End Kids - Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Bernard Punsley) would move to a "B" series (without Hallop) after their Warner contract expired in 1939. The performances of Frankie Burke in particular and William Tracy as the young Rocky and Jerry are excellent.
"Angels With Dirty Faces" is probably best remembered for its ending. don't miss it.
The story begins in the 1920s with two boyhood pals "Rocky" Sullivan (Frankie Burke) and Jerry Connelly (William Tracy) in the Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood of New York. Rocky gets arrested by the police and is sent to the reformatory after a botched break in while Jerry escapes. While in prison, Rocky learns the evils of gangsterism from within and forges a life of crime and growing up to be James Cagney. Meanwhile Jerry has become a priest in the Pierson of Pat O'Brien.
Rocky returns to the old neighborhood and becomes involved with a group of teenagers (The Dead End Kids) who are headed in the same direction as Rocky. Fr. Jerry prevails upon Rocky to help him straighten the boys out before its too late. Rocky also meets up with a girl from his childhood, Laury Ferguson (Ann Sheridan).
Meanwhile we learn that Rocky has served three years in jail to protect his former partner and lawyer Jim Frazier (Humphrey Bogart). He has also entrusted Frazier with $100,000 from an earlier caper. Rocky goes to Frazier to demand his money and learns that Frazier is now involved with crime boss Mac Keefer (George Bancroft) and that they plan to cheat him out of his money. Hey, nobody double crosses Rocky.
Cagney is typical Cagney, bold, brash and cocky as Rocky. O'Brien as the Irish priest was a role he was born to play. Sheridan looks lovely but has little to do. Bogart, who was still 3 years away from major stardom, does well as the yellow back stabbing lawyer. The Dead End Kids - Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Bernard Punsley) would move to a "B" series (without Hallop) after their Warner contract expired in 1939. The performances of Frankie Burke in particular and William Tracy as the young Rocky and Jerry are excellent.
"Angels With Dirty Faces" is probably best remembered for its ending. don't miss it.
A classic early crime drama
soranno22 October 2002
Throughout the 1930's, Warner Brothers delivered many quality crime and gangster dramas that usually featured the likes of the studio's distinguished contract star roster. This 1938 release is one of the prime examples. James Cagney and Pat O'Brien (who were frequently cast in films together and this is their best one together) portray boyhood buddies who reunite years later after Cagney is released from prison where he had served for 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 returns to his old neighborhood to set up his criminal hideout. Meanwhile, his old friend, O'Brien has given up being a street hood and has since become a respected priest who naturally doesn't think highly of the life that his friend 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 the right paths begin to idolize Cagney. Humphrey Bogart also appears in a pre big box office star part as a lawyer and screen veteran George Bancroft also costars as a dishonest crime boss. Michael Curtiz' direction and Max Steiner's musical score are also highlights. This film is one of the all time great ones of the 1930's and an excellent showcase for its legendary cast and crew.
Cagney vs. The Dead End Kids!
Spuzzlightyear5 November 2005
One of the greatest films of Cagney's film career, and the film that unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your gag reflexes) introduced us to the Dead End Kids! James Cagney is a career criminal, who, immediately after getting out of the clink, meets up with his former partner in crime (Pat O'Brien!), who of course is a priest now and loathes the life Cagney leads. Cagney is also preoccupied with a bunch of no-good kids who of course idolize him. Seeing this, O'Brien thinks Cagney should lead the kids to good. But Cagney is too busy getting even with his old business cronies (Humphrey Bogart!).
This film is a lot fun, most especially watching Bogey and Cagney on the screen together. For those rather uninitiated with the career of Bogart (eg, just seen Casablanca and the Sam Spade movies), this film may come as a revelation to you, as he plays a cretinous heel here. And Cagney? Ahhh, what's not to like? He's flawless here, (well, except his curious gun usage). As for the Dead End Kids, I liked them here, rather interesting that Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall almost are in the background here, with their leadership of the group not yet realized.
This film is a lot fun, most especially watching Bogey and Cagney on the screen together. For those rather uninitiated with the career of Bogart (eg, just seen Casablanca and the Sam Spade movies), this film may come as a revelation to you, as he plays a cretinous heel here. And Cagney? Ahhh, what's not to like? He's flawless here, (well, except his curious gun usage). As for the Dead End Kids, I liked them here, rather interesting that Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall almost are in the background here, with their leadership of the group not yet realized.
Golden-age film offers great gangster yarn and metaphysical struggle
Sloke18 March 2000
"Angels With Dirty Faces" has been called the gangster movie of the New Deal. Previously, with such early-30s films as "Little Caesar" and "Public Enemy," gangster films at their best were engrossing actioners with charismatic but undeniably evil central figures. "Angels With Dirty Faces," released in 1938, presents a more nuanced view of what makes the modern bad man tick. Is it a bad heart? Or is society to blame?
Cagney is undeniably great in the role that made him a legend. His practiced patter never wears thin, and his screen presence is electric throughout. (Especially at the end, and I don't mean that as a pun.) But the screenwriters never let us forget the good in the man. We see him come up against more ruthless elements of the underworld, people like Bogart (a real baddie here) who have no compunction about killing a man if it means avoiding payment of a heavy debt. We see him interact with a group of starry-eyed juveniles (The Dead End Kids) whose nickel-and-dime antics fill him with a poignant but heartily-amusing nostalgia. And we see him try to do right by his former partner in crime, now a priest played by Hugh O'Brien.
But Cagney is trapped by the circumstances of his life. He can't walk away from a life of crime, which has made him what he is and gives him the only life satisfaction he knows. He's correctly on guard for double-crossers at every turn. When cornered, his cheery face becomes bug-eyed and menacing. We know he's bad, but we like him, and that puts us in the company of the audience-surrougate figure, Father Connolly.
Director Curtiz was an auteur before his time, filling his canvas with images of downtrodden street life. This isn't for mere effect, but to show us why Rocky is what he is and how come he finds little hope for his redemption. There are souls to be saved in this picture, but for Father Connolly, they are Laurie and the boys. He must take on his childhood chum, the same kid who saved Connolly from the perils of the Mean Streets and allowed him to become what he was.
It is a choice between God and friendship, and while Connolly has little doubt which way to go, the audience may not be with him all the way. The ending points up this spiritual conflict in some of the most harrowing terms ever brought to screen at that time. When you really think about what's going on behind Connolly's face in that final scene, it's a real tear-inducer.
Was Rocky's last scene a put-up job? I guess it can be argued back and forth, but the real question of value is whether, if it was faked, was it enough to perform a miracle even the good Father Connolly wouldn't have quite believed in, the salvation of Rocky. The last image of the boys, desolately accepting the news of their hero's fall, is at once triumphant and bittersweet. Nothing comes easy in this world of ours.
"Angels With Dirty Faces" may strike a falsely optimistic note to some, but it is optimism well-earned by the honesty of vision expressed. Add to that clever dialogue, great pacing, and one of cinema's keystone performances by Cagney, and you have a real keeper here.
P.S. It also features one of the finest Cagney impersonations ever, by William Tracey as the young Rocky. Funny stuff.
Cagney is undeniably great in the role that made him a legend. His practiced patter never wears thin, and his screen presence is electric throughout. (Especially at the end, and I don't mean that as a pun.) But the screenwriters never let us forget the good in the man. We see him come up against more ruthless elements of the underworld, people like Bogart (a real baddie here) who have no compunction about killing a man if it means avoiding payment of a heavy debt. We see him interact with a group of starry-eyed juveniles (The Dead End Kids) whose nickel-and-dime antics fill him with a poignant but heartily-amusing nostalgia. And we see him try to do right by his former partner in crime, now a priest played by Hugh O'Brien.
But Cagney is trapped by the circumstances of his life. He can't walk away from a life of crime, which has made him what he is and gives him the only life satisfaction he knows. He's correctly on guard for double-crossers at every turn. When cornered, his cheery face becomes bug-eyed and menacing. We know he's bad, but we like him, and that puts us in the company of the audience-surrougate figure, Father Connolly.
Director Curtiz was an auteur before his time, filling his canvas with images of downtrodden street life. This isn't for mere effect, but to show us why Rocky is what he is and how come he finds little hope for his redemption. There are souls to be saved in this picture, but for Father Connolly, they are Laurie and the boys. He must take on his childhood chum, the same kid who saved Connolly from the perils of the Mean Streets and allowed him to become what he was.
It is a choice between God and friendship, and while Connolly has little doubt which way to go, the audience may not be with him all the way. The ending points up this spiritual conflict in some of the most harrowing terms ever brought to screen at that time. When you really think about what's going on behind Connolly's face in that final scene, it's a real tear-inducer.
Was Rocky's last scene a put-up job? I guess it can be argued back and forth, but the real question of value is whether, if it was faked, was it enough to perform a miracle even the good Father Connolly wouldn't have quite believed in, the salvation of Rocky. The last image of the boys, desolately accepting the news of their hero's fall, is at once triumphant and bittersweet. Nothing comes easy in this world of ours.
"Angels With Dirty Faces" may strike a falsely optimistic note to some, but it is optimism well-earned by the honesty of vision expressed. Add to that clever dialogue, great pacing, and one of cinema's keystone performances by Cagney, and you have a real keeper here.
P.S. It also features one of the finest Cagney impersonations ever, by William Tracey as the young Rocky. Funny stuff.
Whadda ya hear! Whadda ya say!
Tipster1013 September 2011
A classic gangster film of Hollywood's Golden Age from Casablanca director Michael Curtiz, Angels with Dirty Faces is one of James Cagney's most well known films and had him nominated for his first Academy Award.
Rocky Sullivan (Cagney) and Jerry Connelly (Pat O'Brien) are childhood friends who are caught robbing a train as kids. After Rocky takes the rap the two set on different paths, Jerry becomes a priest while Rocky can't escape the life of crime. Years later they reunite on friendly terms but each have a different influence on a group of street kids who resemble the lifestyle they once shared.
The film for the most part may seem to be just a typical 1930s gangster quota quickie from Warner, with Rocky as a tough crook being screwed over by his former ally Humphrey Bogart. But the focus is instead on the relationship with Jerry who looks out for the best interests of the kids (to whom the title refers), and by the end Rocky must make a decision which, to a Depression era audience, would have been quite inspiring. Cagney also gives Rocky a moral grounding which has the audience sympathising with him from start to finish.
Overall a decent crime story with a message about the kind of courage that is not "heroics and bravado", and you can clearly see its influence on modern characterisation, but perhaps this means the novelty is lost to today's audience.
Rocky Sullivan (Cagney) and Jerry Connelly (Pat O'Brien) are childhood friends who are caught robbing a train as kids. After Rocky takes the rap the two set on different paths, Jerry becomes a priest while Rocky can't escape the life of crime. Years later they reunite on friendly terms but each have a different influence on a group of street kids who resemble the lifestyle they once shared.
The film for the most part may seem to be just a typical 1930s gangster quota quickie from Warner, with Rocky as a tough crook being screwed over by his former ally Humphrey Bogart. But the focus is instead on the relationship with Jerry who looks out for the best interests of the kids (to whom the title refers), and by the end Rocky must make a decision which, to a Depression era audience, would have been quite inspiring. Cagney also gives Rocky a moral grounding which has the audience sympathising with him from start to finish.
Overall a decent crime story with a message about the kind of courage that is not "heroics and bravado", and you can clearly see its influence on modern characterisation, but perhaps this means the novelty is lost to today's audience.
James Cagney is the boss
SnoopyStyle8 April 2016
Rocky Sullivan (James Cagney) and Jerry Connolly (Pat O'Brien) are childhood friends. In 1920, the two boys are chased by the police. Jerry managed to escape but Rocky is detained leading to a life of crime. Jerry becomes a priest and Rocky becomes a notorious gangster. James Frazier (Humphrey Bogart) is Rocky's corrupt lawyer. After getting out of prison, Rocky moves into a boarding house run by former classmate Laury Martin (Ann Sheridan). He takes an interest in a crew of petty criminals, The 'Dead End' Kids. The kids see him as their hero while Jerry tries to reform the boys. Rocky wants his share from Frazier and Frazier is willing to kill Rocky to keep it.
The 'Dead End' Kids was a concept back in the day and this may be the best movie with this idea. In this one, they try to out-Cagney Cagney, but there is only one. He does his usual act plus much, much, more. It's a nice pairing with O'Brien and Bogie is a heavy. It's a classic crime melodrama of the highest quality.
The 'Dead End' Kids was a concept back in the day and this may be the best movie with this idea. In this one, they try to out-Cagney Cagney, but there is only one. He does his usual act plus much, much, more. It's a nice pairing with O'Brien and Bogie is a heavy. It's a classic crime melodrama of the highest quality.
Hypocritical Ending
greggman1 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The movie itself was pretty good. Good twists. Not ridiculous preaching like On The Waterfront even though this features a priest buddy.
Unfortunately the ending kind of ruins it. Father Connolly won't take a $10k donation from Rocky because he knows it's stolen and he'd build his youth center on a dirty foundation. Then later he gets Rocky to fake being afraid of death saying only he and Rocky will know the truth, that Rocky wasn't afraid. When the kids ask him if Rocky really was afraid he lies to them, effectively building their future on a dirty foundation.
Unfortunately the ending kind of ruins it. Father Connolly won't take a $10k donation from Rocky because he knows it's stolen and he'd build his youth center on a dirty foundation. Then later he gets Rocky to fake being afraid of death saying only he and Rocky will know the truth, that Rocky wasn't afraid. When the kids ask him if Rocky really was afraid he lies to them, effectively building their future on a dirty foundation.
Sentimental Rubbish
1930s_Time_Machine25 April 2024
There are many reasons this overrated film is so unbearably horrible such as: corny story with corny characters (who are the most hackneyed clichéd stereotypes imaginable), the pathetic Dead End Kids who are relentlessly irritating, Pat O'Brien's saintly smugness, Bogart's absurdly unrealistic pantomime villain.....and a real waste of talent.
Admittedly the first ten minutes when we're introduced to Rocky and Jerry as kids is actually pretty good - ok, it's very good: gorgeous atmosphere, beautifully shot - you can almost taste the dust blowing up from those filthy stinking streets. The actors playing the younger versions of Rocky and Jerry are both brilliant - it's a shame they didn't stick around for the rest of the film because when the 'grown-ups' take over it just evolves into the most sickly sweet cliché infused mechanically written drivel you could imagine interspersed with segments from old gangster flicks.
Warner Brothers seemed to be trying to revive their own earlier penchant for gritty gangster films with this and their next offering the following year, THE ROARING TWENTIES but the originality, the sparkle and importantly the nearness in time to the actual events happening there and then had been lost (ROARING TWENTIES was however a fairly good attempt - unlike this!) In the early thirties their pictures had teeth, their message-infused in-your-face melodrama could chew out your heart and spit it into the gutter. Back then they had Daryl Zanuck driving the ship - by 1939 he'd moved on but could still punch us in the stomach with the likes of THE GRAPES OF WRATH. With this however Warners had lost their moral compass and were just trying to make a quick buck.
Besides Pat O'Brien doing one of those awful parodies of a clergyman taken up to level 11 on the sanctimonious scale, the truly worst aspect of this picture is the so-called Dead End Kids. They're simply terrible and seem to take up about 50% of the screen time. If you managed to endure the worst film of 1937 (DEAD END) which 'discovered' them then possibly you might disagree but if you are a normal human being, this bunch of jumped up pretentious yobs will annoy the hell out of you. I know that in reality they really were a rough and tough bunch but they were also stage actors (and not very good ones) so come across as exactly what they are: a bunch of drama school boys pretending to be Brooklyn street kids. Their affected shenanigans feel extremely patronising.
And another thing...did Michael Curtiz know Ann Sheridan was in this picture? Her presence is completely irrelevant. Her relationship with Rocky could have been an interesting one. There's hints that Father Jerry had 'reformed' her and that her growing toxic infatuation with Rocky threatens to reverse all the good the priest had done but that story goes nowhere. There's no spark or connection between her and Cagney whatsoever. Focusing on that could have made this a really interesting drama but Rocky doesn't seem interested in her at all, he seems more interested in hanging out with a bunch of teenage boys. There is however absolutely nothing sordid about that, he is simply a big kid himself so is comfortable to be in the company of similarly immature people.
And finally to Mr Cagney.... In this he's playing Jimmy Cagney the gangster movie star - he's not a real person so you can't care anything for him. This particular character has got no distinctive characteristics at all - he is just doing a turn for his fans doing what they wanted to see. The relationship he has with Father Jerry, his childhood friend is also unbelievable. You'd expect better from Michael Curtiz but compare its execution with the brilliantly realistic relationship we see between Tony and his brother Frank Jr., the priest in SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER and this feels so amateurish and contrived.
Even the famous ending makes you feel nauseous as Father Jerry looks up to heaven and smiles as the sound of angelic choirs are heard. How audiences back in '39 lapped up this sickly vile treacle completely astonished me (and that's by someone who cries at the end of GOODBYE MR CHIPS!!!)
Admittedly the first ten minutes when we're introduced to Rocky and Jerry as kids is actually pretty good - ok, it's very good: gorgeous atmosphere, beautifully shot - you can almost taste the dust blowing up from those filthy stinking streets. The actors playing the younger versions of Rocky and Jerry are both brilliant - it's a shame they didn't stick around for the rest of the film because when the 'grown-ups' take over it just evolves into the most sickly sweet cliché infused mechanically written drivel you could imagine interspersed with segments from old gangster flicks.
Warner Brothers seemed to be trying to revive their own earlier penchant for gritty gangster films with this and their next offering the following year, THE ROARING TWENTIES but the originality, the sparkle and importantly the nearness in time to the actual events happening there and then had been lost (ROARING TWENTIES was however a fairly good attempt - unlike this!) In the early thirties their pictures had teeth, their message-infused in-your-face melodrama could chew out your heart and spit it into the gutter. Back then they had Daryl Zanuck driving the ship - by 1939 he'd moved on but could still punch us in the stomach with the likes of THE GRAPES OF WRATH. With this however Warners had lost their moral compass and were just trying to make a quick buck.
Besides Pat O'Brien doing one of those awful parodies of a clergyman taken up to level 11 on the sanctimonious scale, the truly worst aspect of this picture is the so-called Dead End Kids. They're simply terrible and seem to take up about 50% of the screen time. If you managed to endure the worst film of 1937 (DEAD END) which 'discovered' them then possibly you might disagree but if you are a normal human being, this bunch of jumped up pretentious yobs will annoy the hell out of you. I know that in reality they really were a rough and tough bunch but they were also stage actors (and not very good ones) so come across as exactly what they are: a bunch of drama school boys pretending to be Brooklyn street kids. Their affected shenanigans feel extremely patronising.
And another thing...did Michael Curtiz know Ann Sheridan was in this picture? Her presence is completely irrelevant. Her relationship with Rocky could have been an interesting one. There's hints that Father Jerry had 'reformed' her and that her growing toxic infatuation with Rocky threatens to reverse all the good the priest had done but that story goes nowhere. There's no spark or connection between her and Cagney whatsoever. Focusing on that could have made this a really interesting drama but Rocky doesn't seem interested in her at all, he seems more interested in hanging out with a bunch of teenage boys. There is however absolutely nothing sordid about that, he is simply a big kid himself so is comfortable to be in the company of similarly immature people.
And finally to Mr Cagney.... In this he's playing Jimmy Cagney the gangster movie star - he's not a real person so you can't care anything for him. This particular character has got no distinctive characteristics at all - he is just doing a turn for his fans doing what they wanted to see. The relationship he has with Father Jerry, his childhood friend is also unbelievable. You'd expect better from Michael Curtiz but compare its execution with the brilliantly realistic relationship we see between Tony and his brother Frank Jr., the priest in SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER and this feels so amateurish and contrived.
Even the famous ending makes you feel nauseous as Father Jerry looks up to heaven and smiles as the sound of angelic choirs are heard. How audiences back in '39 lapped up this sickly vile treacle completely astonished me (and that's by someone who cries at the end of GOODBYE MR CHIPS!!!)
WILL THE CIRCLE REMAIN UNBROKEN???
renfield5416 August 1999
This film is included on my personal top 10 list. The old-time ethnic slums (?) of New York City in the 20's and 30's are a picaresque window to another time. One where gangsters were heroes (to some) and filled newspapers with their exploits. Tales of crime and riches are like candy to the gangs of kids living in poverty, while seeking their own escape to something better. They could only learn from experience, what Rocky Sullivan (Cagney) already knew, there is no honor among thieves. No honor, and no road back for Rocky. But, sometimes, for someone else, fate gets a push.
A very interesting, fast-paced story, I recommend this highly. The transition from Rocky's childhood to his adult years is especially well done and cast. In 'spirited' discussions with friends, we STILL don't agree on Rocky's thoughts and motivations at the end of the film. WAS HE GIVEN AN 'OUT' ? WAS HE HERO OR COWARD? WAS IT WHAT HE WANTED? WAS IT IMPOSED ON HIM? WAS IT CALCULATED OR DID IT POUR OUT UNCONTROLLABLY? Judge for yourself. After a few viewings, it's not as simple as it appears......
A very interesting, fast-paced story, I recommend this highly. The transition from Rocky's childhood to his adult years is especially well done and cast. In 'spirited' discussions with friends, we STILL don't agree on Rocky's thoughts and motivations at the end of the film. WAS HE GIVEN AN 'OUT' ? WAS HE HERO OR COWARD? WAS IT WHAT HE WANTED? WAS IT IMPOSED ON HIM? WAS IT CALCULATED OR DID IT POUR OUT UNCONTROLLABLY? Judge for yourself. After a few viewings, it's not as simple as it appears......
Cagney in great form ****
JoeKarlosi2 July 2004
Warning: Spoilers
(possible spoilers):
James Cagney really struts his stuff in this one, and all his classic "caricature" type movements and traits are on vivid display here. I loved the interplay between Cagney and Humphrey Bogart (in a supporting role); also intriguing was the relationship between the now-grown Rocky Sullivan (that's Cagney's character) and the straight-laced Jerry (played by Pat O'Brien), who was the childhood friend of Rocky and partner in mischief who wound up spending his adulthood as a priest while his companion never was able to go completely straight.
The Dead End Kids tended to get on my nerves at times, but I guess that's partly what they're supposed to do, as street punks who idolize the legendary Sullivan and want to follow in his infamous footsteps.
Just want to mention that I thought the ending - with Cagney's change of demeanor in the electric chair and the resulting disappointment of the kids who worshipped him - was a great cinematic moment by director Michael Curtiz. People have debated whether or not Cagney is supposed to be genuinely afraid at the end or just putting on a show for the kids to learn something from. I'm of the opinion that he was acting cowardly, and that he did it primarily as a favor to his longtime friend, Father Pat O'Brien. In the process he was able to help the young gang of thugs re-think their futures as well.
James Cagney really struts his stuff in this one, and all his classic "caricature" type movements and traits are on vivid display here. I loved the interplay between Cagney and Humphrey Bogart (in a supporting role); also intriguing was the relationship between the now-grown Rocky Sullivan (that's Cagney's character) and the straight-laced Jerry (played by Pat O'Brien), who was the childhood friend of Rocky and partner in mischief who wound up spending his adulthood as a priest while his companion never was able to go completely straight.
The Dead End Kids tended to get on my nerves at times, but I guess that's partly what they're supposed to do, as street punks who idolize the legendary Sullivan and want to follow in his infamous footsteps.
Just want to mention that I thought the ending - with Cagney's change of demeanor in the electric chair and the resulting disappointment of the kids who worshipped him - was a great cinematic moment by director Michael Curtiz. People have debated whether or not Cagney is supposed to be genuinely afraid at the end or just putting on a show for the kids to learn something from. I'm of the opinion that he was acting cowardly, and that he did it primarily as a favor to his longtime friend, Father Pat O'Brien. In the process he was able to help the young gang of thugs re-think their futures as well.
Amazing!
Corr2811 May 2009
Warning: Spoilers
A memorable, amazing gangster film with a social message featuring a blistering performance by the one and only James Cagney. JC plays notorious gangster Rocky Sullivan who comes back to his old neighborhood and a reunion with his old pal Jerry Connelly. Time has a strange way of changing things, you see, Sullivan and Connelly were boyhood pals from the wrong side of the tracks. Sullivan spent time in a reformatory only to emerge the hardened criminal that he is. Connelly, spared time in the reformatory because he could run faster then Rocky and got away, is now a priest trying to keep the youth from his neighborhood out of trouble. Father Connelly is working hard on a group of youngsters, the Dead End Kids, who are already headed in the wrong direction. Things become complicated when Rocky arrives as the youngsters idolize the gangster and begin to really show signs of an impending criminal life. Rocky's own problems mount, including being ripped off by his lawyer James Frazier played by Humphrey Bogart. Rocky tries to remedy his situation but his cohorts are planning to rub out Father Connelly who's one man crusade to wipe out the criminal element is going too far. Rocky will have no part of it and resorts to murder to prevent his friend from being killed. Unfortunately, Rocky is caught and is sentenced to die in the electric chair setting up one of the most memorable conclusions in film history.
This is a completely absorbing, emotional film with standout performances from everyone. Besides Cagney, Pat O'Brien as Father Connelly gives what is perhaps his finest performance. The support from Bogart, the Dead End Kids and Ann Sheridan are all top notch. Many unforgettable scenes abound, namely Cagney's unorthodox "refereeing" at a basketball game and the aforementioned conclusion which still haunts me to this day. Director Michael Curtiz does an amazing job. His camera is almost in constant movement with fluid passes and turns and his brilliant use of light, darkness and shadow is amazing to watch. I just can't say enough about this film, one of the finest gangster epics to ever grace the big screen. It's very easy to see why Cagney was nominated for an Academy Award in this one.
This is a completely absorbing, emotional film with standout performances from everyone. Besides Cagney, Pat O'Brien as Father Connelly gives what is perhaps his finest performance. The support from Bogart, the Dead End Kids and Ann Sheridan are all top notch. Many unforgettable scenes abound, namely Cagney's unorthodox "refereeing" at a basketball game and the aforementioned conclusion which still haunts me to this day. Director Michael Curtiz does an amazing job. His camera is almost in constant movement with fluid passes and turns and his brilliant use of light, darkness and shadow is amazing to watch. I just can't say enough about this film, one of the finest gangster epics to ever grace the big screen. It's very easy to see why Cagney was nominated for an Academy Award in this one.
angels with dirty faces- in anyones top five
tkstevedearman18 December 2006
fantastic film every scene a delight to watch. with Cagney at his best this film is an education to one and all and what a ending. they really don,t make them like this anymore!! shows hells kitchen and how tough life was in thirties new york with two young hoodlums one turns to crime the other enters the church years later they meet with the opening words what,ya hear what,ya say. both have influence on up and coming wayward youngters. one path will lead them out of the ghetto the other path will lead to prison or worse. superb performance from pat O'Brien and and mr h bogart and other cast. plus humour from the dead end kids. great stuff.
Good and bad
TheLittleSongbird8 July 2020
Had a lot of high hopes for 'Angels With Dirty Faces'. There are many great gangster films out there, some cinematic milestones, and when one talks about actors that excelled in this type of film James Cagney is somewhere near the top of the list. Really like to love a lot of Michael Curtiz's, a great and very versatile director, films, especially 'Casablanca', 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' and 'Mildred Pierce' and even lesser efforts are watchable.
'Angels With Dirty Faces' blew me away. It is up there with the best gangster films of all time to me and many others, which is evident from how massively influential it is and how often it's imitated. 'Angels With Dirty Faces' is also one of Curtiz's best films, well certainly among my favourites of his as of now anyway, one of Cagney's finest hours and has an ending (justifiably near-universally lauded) that left a huge impression on me emotionally.
It is a wonderful looking film, Curtiz's films were always well made and his visual style was actually pretty unique at the time. While the production design is atmospheric and the lighting very artistic and moody, it was the cinematography that left me spellbound. Not just the stunning composition and how much it enhanced the atmosphere but also the use of camera angles, very varied kinds without being gimmicky and it is always fluid and ambitious.
Max Steiner's score swells sumptuously and thrillingly and is very haunting and effectively dramatic. Without being intrusive or strident. Curtiz's direction is exemplary, the classy stylishness and boldness evident throughout. It shines especially at the end, well pretty much everything shines at this point. The script is gritty and lean yet also sophisticated and sincere. Some of it is quotable too.
The story has so much great with it too. It is fast paced and appropriately tough as nails, while also having emotional impact. The chemistry between Cagney and Pat O'Brien and Cagney and Humphrey Bogart have sincerity and hard boiled tension and the moral, one still having a lot of truth now, makes its point without beating one around the head. The shoot out is thrilling and suspensefully staged, and the Dead End Kids' moments have heart and levity, but the highlight dramatically is the ending. Can't begin to tell you how powerful it is, my gut was practically wrenched watching it and after my heart was ripped into two. The characters are interesting, even though Rocky was very flawed it was hard to hate him.
Cagney is magnificent and shows why his reputation as an icon in gangster films is richly deserved. It is an intense and bold yet oddly likeable performance and one of his best, his acting at the end is some of the best he ever did. O'Brien is sincere and a powerful contrast while Bogart plays a weasel of a character pretty chillingly. The Dead End Kids add a lot too.
Altogether, brilliant. 10/10
'Angels With Dirty Faces' blew me away. It is up there with the best gangster films of all time to me and many others, which is evident from how massively influential it is and how often it's imitated. 'Angels With Dirty Faces' is also one of Curtiz's best films, well certainly among my favourites of his as of now anyway, one of Cagney's finest hours and has an ending (justifiably near-universally lauded) that left a huge impression on me emotionally.
It is a wonderful looking film, Curtiz's films were always well made and his visual style was actually pretty unique at the time. While the production design is atmospheric and the lighting very artistic and moody, it was the cinematography that left me spellbound. Not just the stunning composition and how much it enhanced the atmosphere but also the use of camera angles, very varied kinds without being gimmicky and it is always fluid and ambitious.
Max Steiner's score swells sumptuously and thrillingly and is very haunting and effectively dramatic. Without being intrusive or strident. Curtiz's direction is exemplary, the classy stylishness and boldness evident throughout. It shines especially at the end, well pretty much everything shines at this point. The script is gritty and lean yet also sophisticated and sincere. Some of it is quotable too.
The story has so much great with it too. It is fast paced and appropriately tough as nails, while also having emotional impact. The chemistry between Cagney and Pat O'Brien and Cagney and Humphrey Bogart have sincerity and hard boiled tension and the moral, one still having a lot of truth now, makes its point without beating one around the head. The shoot out is thrilling and suspensefully staged, and the Dead End Kids' moments have heart and levity, but the highlight dramatically is the ending. Can't begin to tell you how powerful it is, my gut was practically wrenched watching it and after my heart was ripped into two. The characters are interesting, even though Rocky was very flawed it was hard to hate him.
Cagney is magnificent and shows why his reputation as an icon in gangster films is richly deserved. It is an intense and bold yet oddly likeable performance and one of his best, his acting at the end is some of the best he ever did. O'Brien is sincere and a powerful contrast while Bogart plays a weasel of a character pretty chillingly. The Dead End Kids add a lot too.
Altogether, brilliant. 10/10
Cagney and O'Brien at their finest...
Doylenf2 September 2006
Warning: Spoilers
You can't miss with Michael Curtiz at the helm, Max Steiner doing the music, Ann Sheridan and Humphrey Bogart in supporting roles, the Dead End Kids for "the kids", Pat O'Brien as a priest fighting gangland crime, and James Cagney as Rocky Sullivan, doing one of his best gangster 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 when Cagney's out of prison and O'Brien's a priest. It's O'Brien's mission to try to save the "angels with dirty faces" from being filled with hero worship for Cagney's pugnacious villainy.
The climactic scene has Cagney headed for the electric chair with O'Brien requesting that he show some streak of cowardice so the boys will stop using him as a role model for a life of crime.
Once again, poor Bogart ends up writhing around on the floor riddled with bullets after he and George Bancroft double-cross Cagney. It's the typical Warner crime melodrama done with their usual finesse and well worth seeing if you're a fan of Cagney, O'Brien and Bogart--or the young Ann Sheridan.
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 when Cagney's out of prison and O'Brien's a priest. It's O'Brien's mission to try to save the "angels with dirty faces" from being filled with hero worship for Cagney's pugnacious villainy.
The climactic scene has Cagney headed for the electric chair with O'Brien requesting that he show some streak of cowardice so the boys will stop using him as a role model for a life of crime.
Once again, poor Bogart ends up writhing around on the floor riddled with bullets after he and George Bancroft double-cross Cagney. It's the typical Warner crime melodrama done with their usual finesse and well worth seeing if you're a fan of Cagney, O'Brien and Bogart--or the young Ann Sheridan.
A Rocky Story for the Rocky Life
ironhorse_iv8 October 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Angels with dirty face is a 1930's Warner Bros gangster film that stars James Cagney as Rocky Sullivan and Pat O'Brien as Jerry Connelly. As the film's opens, young teenager Rocky and Jerry are trouble makers—it wasn't until young Rocky is catch by the police that we see the two characters change. Rocky is sent to reform school. In a montage of images, Rocky graduates to prison as he pursues a life of crime including bootlegging, manslaughter, gambling, and violent gang rivalry. Mobster Rocky is sent to prison to serve another three years for a crime he has committed with crooked attorney James Frazier (Humphrey Bogart). He is promised by Frazier that when he is discharged after taking the rap, he will be paid $100,000 from the crooked heist the two had pulled. As adults, Rocky embraces a life of crime, whereas Jerry, who had witnessed Rocky's fate, becomes a priest assigned to his old home parish. When discharged, Rocky returns to his former neighborhood, and visits the church where Father Jerry serves as parish priest and where they had been altar boys together twenty years earlier. Jerry faces the challenges of teaching and working with tough, gutter-bred neighborhood boys call the "Dead End" kids, trying to make them decent citizens. Dead End Kids are based and a continue sage of the 1935 play and the film Dead End (1937)). It's become hard for Jerry, because of his criminal exploits, the boys idolize him and regard him with almost fanatical hero worship when he shares his criminal exploits and experiences. The priest is unsuccessful in retrieving the neighborhood kids from emulating their gangster hero. Jerry wants Rocky to behave in a way so that the neighborhood kids will not admire him and revere him as a role model or martyr, following in his misguided footsteps. Jerry asks that Rocky make a really heroic action and show a special kind of courage. George Bancroft (Mac Keefer) also comes in the story, playing an influential politician and rackets boss that Rocky works under his new job. In the course of the movie, we are left to ask if Rocky is willing to reform or continue with his criminal past life
this come in light with his relationship with the kids. Jerry and an old flame play by Ann Sheridan. In one of the most tautly directed, unforgettable, harrowing sequences of any film in the 1930s, Rocky is force to make a choice. The scene is bathed in dark suggestive, oppressive shadows, and the musical score (by Max Steiner) resembles a plodding, relentless march to what his life really means. It is unclear whether or not his true nature or motives are revealed - is he pretending or not. It's up to you as the viewer to decision. Cagney is great as the swaggering, pugnacious career criminal Rocky. Cagney is brilliant. The facial expression of James Cagney. His face is intense and penetrating! Pat O'Brien plays best as a mild-mannered, forceful, sincere and compassionate priest. This is perfect in every way, very finely executed. What a classic film this is!
A Flawed Hero and a Questionable Priest
thechrisfigaro9 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The movie is well-made for the era, featuring tense action sequences, witty dialogue, and realistic settings. Rocky in particular exhibits glimmers of humanity and remorse beneath his hard exterior, making him one of the most well-developed and complex characters. In addition, the movie raises ethical concerns about how the government, the media, and the church shape public opinion and social behaviour.
But there are some problems with the movie as well. The priest's plot against the corrupt politicians and gangsters seems contrived and unrealistic. His final visit to Rocky in prison is disappointing, as he does not offer him any spiritual comfort or guidance, but only asks him to pretend to be a coward in front of the kids. He also assaults a reporter in an earlier scene, which undermines his credibility as a moral authority. The film's ending is ambiguous and controversial, leaving the audience to wonder if Rocky's last act was sincere or staged.
Another weakness of the film is the portrayal of the kids, who are supposed to be Rocky's admirers and Father Connolly's proteges. They seem like real brats who are rude, rebellious, and disrespectful to everyone. They do not show any gratitude or remorse for their actions, and they do not seem to learn anything from their experiences. They are not worth saving anyway, as they are likely to follow Rocky's footsteps or end up in jail or worse. They are not sympathetic or relatable characters, but rather annoying and irritating ones.
Overall, Angels with Dirty Faces is a compelling and entertaining film that deserves its place in cinematic history. It offers a fascinating portrait of a flawed hero who struggles with his conscience and his fate. It also challenges the viewers to reflect on their own values and beliefs.
But there are some problems with the movie as well. The priest's plot against the corrupt politicians and gangsters seems contrived and unrealistic. His final visit to Rocky in prison is disappointing, as he does not offer him any spiritual comfort or guidance, but only asks him to pretend to be a coward in front of the kids. He also assaults a reporter in an earlier scene, which undermines his credibility as a moral authority. The film's ending is ambiguous and controversial, leaving the audience to wonder if Rocky's last act was sincere or staged.
Another weakness of the film is the portrayal of the kids, who are supposed to be Rocky's admirers and Father Connolly's proteges. They seem like real brats who are rude, rebellious, and disrespectful to everyone. They do not show any gratitude or remorse for their actions, and they do not seem to learn anything from their experiences. They are not worth saving anyway, as they are likely to follow Rocky's footsteps or end up in jail or worse. They are not sympathetic or relatable characters, but rather annoying and irritating ones.
Overall, Angels with Dirty Faces is a compelling and entertaining film that deserves its place in cinematic history. It offers a fascinating portrait of a flawed hero who struggles with his conscience and his fate. It also challenges the viewers to reflect on their own values and beliefs.
Classic Melodrama That's Not For Cynics
Theo Robertson15 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
If you ever take a film class about gangster films you'll soon learn that it's a genre " Catholic " in outlook in much the same way as the western is " Protestant " . Once you analysis the gangster genre you'll find that there's almost a formulaic lay out of themes of a fatherless outsider trying to become part of the American dream via illegal means . ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is slightly different in that the characters are Amercan born and it's the street gang of juvenile delinquents who are in need of the father figure and the film rests on whether Father Jerry Connolly or Rocky Sullivan becomes that father figure
I'm feeling slightly ashamed of myself for saying this but I liked this movie a lot , and the reasons I liked it is down to the reasons that I shouldn't . There's hardly a single scene that rings of any type of realism . Cagney was a Hollywood star but he was never an actor . There is something compelling about his performances however and he dominates every scene he is in . I can certainly understand why some people don't like his acting style but it's a style that suits the film perfectly that lacks any type of verisimilitude . None of it rings true but there's something that keeps you watching even though there's a voice inside your head saying " What a load of melodramatic Hollywood tosh "
Your opinion of the film lies with what you thought about the golden age of Hollywood . This was a period of American film making where producers were under heavy censure via The Hays Code where any type of immorality must be seen to be punished on screen and this suits a film like ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES wonderfully . Rocky is a bad man but a hero to the teenage street gang , he must not be allowed to be a hero to criminal youth and so must face death as a coward . On paper this appears to be the cheesiest ending ever seen in a movie but as it plays out on screen it's one the most beautiful and memorable endings Hollywood has ever produced . Michael Curtiz directs this scene via suggestion and is all the better for it
If you're a fan of Old Hollywood then you'll enjoy this . Even a self confessed cynic like myself found this movie compelling . You have to be slightly forgiving for some of the more melodramatic aspects but in some ways that's part of the movie's appeal
I'm feeling slightly ashamed of myself for saying this but I liked this movie a lot , and the reasons I liked it is down to the reasons that I shouldn't . There's hardly a single scene that rings of any type of realism . Cagney was a Hollywood star but he was never an actor . There is something compelling about his performances however and he dominates every scene he is in . I can certainly understand why some people don't like his acting style but it's a style that suits the film perfectly that lacks any type of verisimilitude . None of it rings true but there's something that keeps you watching even though there's a voice inside your head saying " What a load of melodramatic Hollywood tosh "
Your opinion of the film lies with what you thought about the golden age of Hollywood . This was a period of American film making where producers were under heavy censure via The Hays Code where any type of immorality must be seen to be punished on screen and this suits a film like ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES wonderfully . Rocky is a bad man but a hero to the teenage street gang , he must not be allowed to be a hero to criminal youth and so must face death as a coward . On paper this appears to be the cheesiest ending ever seen in a movie but as it plays out on screen it's one the most beautiful and memorable endings Hollywood has ever produced . Michael Curtiz directs this scene via suggestion and is all the better for it
If you're a fan of Old Hollywood then you'll enjoy this . Even a self confessed cynic like myself found this movie compelling . You have to be slightly forgiving for some of the more melodramatic aspects but in some ways that's part of the movie's appeal
The World's Hope
AbhiMathews16 February 2014
In my mind, there is no title more apt for this film than "Angels with Dirty Faces." Every person has a little bit of good in them; they just might not display it until the time arises. We also do a lot of fun and daring things growing up. We learn from them and move forward, and this movie beautifully depicts how people with similar childhoods can diverge to live such different lives.
This movie truly demonstrates how important both our experiences and upbringing are in moulding our futures. Ruffians initially, people can become saintly priests or remain criminals. Despite their different paths, though, it is important to note people do not simply forget their pasts. The relationships we make throughout our lives do not simply diminish as time progresses; instead, we learn to value and cherish what we once had.
The world needs good people. To help with the injustices happening today and to nurture the next generations. Throughout Angels with Dirty Faces, we see a priest working tirelessly and honestly to support local youths, trying to ensure they learn proper morals and respect the world they live in. This movie shows a man fighting the good fight despite the world turning against him, and when his troublesome friend arrives, plans take a turn.
Watching this movie is a truly humbling experience. It's always nice to remember that there are good people out there who are willing to work and take the extra mile for humanity. Even the people you'd least expect can surprise you in the most dire situation.
This movie truly demonstrates how important both our experiences and upbringing are in moulding our futures. Ruffians initially, people can become saintly priests or remain criminals. Despite their different paths, though, it is important to note people do not simply forget their pasts. The relationships we make throughout our lives do not simply diminish as time progresses; instead, we learn to value and cherish what we once had.
The world needs good people. To help with the injustices happening today and to nurture the next generations. Throughout Angels with Dirty Faces, we see a priest working tirelessly and honestly to support local youths, trying to ensure they learn proper morals and respect the world they live in. This movie shows a man fighting the good fight despite the world turning against him, and when his troublesome friend arrives, plans take a turn.
Watching this movie is a truly humbling experience. It's always nice to remember that there are good people out there who are willing to work and take the extra mile for humanity. Even the people you'd least expect can surprise you in the most dire situation.
Brought To You By His Eminence, The Pope
redrobin62-321-20731116 August 2021
Oy! Had I known "Angels With Dirty Faces" was gonna force open your throat and shovel religion down your maw like ipecac, I would've hauled ass to the hills. As it stands, this film is nothing more than a Public Service Announcement for the lord. Who needs Reform School when you can simply peddle this diatribe to juvenile delinquents? Yes, yes, all the actors were on point, and it was nice to get a nice glimpse into criminal life from that era, but oy! The heavy handed use of religion does leave a somewhat bitter taste. That approach never worked then and it sure as hell doesn't fly today.
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