Baby Face Nelson

It's a bit of a throwback to 30s gangster pictures and a pretty solid if unspectacular one. I've seen Rooney in a few noirs where he mostly played to type, but this is a bit different for him and he pulls it off quite well, the fresh face you'd expect and the under-the-surface viciousness you might not. The heist scenes are good and the doctor scenes are fun, and even though the arc is predictable it still sells the tension pretty well.

Damn fine shoot-em-up entertainment with another surprising performance by Rooney. As the tough-as-nails Nelson, he's cold and ruthless without a trace of his goody-good reputation. Siegel proved with THE LINEUP that he could create top-notch thrills of the vicious variety, and although this film doesn't quite reach those heights it presents a series of rapid-fire scenarios without ever dawdling. Terrific jazz age score and one hell of a great ending, too. Noir or not, definitely worth a look.