The Roaring Twenties

Cagney and bogart are great. Cagney plays the traditional man forced by circumstance to twist himself convincingly and sympathetically. Dialogue is good, every scene has life. Wellpaced and even if the story is predictable its still a great piece of entertainment.

Bogart has some good moments, but it's the Cagney show all the way. What's so good about his performance is that he can sell the whole gamut from war despair to good bloke done wrong to prohibition kingpin and beyond, making the inevitable downfall and the surrounding themes particularly effective. His character is sympathetic without ever being denied the agency of being the instrument of his own downfall. It's a fine line to balance both for a script and an actor, and not many do it as well.

Quite good but never great. I prefer Bogart to Cagney for sure.

I was hoping for more Bogart. I still don't like Cagney that much, but he's better in this film than in White Heat. I really don't have any strong opinions about the movie one way or another... I didn't love it, but nothing about it annoyed me or bored me.

This is not the best James Cagney gangster film but it is still a good one. This film has a good cast with Cagney and some good supporting roles. The script is straight forward but good. Overall I would recommend this film.

Cagney is pretty terrific in his complex role, and stands out among a range of far less compelling characters. The pace is fast, and in charting so much history makes for a gripping ride that doesn't skip many beats. At the same time there's something missing in the detached and facile way that they all get chewed up and spit out, but maybe such heartlessness is appropriate for this tale.

When people talk about 1939 as the best year for cinema or the best of Bogart and Cagney, I rarely hear this film mentioned, this is a very, very good picture with both Cagney and Bogart in fine form and a good supporting cast (including Bogart--who is definitely secondary to Cagney here). More subtle than a lot of Cagney gangster roles, which is interesting to see. Really good.

You know exactly where this is going to end up the second it begins, and it makes it's way there fairly unremarkably until the third act where the egotistical kingpin is brought down not by a hail of bullets but by the 1929 stock market crash. The brief post-crash coda is the most interesting part of the film until it resumes the usual course and Cagney ends up dead. Stick with the pre-code 'Public Enemy's instead.

Good performances, but nothing much else.

James Cagney's character is hard to like - as is just about everyone in this. Well made as gangster movies go, however, with a memorable ending. Gladys George as Panama was a stand-out I thought.

A cold and collected James Cagney in this one, ruthless and somewhat reckless in his classic gangster portrayal. Albeit supporting cast, Bogart has formidable screen presence, although shadowed by Cagney's neverending energy. Gladys George is the silent star here: gorgeous in her passing beauty and forlorn hope, every expression filled with a million unsaid words and deep longing that's been long accepted. A good sing sequence from Priscilla Lane too.

89.50

Good gangster movie about the rise and fall of a gangster during the prohibition era. Cagney sells every stage his character goes trough (which not many actors can). Bogart is great in his supporting role.

Cagney & Bogart play well off of each other and each scene they're in together is a highlight. The documentary voice over worked well but I think the movie would've been better without it.

Oh Cagney, Cagney, always getting your cocky self into too much trouble. Good stuff, I love it. Bogart sweetens the deal; however, to see him in the end cowering and sniveling on the other end of Cagney's gat just doesn't work. That just ain't Bogey.

Star Rating: ★★★★

A good story with decent pacing and acting. The moral of the story, although clearly pushed, is too general and not coherent enough to be convincing.

The Public Enemy 2.

The text is often downright terrible. Cagney is decent, and this film isn't a moralization piece, but it lacks gusto. It feels sterile and boring.

Maybe my favorite Cagney performance so far? He brings a more gentle side to his more manic gangster airs, but he still reveals that intensity at times.

A melodrama where everything works, nothing is wasted.

adamlar 1918'de dünyaya demokrasi götürmekten bahsediyor daha açılışta. gerisi izlenmese de olur.

A classic. This is a great piece of film which not only works on you as crime story but as a deep well of historical facts, knowledge and cultural life of a pre-war America. Wonderful how this kind of movies can be so enthralling and not too cruel at the same time.

#936

"An epochal rise-and-fall epic of the gangster cycle." - Eric Henderson

It's good, but I didn't feel it stood apart enough from Cagney's other gangster stuff. Should re-watch.

a fantastic film hampered only by the ending foolishness of bogart's character, and the silliness of the narrator who insists upon telling rather than showing. great stuff by both bogart and cagney; the singer adds a great feminine touch; and gladys george is a snarky, entertaining lil' devil.

It was good fun to see an early version of the relatively recent gangster movies (like Goodfellas) that I grew up with. Cagney is decent in the lead, and Bogart playing a crook works really well.

Something about this really clicked with me and I was engaged and entertained all the way through.

A homage to the great gangster films almost a decade later. Cagney's performance is first rate, and Gladys George and Bogart are fine in support.

968

One of the best gangster film's of the 30's. In his first film for WB Raoul Walsh choose docu-melodrama style of narrative, and tells the story of the whole decade, rather of one individual. Protagonist is portrayed as a victim of social conditions, not a criminal by choice. Made under the Hays code where the only ending gangster movie could have was the death of criminals, it is distinguishable by good acting, production values and directing, that goes way above 'director-for-hire" standard.

Cagney is a force that would intimidate modern audiences. The precursor to Goodfellas.

lots of great action augmented by some poor (but short) singing sequences, a dicey second half, but strong finish, and some of bogart's best work. i was happy with cagney, and the other actors. my main complaint is some hot/cold editing, but this movie is overall impressive considering how much gunplay it has compared to its peers.

Among the last of the Warner gangster cycle, this was perhaps the best production of them all, despite the familiar plot line: stars and studio were in cracking form.

Great film, working with three characters (one good, one in the middle and one bad- naturally Bogie!). Cagney is the star of the film and carries it extremely well. Gladys George also gives a great performance.

I thought this could have been better. I'm not sure how, but there was something missing here that limited my enjoyment -- maybe the themes are just too dated and haven't aged well.

Cagney's return to the gangster pictures has a pretty formulaic structure: a fall from grace following WWI, Cagney treads to keep his neck above water until he becomes a highfalutin gangster running a liquor racket. Watch as he sweats bullets when the cops lean on him hard.

Classic.