Review of Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) by Matthew C — 19 Nov 2010
Another absolutely great Cagney movie. The story of 2 young friends who get caught stealing from a cargo train, one gets caught and the other gets away. The one who gets caught goes into reform school and eventually becomes a gangster, (Cagney) the other becomes a priest (O'Brien).
Years later the gangster returns to the old neighborhood where the priest is now the pastor of the parish. The 2 men's friendship seems real even as they begin to clash over the hearts and minds of the local kids.
The priest eventually realizes his friend can't be saved all the while knowing that had he been the one who had been caught it could very easily be him who became the gangster. Cagney's Rocky Sullivan is a great character who despite being a violent criminal you just can't help liking due in large part to his tremendous loyalty and love for his boyhood friend.
The movie closes with the priest saying "let's say a prayer for a boy who couldn't run as fast as me", alluding once again to the fact that the 2 mens lives could easily be the other way around.
This review of Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) was written by Matthew C on 19 Nov 2010.
Angels with Dirty Faces has generally received very positive reviews.
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