Review of Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) by Kerryn S — 27 May 2008

[color=black][font=Verdana]James Cagney is Rocky Sullivan and he's everything you want your screen gangster to be. Tough, streetwise, fast-talking, loyal to his friends, unrepentant toward the cops and with a code of honor. Angels with Dirty Faces is the story of two friends who grow up in the slums of [/font][/color][color=black][font=Verdana]New York[/font][/color][color=black][font=Verdana] and end up on different sides of the law, one becomes a priest (Pat O'Brien) and the other a gangster. Directed by WB studio master Michael Curtiz the film is action packed and full of humor, thanks to Cagney and The Dead End Kids moving along at a quick pace.[/font][/color].

[color=black][font=Verdana]I love the opening shots of the films as the Warner?s backlot was turned into the [/font][/color][color=black][font=Verdana]Lower East Side[/font][/color][color=black][font=Verdana] slums. Beautifully detailed shots of carts, cloth lines and the congestion that was all part of the neighborhood. The ending with Rocky going to the electric chair is still one of the great tense and exciting scenes ever filmed. Along with Cagney, O?Brien and The Dead End Kids the cast include Humphrey Bogart is effective, still not quite the star yet, doing one of his weasel roles he did so many times (see The Roaring Twenties, Bullets or Ballots). Also starring Ann Sheridan and George Bancroft.[/font][/color].

[color=black][font=Verdana]This is great stuff not to be missed.[/font][/color].