Review of The Roaring Twenties (1939) by James-Masaki R — 29 Jan 2011

One of the best of the original gangster films of the 1930s comes at the tail end, with Cagney, Raft, and Bogart playing the roles that they did best at the time (although Raft was pretty average in this one). Raoul Walsh and Cagney were at their peak with "The Roaring Twenties" and would later prove worthy again in "White Heat". Just awesome stuff from a bygone era.

Basically, an epic historical movie starting in 1919 and ending around 1939, from the tail end of WWII, through prohibition, to post-depression. Cagney plays a tough-guy everyman that gets caught up in the gangster lifestyle, all the way to the top. You can probably guess which direction everything will go, but there are a few surprises here and there, and Cagney packs a punch, literally in your face in the role, and it will never be equalled.