Review of The Roaring Twenties (1939) by Darryl J — 16 Jun 2008

Not only is this probably one of the best gangster movies ever made, but it's on my top ten list of favorite movies - period. James Cagney plays Eddie Bartlett, a WWI vet who's forced to turn to bootlegging because he can't get a job doing anything else after the war - a serious problem that faced a lot of real-life vets after the war (and other wars following). Cagney's one of my favorite actors, and this is one of his best roles. He's not someone who turned to crime out of lust for wealth and power, or because he was a bad seed, and Cagney really sells that part of the character. And as the world's biggest sucker for a good love story, I like how he tries to redeem himself out of love. It would be the last gangster role Cagney would play for over a decade.

The other performances are also strong, especially Gladys George as a bootlegging queen, and Humphrey Bogart's role as the movie's villain (I've seen Bogart play a bad guy a bunch of times, and I can never get over the hero of "Casablanca," "The Maltese Falcon," and other classics playing an all-out bad guy). There's also some great musical numbers in the movie, for the jazz fans among you.

Just as an FYI, "The Roaring Twenties" is one of many examples of Warner Bros., back in the Golden Age of movies, using the medium of film to challenge society and show American audiences a more raw, gritty, honest look at the country and society (for that same reason, many of their lead actors were average-looking people). This film is a perfect example of that realism, while still giving a certain bit of romanticism to a bygone era.

As a nostalgia buff and a Cagney fan, I really enjoyed this movie, and even setting those aside, it's a well-made movie in its own right. It's a true classic in every sense of the word, and I hope you all give it a try.