Amazon.com essential video: Gangster Rocky Sullivan (James Cagney) returns from prison to make a name for himself in the crime world. He's soon discovered by the Dead End Kids, who idolize him, and childhood pal Father Jerry Connolly (Pat O'Brien). The good Father has taken a different turn from Rocky and is struggling to bring the Kids around; while still friends with Rocky, he tries to persuade him to steer clear of the gang of urchins. Rocky runs afoul of the law, however, when he guns down his former partners Frazier (Humphrey Bogart) and Keefer (George Bancroft) after they betray him over a cut of crime-related profits. Seen as a whole, Angels with Dirty Faces may seem dated to many viewers, but its ending is still enough to bring chills. Director Michael Curtiz infused this gritty 1938 effort with an amazing amount of energy and pacing; the Dead End Kids, in their screen debut, supply a fair amount of comic relief along with their dramatic roles. It's also worth noting that at the time, the notion of a criminal being a product of his environment was a controversial one. The swaggering bantam-rooster role played by Cagney, one of the screen's greats, helped define how he would be perceived (and parodied) for years to come. This movie easily stands along with The Roaring Twenties and Little Caesar as one of the most important, archetypal gangster films of the '30s. --Jerry Renshaw
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - "'morning gentlemen. Nice day for a murder."
Slightly dated and just a little too sentimental towards the end ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is still a great movie mainly due to James Cagney's high-powered performance as life long criminal Rocky Sullivan. ... Read More
Rating: - The Ending and more
I must have seen this film about 30 times while I was growing up. Realizing James Cagney was the best of his Generation. Every time I watched it I wanted the ending to be different. It had such an impact ... Read More
Rating: - Three roads , three fates
Three friends will be carried for those strange twists of fate in a priest a good man and a criminal.
Curtiz established as a young promise in 1938 with this famous work .
Cagney and Bogart are ... Read More
Rating: - One Of Cagney's Finest & One Of My All-Time Favorites!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
The silhouette of "Rocky Sullivan" (played by James Cagney) struggling with the guards as he is being strapped to the electric chair is one of the most moving moments ... Read More
Rating: - don't see this for Bogie
Humphrey Bogart's part is minor. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is a Cagney movie. Sure, it does seem dated. See it for the old boys' gymnasium, the boys playing basketball in their gym clothes, the trapezes hanging ... Read More
- "'morning gentlemen. Nice day for a murder." 
- The Ending and more