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Steineded How sad is this?

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

utgard14 In the 1930s Warner Bros was the unrivaled home of the gangster picture. These films were so much fun, filled with action and drama with a heaping dose of social commentary on the side. Despite the criminals usually dying in the end of these movies, WB was accused by some of glorifying hoodlums. So, in answer to that, they made this little gem that was designed to glorify the "good guys" instead. How did they do that? They took their main tough guy star, James Cagney, and made him a fed (or G-Man). In this movie, Cagney plays a lawyer who joins the Department of Justice after his federal agent friend is killed.This is a first-rate gangster picture, directed by William Keighley and written by Seton I. Miller. No matter which side of the law he's on, Cagney is his usual charismatic self, not too far removed from his other gangster roles. He's still the tough runt who would sooner break your jaw or plug you with his gat before he would place you under arrest, but he's got a badge this time and he does follow the rules...for the most part. Fantastic cast backing Cagney up. William Harrigan is a scene stealer as the soft-hearted gangster who helps Jimmy out and pays for it in the end. Perennial heavy Barton MacLane gets plenty of scenery to chew as the main villain. Robert Armstrong is the agent that rides Cagney hard but eventually decides he's a good egg. Margaret Lindsay is Armstrong's sister and one of two dames that fall for Jimmy in this picture. The other being the lovely Ann Dvorak, who shines as she almost always did. She is really one of the more underrated actresses of her time. Despite her appealing performance, though, her first scene is a bit cringeworthy as she's badly lip-syncing and awkwardly dancing around like a wounded chicken. She was a fine dramatic actress but not a great singer or dancer. Others rounding out the cast include Lloyd Nolan, Regis Toomey, Harold Huber, Jonathan Hale, and Edward Pawley as a vicious hood named Leggett.It's a beautiful-looking picture, courtesy of cinematographer Sol Polito. The big shootout between the feds and the gangsters is one of the film's highlights. The scene where Cagney gets a jujitsu lesson is also a real treat. There's an amusing FBI 'crime does not pay' type of prologue that was tacked on for the 1949 re-release that is present on most prints today. Definitely a must-see for fans of Cagney and WB gangster movies. If you aren't one of those already, you should be.

LeonLouisRicci This is a Gangster Movie that was released just After Full Implementation of the Hays Code and there are some obvious Capitulations. This is as Violent as the Thirties Post Code Gets. The Movie has numerous Gun Battles, some Blood, and even an Up Close and Personal Murder of a Female.Most of the Pre-Code Edge is Gone but enough Visceral Violence remains and it is Not Neutered completely. Mostly because the 'G'ood Guys are Portrayed very 'G'ood and the Bad Guys are shown to be very Bad, in keeping with the Code's Pro-Law, Anti-Crime Insistence.James Cagney, at the Peak of His Popularity and riding the Gangster Film Wave, this time on the Side of the Law, is Fine and the Cast and Production are Prime. The Movie Drags a Bit in Spots and seems a Tad too Long, but it is nevertheless a Rousing Entertainment and a Good Propaganda Piece for 'G'overnment Law Enforcement.A Few Scenes are "Pulled from the Headlines" and it is a Warner Brothers Movie that Delivers the Goods that the Studio is Known For. It's a Winner by All Accounts and is Must See Viewing for Fans of the Genre and Pop Culture Historians. It's an Example of that Imaginary Line between Pre-Post Code Hollywood.Note...Most prints now have the F.B.I. intro inserted for the 1949 Re-Release. It's basically one of those Pro-Government-Anti-Crime speeches that were part of the then recent Post-War Hollywood.

writers_reign To paraphrase one of Cagney's lines in this movie I can't work up much of a sweat over it unlike the majority of those who have reviewed it here. I have nothing against 1) Warners, 2) Cagney and 3) the Warners' 'torn-from- the-headlines' series that punctuated the nineteen thirties but seen in 2012 it just seems a trifle thin. Without checking his CV I'm guessing that this one of the the first Cagney titles to feature him on the 'right' side of the law though this is no surprise because like his colleagues at Warners, Bogie and Eddie Robinson, he had started in the theatre and was as versatile as the other two - I can't, alas, say the same for George Raft, a fourth 'hood' at the studio. One of the best things in G-Men is Ann Dvorak as the nightclub singer carrying a torch for the Cagney character whilst Margaret Lindsay gets lumbered with yet another thankless role albeit she does get Cagney in the end. Possibly would have seemed much better in 1935.

jc-osms Of course Cagney's best parts in the 30's and 40's were his trademark gangster roles - think "Public Enemy", "Angels With Dirty Faces" and "White Heat" but here he gets to cross the road and do-good as a bored would-be lawyer turned hard-bitten FBI man in this brisk actioner on the trail of the gang who murder his best friend, who just happens to be an FBI man trying to recruit Cagney into the ranks! Obviously derived from a pulp fiction source (besides the above, the plot has still more twists and turns than a roller-coaster, it takes someone like Cagney to drive it along as you suspend disbelief at the fantastical coincidences that happen along the way. I quite liked the direction of the piece, remembering this is quite an early "talkie", for example there's a nice car chase montage, some nice fast - panning camera shots and a concentration on forensic techniques someway ahead of its time, all told in fact, the director keeps the pace up throughout, with some mild interjections of humour between the numerous shoot-ups which seem to occur every few minutes. There is some poor editing-in though, of some stunts early in the piece as Cagney goes through his physical training. The rest of the cast give mixed performances, the dancer that Cagney leaves behind (but who ends up dead as the unwilling moll of the villain who kills Cagney's mate - see what I mean about the fantastical plot-line) acts far better and seems a better catch than the straight-laced almost glum girl he actually does get! Also Cagney's old mobster-boss gets bumped off accidentally as the G-Men storm the gangsters' lair and before he expires, delivers an excruciatingly bad death-scene. To go on in this way would be slightly cruel as the film is clearly a star vehicle for Cagney and doesn't he know it. The version I watched incidentally has a late 1940's Warner Brothers introduction by actors playing real FBI men, effectively laying claim to the movie as a recruitment driver although interestingly the FBI isn't, to the best of my recollection, formally named in the whole film.