Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

wes-connors Juvenile delinquent Frankie Darro (as James "Jimmy"' Smith) and his street gang are sent to reform school. There, they are abused by sadistic warden Dudley Digges (as Thompson). Deputy commissioner James Cagney (as Richard "Patsy" Gargan) arrives and takes an interest in the boys, since he grew up in the slums and overcame his life as a hoodlum. Mr. Cagney falls in love with nurturing nurse Madge Evans (as Dorothy Griffith). Cagney clashes with Mr. Digges by allowing self-responsibility at the reformatory, and young Mr. Darro is elected "The Mayor of Hell". Undaunted, Digges gets cocky George Offerman Jr. (as Charles "Charlie" Burns) to tempt Darro with sex and freedom, but Cagney smells a rat...Eventually, his former criminal ways get in Cagney's way. A blazing confrontations heats up the deadly climax...This nonsensical, but nonetheless entertaining story became a "Dead End Kids" staple; it was remade as "Crime School" (1938) et al. Cagney's best film of this type is, arguably, "Angels with Dirty Faces" (1938), which seems to receive part of its "Dirty Faces" title herein. The cast above is complimented by Cagney pal and future "Bowery Boys" guest star Allen Jenkins (as "Uncle" Mike). Darro also had several run-ins with various incarnations of the Dead End and East Side Bowery groups. The young toughs are fun, but beware of painful ethnic stereotypes. Strangely, coughing young Raymond Borzage (as Johnny "Skinny" Stone) did not become a star, despite a strong performance here, and his family name.****** The Mayor of Hell (6/23/33) Archie Mayo ~ James Cagney, Frankie Darro, Dudley Digges, George Offerman Jr.

kidboots Frankie Darro was a wonderful child actor who excelled at playing pugnacious little toughs with gigantic chips on their shoulders. He appeared in a couple of top films of the early 30s - "The Public Enemy" (1931), a ground breaking crime drama and "Wild Boys of the Road" (1933), a topical depression era movie about kids who ride the rails. He was essentially a younger version of James Cagney. Although short of height, his willingness to do his own stunts kept him employed in a series of programmers when the bigger studios had no more use for him."Crime School" was supposed to be a remake of "The Mayor of Hell" but it had far more humour in it and featured The Dead End Kids and Humphrey Bogart as a very laid back Deputy Commisssioner. "The Mayor of Hell" is really a combination of "Hell's House"/"Crime School"/ "Boy's Town". Even though Cagney didn't make his appearance until around the 25th minute his impact (as usual) was immediate. He plays a hot headed gangster who is on the payroll of a political group run by the mob.Jimmy Smith (Frankie Darro) and his gang (including "Farina" from "Our Gang") run a car washing racket but bite off more than they can chew when they rob a general store and push the owner through a plate glass window. They appear before the juvenile court and are sentenced to go to the state reformatory. It is painted in glowing terms - a model school where boys are given a chance to learn a trade. In reality, it is a hellish place run by a sadistic warden, Mr. Thompson (outstandingly played by Dudley Digges). The only compassionate person is Dorothy Griffith, the live-in nurse (played by Madge Evans)."Patsy" Gargan (James Cagney) has been given the job as the new Deputy Commissioner, as a favour. On his arrival at the school he witnesses a failed escape attempt and after talking to Dorothy, realises the school needs sweeping reforms. He is soon running the school and brings in a system of "self government" - rather along the lines of "Boy's Town". Even though Cagney doesn't have a lot to do, the picture is carried along to it's gripping climax by the energy of Darro. After "Patsy" is temporarily out of the picture (he accidentally shoots a mobster and has to leave the state), Thompson returns and his brutal treatment, resulting in the death of a boy ("Skinny") turn the rest of the boys into an angry mob. They burn down a barn and Thompson falls to his death - "Patsy" returning just in time to quieten the mob with some sobering talk.Sure, all the boys seemed to get was a stiff talking to for their crimes but I do disagree with one of the reviewers - Thompson was more than just a "meanie". His sadistic treatment resulted in a boy's death. There is a scene at the beginning where the boys are served some inedible slop - Thompson orders ham and eggs and keeps piling the butter on his bread while talking to Dorothy. Allan Jenkins plays "Uncle" Mike and Sheila Terry, although billed only as "a blonde" has one of the most memorable lines when she pouts and says "I thought there was going to be young boys here, where are they?"!!!Highly Recommended.

classicsoncall "The Mayor Of Hell" has the feel of an early Dead End Kids film, but with a much harder edge and very few light spots, preceding the first appearance of the Dead Enders by four years. James Cagney has a full screen opening credit, even though technically, the 'mayor' of the movie's title is actually portrayed by Frankie Darro, one of several boys sent to reform school during the opening scenes. Darro's character is Jimmy Smith, a young tough who's befriended by 'Patsy' Gargan (Cagney), and is elected to the position when Gargan takes a chance at humanizing conditions at a state reformatory.Warner Brothers made a lot of these types of films, attempting to provide a conscience of sorts in an era that knew only too well about the effects of crime and poverty. This movie is quite gritty, with no apologies for ethnic stereotyping, as in the submissive posture of a black father in court or the way a Jewish kid gets to run a candy shop in the reform school. The rules at the reformatory are simple enough - work hard and keep your mouth shut; step out of line and you answer personally to Warden Thompson (Dudley Digges).Cagney's role in the story seems somewhat ambiguous, since even though he makes a serious effort to improve conditions inside the reformatory, on the outside he's still nominally in control of a criminal racket. The film's attempt to juggle this dichotomy falls short in my estimation, the finale attempts to wrap things up in a neat package as Gargan awaits the outcome of a near fatal shooting of one of his henchmen. Not exactly the kind of role modeling one would look for in a film like this.Warner Brothers would sanitize some of the elements of this story in a 1938 remake titled "Crime School", featuring Humphrey Bogart in the Cagney role, and Billy Halop in the Frankie Darro part. If you're partial to the Dead End Kids you'll probably like the latter film better, since it also offers familiar faces like Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan and Gabriel Dell. However the ending is somewhat muddied in that one too, with Bogart's warden character involved in a cover up of a prison breakout. Both films offer a romantic interest for the lead characters, in 'Mayor', Madge Evans is a reform minded nurse that falls for Cagney's character.Curiously, a lot of James Cagney's early films aren't commercially available, so you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for a screening on Turner Classics, or source the film from a private collector. Personally, I can't get enough of this kind of stuff, and find intriguing points of interest in the films of all genres from the Thirties and Forties.

bkoganbing James Cagney, racketeer and political ward heeler, get to become a Deputy Commissioner of Corrections and visits a boys reform school. The catch is that Cagney is not in it for the graft, he genuinely wants to make a difference in the lives of the kids there because he comes from a background like their's.The villain of the piece is Dudley Digges who is a grafting chiseler and a sanctimonious hypocrite to boot. One of the subtexts of the plot of The Mayor of Hell is that these kids are mostly immigrants and those that judge them and are in positions of power are those who are here a few generations. Note in the mess hall scene as Digges offers a prayer of thanks for the food they are about to receive, Digges is eating well, but the kids are getting quality you wouldn't feed to your pet.Cagney has his own troubles back in the city with some of his henchmen and he has to take it on the lam. That puts Digges back in charge and setting up the film for it's climax.The Mayor of Hell was a typical product from the working class studio. And because it was pre-Code it gets pretty gruesome at times. A later version of this, Crime School, with Humphrey Bogart and the Dead End Kids, was a more sanitized remake.Although Cagney is fine in the lead role as is Madge Evans the school nurse, the acting honors go to Dudley Digges. Hard to believe that the same man could portray the drunken, but kindly, one legged ship's surgeon in Mutiny on the Bounty. But Digges is a fine player and a joy to watch in every film he's in. This film is not shown too often because of the racial and ethnic stereotypes it portrays. A whole lot of minorities would be offended today. Still it's a fine film.Interestingly enough a few years ago the film Sleepers came out and it touched on some of the same issues. I guess films about reform schools don't change in any time.