Angels with Dirty Faces

( 12 )

Overview

Childhood chums Rocky Sullivan James Cagney and Jerry Connelly Pat O'Brien grow up on opposite sides of the fence: Rocky matures into a prominent gangster, while Jerry becomes a priest, tending to the needs of his old tenement neighborhood. Rocky becomes a hero to a gang of teenaged boys played by Dead End Kids Billy Halop, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Bobby Jordan and Bernard Punsley. Father Jerry despairs at this, asking Rocky to lay off so he can keep the kids on the straight and narrow. Then Rocky's ...
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Overview

Childhood chums Rocky Sullivan James Cagney and Jerry Connelly Pat O'Brien grow up on opposite sides of the fence: Rocky matures into a prominent gangster, while Jerry becomes a priest, tending to the needs of his old tenement neighborhood. Rocky becomes a hero to a gang of teenaged boys played by Dead End Kids Billy Halop, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Bobby Jordan and Bernard Punsley. Father Jerry despairs at this, asking Rocky to lay off so he can keep the kids on the straight and narrow. Then Rocky's crooked business associates George Bancroft and Humphrey Bogart attempt to end Father Jerry's radio campaign against the rackets by killing the priest. Rocky whose cynical outlook on life has been softened by his romance with true-blue Anne Sheridan shoots them down and takes it on the lam. Arrested and convicted of murder, Rocky sits smugly on death row, fully intending to go to the chair with a smile on his face. A few moments before the execution, Father Jerry pleads with Rocky to "turn yellow" so that the tenement kids will despise his memory.
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Fred Beldin
Young viewers unfamiliar with 1930s era gangster melodramas might think that this classic is full of well-worn clichés, but Angels With Dirty Faces is the kind of film that brews up the bromides for others to dispense. Decades of homage, satire, and straight-up rip-offs have ensured generations of folks who have never seen a James Cagney film but always recognize an impersonation ("You dirty rat!"). Angels With Dirty Faces has aged well, still delivering plenty of excitement and hard-boiled action alongside its touches of hokum: the kindly priest of the ghetto parish, the cold killer with a soft spot for kids, and the long-suffering neighborhood girl who loves them both. The cast is packed with future icons at work. A pre-legend Humphrey Bogart plays against type as a conniving, cowardly lawyer, still three years away from The Maltese Falcon, and four years from his defining role in Casablanca (also helmed by Angels director Michael Curtiz). Pat O'Brien had made several films with Cagney prior to Angels in which he often served as his cast mate's foil, but this is the first time O'Brien played a priest, a persona he'd be associated with for years to come. The Dead End Kids didn't premiere with Angels, but they're still in their prime, too raw and tough here to be full-fledged comic relief; it would be a few years before their scrappy personas aged into buffoonery as the Bowery Boys. Then there's Cagney, at the height of his firebrand power, swaggering and sneering with charisma to burn. One never doubts that Cagney could survive a swarm of bullets in the climactic gunfight, as he wages a one-man war against both cops and crooks. Angels With Dirty Faces seems to acknowledge its star's glamour and the possibility of his gangster image celebrated and worshipped by impressionable youth. When Father Jerry asks Rocky Sullivan to feign cowardice as he walks to the electric chair, it's to prevent the naïve Dead End Kids from hailing him a martyr who spits at authority up to his last seconds on earth. Sullivan finally puts on the act, begging and pleading for life, and loses all credibility in the eyes of his onscreen admirers. Despite the film studio's intention of "social commentary," however, the audience in the theater watching Angels may feel this final cop-out makes the character even more appealing. After all, Rocky Sullivan shows great fortitude by "turning yellow" in the face of death; it was something he loathed to do, but chose because of his affection for the Kids and his friendship with O'Brien. Who wouldn't want to be that cool?
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 7/5/2000
  • UPC: 012569500532
  • Original Release: 1938

    • Rating:

  • Source: TURNER HOME ENT
  • Format: VHS

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
James Cagney Rocky Sullivan
Pat O'Brien Rev. Jerry Connolly
Humphrey Bogart James Frazier
Ann Sheridan Laury Ferguson, Laury Martin
George Bancroft Mac Keefer
Billy Halop Soapy
Bobby Jordan Swing
Leo Gorcey Bim
Gabriel Dell Pasty
Huntz Hall Crab
Bernard Punsly Hunky
Edward Pawley Guard Edwards
Adrian Morris Blackie
Frankie Burke Rocky (as a boy)
Marilyn Knowlden Laury as a Girl
Harris Berger Basketball Captain
Sidney Bracey
Eddie Brian Newsboy
Sonny Bupp
Brian Burke Convict
Frank J. Burke Young Rocky
Lane Chandler Guard
Frank Coghlan Jr. Boy in Poolroom
William Crowell Whimpering Convict
Joe Cunningham Managing Editor
Steven Darrell Gangster
Dead End Kids
Joe Devlin Gangster
John Dilson Chronicle Editor
Joseph Downing Steve
David Durand Boy in Poolroom
Earl Dwire Priest
William Edmunds Italian Storekeeper
James Farley Railroad Yard Watchman
Galan Galt Policemen at Call-Box
Jack Goodrich Reporter (uncredited)
Mary Gordon Mrs. Patrick McGee
Earl Gunn
Frank S. Hagney
John Hamilton Police Captain
John Harron Sharpies
Harry Hayden Pharmacist
Dutch Hendrian
Ben Hendricks Jr. Guard
Al Hill
Robert E. Homans Policeman
Thomas E. Jackson Press City Editor
Dan Jesse
Donald Kerr
Vera Lewis Soapy's Mother
Al Lloyd
Alexander Lockwood
Vince Lombardi
Wilfred Lucas Police officer
Wilbur Mack Croupier
Charles Marsh
John Marston Well Dressed Man
Billy McClain Janitor
Roger McGee
Belle Mitchell Mrs. Maggione
Carlyle Moore Jr. Reporter
Jack Mower Detective
Pat O'Malley Railroad guard
Oscar O'Shea Guard Kennedy
Ted Offenbecker Older Boy in Poolroom
George Offerman Adult boy
Emory Parnell
William Pawley Bugs the Gunman
Jack Perrin Death Row Guard
Lee Phelps
Theodore Rand Gunman
Dick Rich Gangster
Ralph Sanford City Editor, Press
Jeffrey Sayre
Jack C. Smith Railroad Guard
George Sorel Headwaiter
James Spottswood Record Editor
Chuck Stubbs Red
Charles Sullivan Gunman
Elliott Sullivan Police Officer
A.W. Sweatt Boy
George Taylor
William Tracy Jerry as a Boy
Charles Trowbridge Norton J. White, Press Editor
Dick Wessel
Poppy Wilde Girl at gaming table
Lotta Williams Woman
Charles Wilson Buckley, the Police Chief
Claude Wisberg Hanger-On
Dan Wolheim
William Worthington Warden
Technical Credits
Michael Curtiz Director
Sam Bischoff Producer
Rowland Brown Screenwriter
Everett A. Brown Sound/Sound Designer
Warren B. Duff Screenwriter
Leo F. Forbstein Musical Direction/Supervision
Robert M. Haas Art Director
Owen Marks Editor
Orry-Kelly Costumes/Costume Designer
Sol Polito Cinematographer
Sherry Shourds Asst. Director
Max Steiner Score Composer
Perc Westmore Makeup
John Wexley Screenwriter
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 12 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(9)

4 Star

(2)

3 Star

(1)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

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Sort by: Showing all of 12 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    A perfect ending

    A great movie from all angles. Pat O'Briens final words...and the music swelling...preceded by the shadow of rocky struggling..you want goosebumps to finish off a great movie? Here they are!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 29, 2004

    we want dvd please

    simply a great classic,if you like gangster movies this is it!IF ANYONE WHO CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IS OUT THERE PLEASE GIVE US A DVD.WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 27, 2004

    All time favorite movie!

    Please make this available on DVD. I absolutely LOVE this movie. All Cagney movies were good, but this one is the best. One of the best classics out there. A must watch!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 13, 2003

    PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE-DVD PLEASE

    This is my alltime favorite movie, but I wont buy it until it comes out on DVD (I already have a copy taped off TV).

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 29, 2003

    Cagney at His Best!

    Just as in 'The Roaring Twenties,' Cagney takes out Bogey with a couple of shots. The question always remains: Did Rocky Sullivan (Cagney) really turn yellow on his way to the chair to help the kids destroy his memory or did he REALLY turn yellow? I understand they filmed the ending for this twice. The way we remember it and also without him turning yellow. They obviously kept the previous always keeping us to ponder that question. I still haven't a clue. In any case, they don't make them like this anymore. It's a shame. LETS GET IT ON CD!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 27, 2003

    SUCKS

    I really thought that B&W sucked until i saw this movie! This movie is really exciting, and although there is so much drama and suspence there's still a lot of comic relief.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 20, 2003

    DVD Please!

    Yeah really. This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Its a classic. Why no DVD? If the distributor or studio or whoever makes these decisions is around... come on already. We've been waiting for years!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 21, 2003

    AWESOME MOVIE!!!!

    THIS MOVIE IS ONE OF THE BEST MADE IN REGARDS TO HUMPHREY BOGART. MY QUESTION IS WHY IS NOT ON DVD? I NEED THIS MOVIE!!!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 21, 2002

    ROCKY NO PLEASE NOOO......BANG,BANG

    THOSE WERE HUMPHREY BOGART'S LAST WORDS BEFORE ROCKY SULLIVAN RUBBED HIM OUT. THIS MOVIE IS TRULY A CLASSIC. BUT ONE QUESTION REMAINS ON MY MIND? WHY HASN'T A DVD VERSION OF THIS CLASSIC EVER BEEN RELEASED?

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 20, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 15, 2008

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 11, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 12 Customer Reviews