G-Men

Overview

In G Men, Warner Bros. "bad boy" James Cagney plays James "Brick" Davis, a young lawyer whose education has been financed by soft-hearted racketeer McKay (William Harrigan). When Cagney's best pal, detective Eddie Buchanan (Regis Toomey), is killed in a gangland shooting, James decides to become a G-Man. Though scrupulously honest, Davis is looked upon with suspicion by his fellow agents because of his association with the crooked McKay. He proves he's a "good guy" when his former girlfriend, Jean Ann Dvorak, now the wife of mobster Brad Collins (Barton MacLane), tips him off to a "Little Bohemia"-style gangster hideaway. Jean later sacrifices her own life to help James rescue his new girl, nurse Kay McCord (Margaret Lindsay), from the vengeful Collins. Based on Gregory Miller's book Public Enemy No. 1, G-Men was reissued in 1949, with an added prologue featuring David Brian as an FBI trainer who advises his students not to laugh at the old-fashioned costumes and slang in the 1935 film; seen today, it is Brian's superfluous opening comments that seem hopelessly dated, while the film itself is as exciting and entertaining as ever.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/12/2020
UPC:	0883929712960
Original Release:	1935
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:26:00

Special Features

Warner Night at the Movies 1955 Short Subjects Gallery: Vintage Newsreel; Comedy Short The Old Grey Mayor starring Bob Hope; Classic Cartoon Buddy the Gee Man; Trailers of "G" Men and 1935's Devil Dogs of the Air; Featurette Morality and the Code: A How-to Manual for Hollywood; Commentary by Film Historian Richard Jewell; How I Play Golf by Bobby Jones No. 11: Practice Shots ; Things You Never See on the Screen: Breakdowns of 1955 Studio Blooper Reel

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

James Cagney	'Brick' Davis
Margaret Lindsay	Kay McCord
Barton MacLane	Collins
Ann Dvorak	Jean Morgan
Robert Armstrong	Jeff McCord
Lloyd Nolan	Hugh Farrell
William Harrigan	McKay
Edward Pawley	Danny Leggett
Russell Hopton	Gerard
Noel Madison	Durfee
Regis Toomey	Eddie Buchanan
Addison Richards	Bruce J. Gregory
Harold Huber	Venke
Raymond Hatton	The Man
Monte Blue	Analyst
Mary Treen	Secretary
Adrian Morris	Accomplice
Edwin Maxwell	Joseph Kratz
Emmett Vogan	Bill the Ballistics Expert
James Flavin	Agent
Stanley Blystone	Cop
Pat Flaherty	Cop
James T. Mack	Agent
Jonathan Hale	Congressman
Edward Keane	Bank Cashier
Charles Sherlock	Short Man
Wheeler Oakman	Henchman at Lodge
Eddie Dunn	Police Broadcaster
Bill Elliott	Intern
Perry Ivins	Doctor at Store
Frank Marlowe	Hood Shot at Lodge
Gertrude Short	Collins' Moll
Marie Astaire	Gerard's Moll
Florence Dudley	Durfee's Moll
Al Hill	Hood
Huey White	Gangster
Glen Cavender	Headwaiter
John Impolito	Tony
Bruce Mitchell	Sergeant
Monte Vandergrift	Deputy Sheriff
Frank Shannon	Chief
Frank Bull	Announcer
Martha Merrill	Nurse
Gene Morgan	Lounger
Joseph De Stefani	J.E. Glattner
George Daly	Machine Gunner
Ward Bond	Machine Gunner
Tom Wilson	Prison Guard
Henry Hall	Police Driver
Lee Phelps	McCord's Aide
Marc Lawrence	Hood at Lodge
Brooks Benedict	Man

Technical Credits

Darryl F. Zanuck

William Keighley	Director
Louis F. Edelman	Producer
Darryl F. Zanuck	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Former screen hoodlum James Cagney may be on the side of law and order in G-Men but he is really the same old cocky Jimmy, still refusing to take guff from anyone and still with that certain bounce in his step. And Warner Bros. certainly doesn't skimp on ammunition and falling bodies this time around either. In fact, G-Men has one of the noisiest slam-bangs of a shootout this side of Bonnie and Clyde, and with plenty of gun-molls getting in on the action to boot. Sirens are blaring and cop cruisers careen into buildings with abandon as Jimmy becomes one of J. Edgar Hoover's boys and once again leaves poor downtrodden Ann Dvorak to pick up the pieces, so to speak. Ann is eventually gunned down in cold blood by nasty gangster Barton MacLane, leaving Cagney free to take up with the more upscale Margaret Lindsay. In other words, not much has changed from the good old Pre-Code days of wanton crime and that is just as it should be.