Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Richie-67-485852 What's not to like all you classic movie lover fans and for those that remember and have followed Cagney and Bogart? Enjoyable romp and glimpse of the prohibition days when anyone with guts could make a fortune in a short amount of time. Of course what happens is that others see how easy it is and instead of doing their own, they want a piece of your operation. If they cant get that, they want you dead so they can take over. That's the catch to get rich quick at least in pedaling anything illegal. The most brutal guy makes it to the top, feeds his ego and then comes crashing down as this movie is good at pointing out. Good support acting for the two lead players that adds to our fond memories of the gangster films that dominated for years at the different studios. Warner Brothers studio held the lead and when that familiar logo with the little music came on, you knew some really good entertainment was forthcoming. That's how good Warner brothers became at what they did. Cagney was known for his fast talking/replying to all situations thrown at him and was well liked both on and off screen. Good movie to eat dinner or a sandwich by, tasty drink and of course a snack or two. Its nice to be able to watch this and travel back in time and get to see why they called it "roaring" twenties.

moonspinner55 Prohibition crime-drama full of nervy street-smarts and overheated bravado. James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart (making somewhat uneasy screen-partners, particularly in their early scenes) play World War I buddies who meet up again years after returning home; Cagney has become a big-time distributor of bootleg gin, while Bogart, the strong-arm for a racketeer, has the idea that if he and his old pal team up, they'll be unstoppable (there's really no reason for Jimmy to say yes, except for old times' sake). Cagney's character gets the interesting story arc over trigger-happy Bogie, and his loyalty to nice-girl songbird Priscilla Lane and friendship with affable cohort Frank McHugh is rather charming. Some of the rapid-fire dialogue is juicy and a pleasure to listen to but, unfortunately, the characters fall too soon into cliché, and the cynical comedic edge developed in the first-half disappears altogether (most likely due to the myriad of script-writers who worked on the project). Director Raoul Walsh's montages showing the passage of time--and the loss of morals in America--comes off like finger-wagging, shaming the audience for its reckless behavior, which is the last thing you'd expect in a snarling meller from Warners. **1/2 from ****

jacabiya This might be the biggest WB gangster production of the 30's, and have Cagney and Bogart in it, but it is one corny and dated movie with cardboard characters and an inept script. The WWI scenes are ludicrous. After the first hour mark it gets better but not enough. Cagney when annoyed punches people while Bogart draws his gun. This style of filming might have worked in the early 30's but by 1939 seemed outdated, even though I can understand this film marks the end of an era and should be seen with sympathetic and nostalgic eyes. Lane does not belong here, and I couldn't wait for her to leave, which she doesn't since I later find out she is an integral part of the story. Why she is such an attraction as a singer is beyond me, and we get at least 2 musical numbers from her. The shootout at the Italian restaurant is also ridiculous: Cagney and his people go in looking for the foe, wide open, no strategy. This movie however did something for me: after watching the dining scene I went to the kitchen and made me a big plate of spaghetti with extra cheese.

u2nspenserfan I'm not going to go too much into detail on the plot of the Roaring Twenties - it's pretty standard "gangster rises to the top" fare. The things that made this movie special to me were the performances, two in particular.The most prominent character in the film is Cagney, a streetwise cabbie who's lost his job - and really his place in the world - following World War I. He gets into the bootlegging business more or less by mistake, but then stays in it and determines to make a success of it. It's typical strong Cagney gangster fare.The first of the special performances to me was Humphrey Bogart's. This is a younger Bogart, not yet the gangster with a heart seen in High Sierra or the world-weary Bogie seen in Casablanca and many subsequent films. No, this younger Bogart is cunning, but is mostly a fearsome gun-toter seething with contempt for the world. I imagine he didn't have to go far to find inspiration. Warner Brothers didn't consider him a leading man at this time and had him in a string of mostly low-budget films, including an awful Western musical flick called Swing Your Lady the year before. Adding that he was in a reputedly wildly tempestuous marriage with Mayo Methot at the time, he had a deep well to draw from for the contempt and fire this role called for.The second special performance, and my favorite, is that of Gladys George as Panama. Panama is as tough and smart as any male club owner, a streetwise pitchwoman who doesn't flinch when the bullets fly. On the other hand, she's got a tender heart and a torch that quietly burns for Cagney despite his shortcomings and infatuations with other women. It is one of my favorite female roles of the '30s - it seemed that kind of nuance was generally reserved for the male lead. She has some real powerhouse moments in this film.So, a 9/10 for me - standard '30s gangster plot buoyed by some special performances.