Year of Release: 1938Country of Origin: USA
Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan
Plot outline: Childhood chums on opposite sides of the law fight over the future of a street gang (IMDb).
The great success of Dead End, the 1937 movie that starred Joel McCrae, Humphrey Bogart, and the "Dead End" kids, inevitably led to a sequel. Angels with Dirty Faces reunited Bogart and six of the "Dead End" kids. Because the producing studio had been changed from United Artists to Warner Brothers, the character names were also changed. McCrae was both romantic lead and good guy in Dead End. In the sequel, James Cagney takes over as leading man, while the good guy is the priest played by Pat O'Brien. The plot tells the familiar story of childhood pals going separate ways, become rivals as adults. Rocky Sullivan (Cagney) grows up to be a career criminal and racketeer, while Jerry Connolly (O'Brien) becomes a priest. They both vie for the souls of the "Dead End" kids, who seem destined to become the next generation of Rocky Sullivans. Other story lines have Sullivan double-crossed by his lawyer/partner Frazier (Bogart), and Sullivan romancing a reluctant Laury Ferguson (Ann Sheridan). Cagney is excellent. He is perfectly cast as a gangster, the little tough guy with a deeply hidden heart of gold. During shootouts with the police, one can't help but root for him, all the while aware that the 1930s code requires him to come to a bad end. Bogart's character is cowardly and two-faced when compared to his aggressive character from Dead End, while the hoodlum kids have been softened and placed in more secondary roles. Angels with Dirty Faces is Cagney's movie, and he dominates every scene he is in. (BK)
My judgement: ***1/2 out of 4 stars
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