FilmSite opens with this: "Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) is a classic example of a Warner Bros. gangster/crime melodrama of the 1930s - a slick, action-packed, hard-hitting studio film layered with a touch of social conscience." Slant Magazine has a positive review. Empire Online says, "Not pulling the melodrama punches in anyway but still a real Cagney gangster classic."
DVD Journal concludes,
The whole "crime doesn't pay" trope has never felt more quaint than it does today, but the way Angels With Dirty Faces balances hard-bitten gangster drama with warmly stage-managed religiosity gives us an entertaining period piece, one which shows that after more than sixty years you still can't go wrong with a Jimmy Cagney movie.Rotten Tomatoes has a critics rating of 100%. This film is included in the book 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.
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The entire cast looks to be excellent, although I've never heard of the Dead End Kids. Great review, though.
ReplyDeleteThe Dead End Kids were quite popular back in the day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_End_Kids
DeleteI know I have seen this one before with James Cagney and the Dead End Kids. I remember it being entertaining, but that was many years ago. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a well-respected film, but I had never seen it before. I agree it's entertaining, even thought-provoking in its way.
DeleteThe Dead End Kids later had atv show called The Bowery Boys.
ReplyDeleteand some films, too. They had quite a run
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