The gang bosses decide that they should hunt down the killer, and they use a network of beggars to find Beckert. Despite dealing with complicated questions, director Fritz Lang made a film as tense and breathless as the other gangster movies on this list. Gangsters may always fall, but it’s a thrilling, infamous ride. Finally, M has nothing to do with teaching the audience a lesson. There’s no speech to the audience about what must be done about the criminals. The sign reads, “The World Is Yours”. When you’re using a machine gun to shoot the pages off a calendar in order to show the passage of time, there’s not a serious aversion to violence. Cagney is not a timeless actor, but an actor perfectly of his time. Like other classic gangsters, he has an intense devotion to his family, but there’s also tension stemming from Tom’s rivalry with his brother, Mike (Donald Cook). We see that corporal punishment has no effect on Tom, which tells us that there’s no saving him. Tomorrow, Gangster Squad hits theaters (click here for my review). They want something to give them a look at the other side. In the era of the Production Code, Hollywood tried to have it both ways with mandated-warnings paired with exhilarating, charismatic characters. But then we have to ask if the end justifies the means, and what is the end we’re hoping to justify? When they catch him, they make the odd decision to bring him to a perverse trial of mob justice. There are two kinds of warnings in these Production Code-era gangster movies: political or biblical. Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive. Hawks makes a fantastic, rapid-fire action flick centered on a magnetic, charismatic psychopath who somehow becomes even crazier when he gets his hands on a gun. It’s like All About Eve, but with Tommy Guns. While The Public Enemy is moralistic, White Heat carries an air of tragedy. They want entertainment. He sees a great and glorious destiny, and relishes the amount of blood he’ll shed on the way to the top. We may not want to be gangsters, but we can’t help but find them absolutely captivating. White Heat returns us to Cagney in arguably the greatest performance of his career. Men like Rico and Tony from Scarface might be on the wrong side of the law, but they have the same American Dream: fame and fortune. Forget Brian De Palma‘s bloated and cartoony 1983 remake. Cody Jarrett (Cagney) is undoubtedly a despicable creature, but he has a similarity to Hans Beckert where we feel an ounce of compassion for someone who can’t help what he has become. Coming at the end of the 1940s, after the Great Depression and World War II, White Heat encapsulates the values of earlier gangster films without feeling like a throwback. If anything, Scarface isn’t a warning to Americans but a criticism of the American dream where a Great Gatsby-esque sign flashes outside Tony’s window. Tony Montana may have a chainsaw and a little friend, but the way Tony (Paul Muni) casually guns down a guy in a hospital bed is just as disturbing. Little Caesar opens with Matthew 26:52’s “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”  Little Caesar a.k.a “Rico” (Edward G. Robinson) is eager to draw his sword from the get-go, but the movie is no great tragedy. Cops in the 1930s Hollywood films could only shake their fists at mobsters and wait for the fall to come. If morality is dictated by pragmatism, then what’s practical about killing murderers? He may play one of cinema’s least convincing teenagers (he was 32 when The Public Enemy came out), but his performance in this film always has the hint of a beating heart you can barely hear beneath his cold exterior. Then the film turns around and has a scene where minor characters have a discussion about the role government must play in bringing down the criminal underworld. Paranoia reigns among the citizens, and the cops are at a loss for how to catch the killer. Their attempt at creating a dragnet is seriously, albeit indirectly, hurting business in the underworld. 13 Great Witch Movies for a Spellbinding Halloween, Tom Holland Reveals First ‘Uncharted’ Image of Himself in Full Costume as Nathan Drake, ‘News of the World’: Tom Hanks Goes Full Western in New Trailer for Paul Greengrass’…, ‘Synchronic’ Review: A Fiendishly Clever Time Travel Story about Loss and Chaos, ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’ Review: Borat and Daughter Team Up to Smash the Patriarchy. Guy Ritchie's hilarious black comedy/gangster movie about a boss attempting to fix a fight. Five classic pre-1950 gangster films you should check out. Hit the jump to check out the list. If the world is unfair, then why play by the rules? To stay in line with Gangster Squad, all of these films were made before 1950, so they lived in the era of the glamorous underworld and all the seedy, ruthless behavior it entailed. That’s one of the tricks of these gangster movies. They want escapism. Click the button below and wait for a message from our Facebook bot in Messenger! Rather, it forces the viewer to consider dimensions of justice: who is responsible for it? 28. Like other gangsters on this list, the protagonist has to rise to power, which inevitably leads to slaying his higher-ups. Cody’s enemies may be at his mercy, but he’s at the mercy of his mother’s indulgence, epilepsy, and desire to be loved. These Hollywood gangster films are like delicious candy that allows the audience to gorge for 90 minutes, and then the Production Code says candy is bad for you. The movie plays from Tom’s childhood to his death like an evil version of It’s a Wonderful Life. Cody must still be “punished”, but White Heat never feels like a lesson. His vocal affectation and exaggerated performance scream vaudeville (his profession before becoming an actor), but there’s no doubting his charisma. Matt, on the other hand, is the character who has a choice, and The Public Enemy tells the “Matts” in the audience to be wary of characters like Tom. I also have to take note of James Cagney’s performance since he’s the actor who bookends this list. I’ve compiled a list of five gangster movies worth checking out. The crime flick takes place in 1949 Los Angeles during mobster Mickey Cohen’s rise to power in the City of Angels. © 2020 Collider Cryptomedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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