Golden Age Gangsters
Gangster movies and series set in the 20's, 30's, and 40's.
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- DirectorJosef von SternbergArthur RossonStarsGeorge BancroftClive BrookEvelyn BrentBoisterous gangster kingpin Bull Weed rehabilitates his former lawyer from his alcoholic haze, but complications arise when he falls for Weed's girlfriend.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsClara BowRichard ArlenHelen LynchA dead criminal's daughter falls in love with a small-time crook and tries to get him to reform before he winds up like her father.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsThomas MeighanLouis WolheimMarie PrevostAn honest police captain vows to bring down a powerful bootlegger who is protected by corrupt politicians and judges.
- DirectorBert GlennonStarsOlive BordenJack PickfordEddie GribbonA saxophone player Clyde, who busks on the San Francisco Bay waterfront. One night, he meets Flowers, and teaches her to dance, but finds that "Blackjack", the leader of a ruthless gang, is also in love with her.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsLew AyresJames CagneyDorothy MathewsDespite his efforts to go straight, a young gangster keeps falling back into crime.
- DirectorJohn G. AdolfiStarsGrant WithersEvalyn KnappJames CagneyMa Delano (Lucille LaVerne) runs a boardwalk penny arcade and lives upstairs with her sons Harry and Joe (James Cagney and Ray Gallagher) and daughter Jennie (Evalyn Knapp); their story involves rum-running, accidental murder, and a frame-up.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsSpencer TracyClaire LuceWarren HymerWhen paroled trustee Steve and former inmate Judy who try to put their criminal lives behind them are blackmailed, two career criminals come to their rescue.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsGary CooperSylvia SidneyPaul LukasMan joins a gang to free his girlfriend from prison.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsWalter HustonPhillips HolmesConstance CummingsAfter a failed attempt at running for governor, D.A. Mark Brady is appointed warden of the state prison where many of the criminals he prosecuted are incarcerated.
- DirectorChristy CabanneStarsRegis ToomeySue CarolDorothy RevierCub reporter Dusty investigates the murder of the District Attorney and stumbles into a plot involving a kidnapping and a crooked election.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsEdward G. RobinsonDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Glenda FarrellA small-time criminal moves to a big city to seek bigger fortune.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsJames CagneyJean HarlowEdward WoodsAn Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.
- DirectorGeorge W. HillStarsWallace BeeryLewis StoneJohnny Mack BrownAfter rising bootlegger Slaughterhouse Scorpio eliminates his gangland competition, two reporters and a cabal of six businessmen work to expose him.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsEdward G. RobinsonJames CagneyEvalyn KnappA Greek barber has uncommon skills in playing poker and soon rises in the seedy world of illegal gambling, but pretty blondes remain his Achilles' heel.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsSpencer TracyBette DavisArthur ByronBrash hoodlum Tom Connors enters Sing Sing cocksure of himself and disrespectful toward authority, but his tough but compassionate warden changes him.
- DirectorCharles BrabinStarsWalter HustonJean HarlowWallace FordPolice Chief Jim Fitzpatrick ruthlessly goes after organized crime and is prepared to use brutal and violent methods to fight it.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsGeorge RaftConstance CummingsWynne GibsonA successful ex-boxer opens a high-class speakeasy in what once was the childhood home of a formerly rich society girl.
- DirectorHoward HawksRichard RossonStarsPaul MuniAnn DvorakKaren MorleyAn ambitious and nearly insane violent gangster climbs the ladder of success in the mob, but his weaknesses prove to be his downfall.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsJames CagneyMae ClarkeMargaret LindsayA former gangster makes it big in Hollywood, but his old life catches up with him.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsEdward G. RobinsonMary AstorHelen VinsonWhen Prohibition ends, a beer baron sees the writing on the wall, quits the rackets, and tries to break into California society.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeJack ConwayGeorge CukorStarsClark GableWilliam PowellMyrna LoyThe friendship between two orphans endures even though they grow up on opposite sides of the law and fall in love with the same woman.
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsJames CagneyMargaret LindsayAnn DvorakJames Cagney helped jump-start the gangster genre as The Public Enemy. Outcries against movies that glorified underworld criminals put Cagney on the side of the law in 'G' Men.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsEdward G. RobinsonJean ArthurArthur HohlA meek milquetoast clerk is mistaken for public enemy N° 1, and the notorious killer takes advantage of the situation.
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsEdward G. RobinsonJoan BlondellBarton MacLaneWhen a crusader against rackets is murdered, a grand jury battles the rackets by promoting McLaren to be in charge of the cleanup. He fires NYPD Detective Blake, who punches him and joins the racket.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsLeslie HowardHumphrey BogartBette DavisA waitress, a hobo and a bank robber get mixed up at a lonely diner in the desert.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsSylvia SidneyJoel McCreaHumphrey BogartThe lives of a young man, a young woman, an notorious gangster, and a group of street kids converge one day in a volatile New York City slum.
- DirectorAlan JamesRay TaylorStarsRalph ByrdKay HughesSmiley BurnetteA master criminal called The Spider puts the famous detective's brother under a hypnotic spell and turns him against Dick.
- DirectorEdward LudwigStarsEdward G. RobinsonJames StewartRose StradnerA gangster is jailed for ten years after his wife becomes pregnant. He becomes bitter when she divorces him and remarries.
- DirectorLloyd BaconMichael CurtizStarsBette DavisHumphrey BogartLola LaneA crusading district attorney persuades a clip joint hostess to testify against her mobster boss after her innocent sister is accidentally murdered during one of his unsavory parties.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsJean GabinGabriel GabrioSaturnin FabreA wanted gangster is both king and prisoner of the Casbah. He is protected from arrest by his friends, but is torn by his desire for freedom outside. A visiting Parisian beauty may just tempt his fate.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsPat O'BrienAnn SheridanHumphrey BogartAn army trainer becomes captain of the prison yard and in time, falls for the sister of a hardened inmate.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsRochelle HudsonRobert KentJ. Edward BrombergCrooks use a man's safe-cracking skills then involve him in more crime after he spends three years in jail. He falls in love with a waitress and they go to work for a traveling salesman.
- DirectorOscar MicheauxStarsBee FreemanSol Johnson'Slick' ChesterA young college student falls under the influence of a murderous gambler.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsEdward G. RobinsonHumphrey BogartClaire TrevorA brilliant Park Avenue doctor becomes a criminal in order to do research into the criminal mind.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJames CagneyPat O'BrienHumphrey BogartA priest tries to stop a gangster from corrupting a group of street kids.
- DirectorLewis SeilerWilliam ClemensStarsHumphrey BogartThe Dead End KidsGale PageA gang of underprivileged teenagers are sentenced to serve two years in a reform school after almost killing a criminal fence who attacked them.
- DirectorJohn EnglishWilliam WitneyStarsRalph ByrdLynne RobertsCharles MiddletonDick Tracy battles spies and saboteurs in his efforts to bring to justice the Stark gang, a criminal family led by the vicious Pa Stark.
- DirectorLambert HillyerStarsAnne NagelRobert KentCharles TrowbridgeA ruthless but clever gangster who knows every loophole in the law has the tables turned by a dedicated District Attorney and his assistant.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsEdward G. RobinsonBarbara O'NeilJohn BealLaw professor John Lindsay is asked by a civic leader to become a special prosecutor to go after the racketeers in town.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsHumphrey BogartGeorge BrentGloria DicksonManhattan gangster John "Czar" Martin enters the trucking business in an effort to control the produce market. When he catches popular trucker Danny Jordan robbing the gang's office to provide for his pregnant wife Nora, Martin forces Jordan to join him. As the other truckers come around Martin appears to have won.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsEdward G. RobinsonJane BryanAllen JenkinsFormer bootlegger Remy Marco has a slight problem with forclosing bankers, a prospective son-in-law, and four hard-to-explain corpses.
- DirectorRay EnrightStarsAnn SheridanBilly HalopBernard PunslyA young man just released from a reformatory moves to a new neighborhood with his sister, intending to start a new life, but he gets mixed up with the local mob boss and corrupt politicians and soon finds himself being framed for an arson and murder he didn't commit.
- DirectorJohn EnglishWilliam WitneyStarsRalph ByrdIrving PichelTed PearsonA mad doctor named Zanoff uses a drug to bring himself back from the dead after his execution in prison. Dick Tracy sets out to capture Zanoff before he can put his criminal gang back together again.
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsJames CagneyGeorge RaftJane BryanA corrupt D.A. (Thurston Hall) with political ambitions is angered by news stories implicating him in criminal activity and decides to frame the reporter (James Cagney) for manslaughter in order to silence him.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsGeorge RaftJane BryanWilliam HoldenAn ex-con who wants to go straight has difficulties trying to reintegrate into society while on parole.
- DirectorNick GrindeStarsAnna May WongAkim TamiroffJ. Carrol NaishViolence and death stalk the Chinese of a big American city, but one man, Dr. Chang Ling, and his daughter, Dr. Mary Ling, defy the racketeers who are responsible, and, against terrific odds, bring peace to their oppressed neighbors.
- DirectorLewis SeilerStarsHumphrey BogartKay FrancisJames StephensonAfter the killing of her husband by friendly fire during a police raid, Dr. Carole Nelson tries to find gangster Joe Gurney to clear her name with the medical board.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyHumphrey BogartPriscilla LaneThree men attempt to make a living in Prohibitionist America after returning home from fighting together in World War I.
- DirectorLewis SeilerStarsHumphrey BogartGale PageBilly HalopYouthful tough Johnnie Stone has fallen under the influence of petty crook Frank Wilson, who involves him and robbery and murder using his sister's boyfriend's stolen gun.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsEdward G. RobinsonHumphrey BogartAnn SothernWhen retired racket boss John Sarto tries to reclaim his place and former friends try to kill him, he finds solace in a monastery and reinvents himself as a pious monk.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsJohn GarfieldAnn SheridanPat O'BrienAn arrogant mobster, sentenced to a long prison term in Sing Sing, becomes a changed man when given a chance by the fair and progressive warden.
- DirectorPhil RosenStarsLouise PlattDonald WoodsWynne GibsonA young woman is sentenced to prison for a murder she didn't commit. Her stepmother's gangster friends break her out, but it turns out that her problems are only beginning.
- DirectorLeo C. PopkinStarsRalph CooperGladys SnyderReginald FendersonTwo mobs fight for control of the jukebox racket.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsLloyd NolanBarton MacLaneLola LaneA criminal uses his knowledge of the law for his not-very-legal purposes, betraying friends along the way.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsGeorge RaftJoan BennettLloyd NolanAn aircraft designer falls for the wife of an imprisoned gangster. All goes well until the gangster gets out of prison...
- DirectorLewis SeilerStarsAnn SheridanHumphrey BogartJeffrey LynnAfter crooked nightclub owner Chips Maguire murders a police informant, he blackmails his piano player to allow him to stay at his eccentric mother's boarding house.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsTyrone PowerDorothy LamourEdward ArnoldThe son of a jailed Wall Street broker turns to crime to pay for his father's release.
- DirectorJohn EnglishWilliam WitneyStarsRalph ByrdMichael OwenJan WileyDick Tracy goes up against a villain known as The Ghost, who can turn himself invisible.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsIda LupinoHumphrey BogartAlan CurtisAfter being released from prison, notorious thief Roy Earle is hired by his old boss to help a group of inexperienced criminals plan and carry out the robbery of a California resort.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsRobert TaylorLana TurnerEdward ArnoldThe step-daughter of a district attorney falls in love with a gangster on parole who her father originally imprisoned.
- DirectorFrank WoodruffStarsDennis O'KeefeJudith AndersonFrances E. NealLieutenant Bill Mason (Dennis O'Keefe) pursues a Chicago gang to New York City, unaware that its scar-cheeked leader, Slade (Dame Judith Anderson), is a woman.
- DirectorPhil RosenStarsJoan WoodburyJack La RueLinda WareCircumstances force naive Dorothy Adams into serving an unjust prison term, but she emerges from it a cynical criminal who rises to power in the local crime organization.
- DirectorAlbert S. RogellStarsWendy BarriePhillip TerryEdgar KennedyBill Raymond, a hotshot newspaper reporter will all the trappings, is following a story about and looking for the leaders of an alien smuggling gang. Along the way he gets the aid of a screwball heiress, Bonnie Parker (no, not Clyde Barrow's Bonnie), and a couple of ex-pugilists, Biff and Bang.
- DirectorH. Bruce HumberstoneStarsCesar RomeroVirginia GilmoreMilton BerleRobin Hoodish gangster in 1929 Chicago is an object of affection, kind to New York hood and bad to a bad crook.
- DirectorRoy William NeillStarsRichard DixWendy BarrieLon Chaney Jr.Blackmail and murder in a tale of an auto-theft ring.
- DirectorNoel M. SmithRay TaylorStarsKent TaylorIrene HerveyRalph MorganDetective lieutenant Bill Bannister is assigned to run down an unknown gang of terrorists who have spread a net of crime over the city.
- DirectorRay McCareyStarsCesar RomeroCarole LandisMilton BerleA bookie (Cesar Romero) takes over a bankrupt art gallery and falls in love with a beautiful blonde (Carole Landis)
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsEdward G. RobinsonJane WymanBroderick CrawfordThree ex-cons buy a luggage shop to tunnel into the bank vault next door. But despite all they can do, the shop prospers...
- DirectorWilliam BerkeStarsMorgan ConwayAnne JeffreysMike MazurkiPolice detective Dick Tracy must identify and apprehend a serial killer known as Splitface.
- DirectorMax NosseckStarsLawrence TierneyEdmund LoweAnne JeffreysJohn Dillinger begins his life of crime as a petty thief, meets his future gang in prison and eventually masterminds a series of daring robberies.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsMorgan ConwayAnne JeffreysLyle LatellExpensive diamonds are stolen but before the thief can fence them he is strangled by ex-con Cueball, who then takes the gems and continues murdering people he believes are trying to swindle him.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsBurt LancasterAva GardnerEdmond O'BrienHit men kill an unresisting victim, and investigator Reardon uncovers his past involvement with beautiful, deadly Kitty Collins.
- DirectorJohn BoultingStarsRichard AttenboroughHermione BaddeleyWilliam HartnellIn Brighton in 1935, small-time gang leader Pinkie Brown murders a journalist and later desperately tries to cover his tracks but runs into trouble with the police, a few witnesses, and a rival gang.
- DirectorJohn RawlinsStarsBoris KarloffRalph ByrdAnne GwynneDick Tracy goes up against a villain who robs banks using a nerve gas.
- DirectorJohn RawlinsStarsRalph ByrdLyle LatellKay ChristopherDick Tracy investigates the theft of a fortune of fur coats, a possible insurance swindle and several murders, all linked to a huge thug who wears a hook in place of his right hand.
- DirectorWalter ColmesStarsJohn SheltonAnn DoranGuinn 'Big Boy' WilliamsIn 1929, middle-class bank clerk Eddie Clark, unhappy with his lot in life and jealous of prosperous George Bates, an ex-suitor of his loyal wife Agnes, steals $200,000 from his bank, with intentions of he and Agnes being in Mexico before the theft is discovered. Agnes tries to persuade him to return the money to no avail. He is caught and sent to prison without revealing the hidden location of the loot, figuring to get it and live in luxury when his ten-year term is over. His case has received much publicity and nearly every inmate in the prison attempts to wrest the information from him. Gangsters on the outside arrange with convicts Clyde Sutter and Butch McQuinn to get the secret from him. Agnes, who has taken a waitress job in a nearby city, is also trying to find the money with the intention of returning it and getting Eddie a reduced sentence. Sutter's plan is to involve Eddie in a prison break and turn him over to the gangsters on the outside. Butch is shot during the break, and Eddie is the only one to escape. He meets Agnes in an old warehouse but she has been trailed by gangsters Kelvin and Benson. They beat him up but his life is saved by the arrival of the state police. He is returned to prison with an additional five years added to his sentence. He is released in 1947 and makes his way to the money's hiding place - a cemetery plot he had bought in 1929.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsDennis O'KeefeClaire TrevorMarsha HuntJoe Sullivan (Dennis O'Keefe) has taken the rap for Rick (Raymond Burr), who double-crosses him with a flawed escape plan and other means intended to get rid of him.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsBurt LancasterLizabeth ScottKirk DouglasFrankie Madison leaves prison expecting a share from his ex-partner. But Prohibition bootlegging didn't prepare Frankie for Big Business.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartEdward G. RobinsonLauren BacallA man visits his war buddy's family hotel and finds a gangster running things. As a hurricane approaches, the two end up confronting each other.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsBob HopeLucille BallWilliam DemarestA young girl is left with the notoriously cheap Sorrowful Jones as a marker for a bet. Her father disappears and he learns that taking care of her cramps his free-wheeling life. Sorrowful must evade gangsters and do some horse-thieving.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyVirginia MayoEdmond O'BrienA psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsJohn DallPeggy CumminsBerry KroegerTwo disturbed young people release their fascination with guns through a crime spree.Two people don't constitute a gang... but I love this movie.
- DirectorAlexander HallStarsPaul DouglasJean PetersCesar RomeroA Chicago mobster falls in love with a principled young governess, but he must keep up the appearances of being an honest businessman and a dedicated single dad if he hopes to woo her.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldFrank TashlinStarsBob HopeMarilyn MaxwellLloyd NolanA New York City swindler has until Christmas to come up with the $10,000 he owes a gangster, prompting him to go into scamming overdrive.Damon Runyon story, set in the early fifties.
- CreatorPhillips LordStarsRobert BiceMike RaganMyron HealeyTrue crime stories and their investigations are dramatized.
- DirectorSeymour FriedmanStarsGeorge RaftDorothy HartPaul StewartAt the request of factory owners and union leaders, a tough ex-con infiltrates a gang of loan sharks who are preying on financially desperate factory workers.Set in early fifties.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsMarlon BrandoJean SimmonsFrank SinatraIn New York, a gambler is challenged to take a cold female missionary to Havana, but they fall for each other, and the bet has a hidden motive to finance a crap game.
- DirectorCharles VidorStarsDoris DayJames CagneyCameron MitchellA fictionalized account of the career of jazz singer Ruth Etting and her tempestuous marriage to gangster Marty Snyder, who helped propel her to stardom.
- DirectorJack WebbStarsJack WebbJanet LeighEdmond O'BrienIn 1927, a Kansas City, Missouri cornet player and his band perform nightly at a seedy speakeasy until a racketeer tries to extort them in exchange for protection.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsMickey RooneyCarolyn JonesCedric HardwickeGeorge "Babyface" Nelson became one of the most important gangsters of 1930's Chicago by making brutal robberies. In order to compete with Al Capone, he allied himself with John Dillinger.
- DirectorRichard C. KahnBill KarnStarsMyron HealeyJean HarveyPaul DubovA composite of three re-edited episodes from the 1952 TV series, Gangbusters, released to theatres in 1957 as a feature film. Gang Busters (1954) was a similar effort.
- DirectorWilliam WitneyStarsDorothy ProvineJack HoganRichard BakalyanIn the 1930s, amoral blonde tommy-gun girl Bonnie Parker cut a swath of bodies across the South-West. Starting out on gas stations and bars with side-kick Guy Darrow she graduated to bank hold-ups with Darrow's brother and, after bloodily springing him, her jailed husband. But there was never any doubt who was in charge.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsCharles BronsonSusan CabotMorey AmsterdamThe criminal exploits of Public Enemy number 1, George 'Machine-Gun' Kelly, during the 1930s.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsJoe AbdullahTige AndrewsPhil ArnoldThe story of the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929.
- DirectorRichard WilsonStarsRod SteigerMartin BalsamFay SpainA chronicle of the rise and fall of Chicago crime boss Al Capone during the Prohibition era.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsJames StewartVera MilesMurray HamiltonA dedicated FBI agent recalls the agency's battles against the Klan, organized crime and Communist spies.
- StarsJames GregoryRobert KarnesJohn DennisBarney Ruditsky is a New York City police officer in the Roaring '20s who fights organized crime. The show was loosely based on the real life Rudisky who was a New York police officer during the period.
- DirectorFrank McDonaldStarsBarry SullivanRobert BlakeElaine EdwardsThe story of the infamous Purple Gang, a ring of bootleggers, hijackers and killers in 1920s' Detroit.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsRobert StackKeenan WynnBarbara NicholsStory of how a group of incorruptible federal lawmen helped put 1920s' Chicago gangster Al Capone in prison.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsMarilyn MonroeTony CurtisJack LemmonAfter two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.