It is hard to believe so many truly great films were made in 1939, and I can only guess that the sheer volume of excellent pix from that year is the only reason why THE ROARING TWENTIES does not have truly major classic status. 1939 seems to be cluttered with a plethora of cinematic riches, thus burying this astonishing and entertaining crime film. I also have been roaring (with laughter) at some of the astonishing silly comments also on this film's viewer comments page: from: "Blondell's haircut is worth the price of a ticket" (Joan Blondell is not in this film, sweetie, read the credits!) - to '"Another MGM gem"...hello? pal, the opening of the film has a great big shield with WB stamped on it followed by "Warner Bros Presents". Almost everyone commenting then proceeds to tell the whole story, each one after each one as thought they are the only person writing a comment. Yeesh. I am the only person who firstly reads what is already there in order to NOT duplicate plot points or characters or the same old same old same old? For genuine long lasting flabbergastering I prefer the movie's solid direction by Raoul Walsh the sensational crackling screenplay by Mark Hellinger and Jerry Wald and mostly the truly major performance by James Cagney. This role and it's ride is possibly the best I have ever seen from him, especially in the latter scenes on skid-row. It's a very mean cruel story with Bogart's jawdropping viciousness several points above censorship rulings - all thankfully intact and now in crisp DVD clarity. The production values are equally solid well decorated nightclubs and houses and rooms and very believable and expansive sets and scenes - especially in the WW1 intro. Yes it even has a terrific Citizen Kane style march of time newsreel tone and urgency. This is a genuine gangster masterpiece and well worth finding and sharing with other vintage WB (not MGM) crime buffs. THE ROARING TWENTIES deserves to be one of the most famous gangster films for everyone of its plot, acting , character and production qualities - they are all there on show. I would love to know the budget and the box office. I know the film was a big hit but exactly how big? It deserved to be massive. Also, the best saddest role of a lifetime to the superb and endearing Gladys George as Panama. As if everything else wasn't perfect enough! This film is a collectors must-have. If remade today, it would be exactly the same, such is it's timeless tone and production. In fact it is had to believe it was made 20 years earlier than SOME LIKE IT HOT. Both films look identical. Don't waste another day, put THE ROARING TWENTIES top of your must see list.
121 Reviews
He Used To Be A Big Shot
theowinthrop12 October 2005
It is not as centrally dynamic as THE PUBLIC ENEMY nor as Freudian as WHITE HEAT, but THE ROARING TWENTIES is a leading gangster film for Jimmy Cagney as it details the rise and fall of a gangster Eddie Bartlett. The product of World War I and Prohibition, Eddie rises to great power as the head of a gang, always trying to return to legitimate society, and then to fall again due to the Wall Street Crash and the machinations of his right-hand man George Hally (Humphrey Bogart).
Both men's characters are far more subtle as studies of success in criminal enterprise than the normal crime bosses of the 1930s. Eddie painstakingly builds up a taxicab corporation to gain legitimacy, as well as his stock acquisitions. Bogart, a bit more realistic on what types of businesses he understands, does not get involved in the stock market. But he enjoys the trappings of the upper class. Witness the scene when he is talking with his underling (Abner Biberman) and he is practicing his putting in his office. At the conclusion, Bogart is living in a townhouse (a sign of his financial success).
There is a tradition in the films of the depression that some gangsters are not as bad as others. This is not to be taken seriously in real life, but the idea is that certain people are driven to crime by economic circumstances (Cagney returning to no job at the end of World War I) and some are driven by pure evil (the sadistic side of Bogart's nature). Cagney, on his rise, gains the friendship of people like Gladys George (actually the unrequited love of Ms George) and tries to find room in his organization for people like Frank McHugh, a nice guy who really never fit in properly as a criminal - and dies as a result. Bogart gains the support of like villains (Bibberman, who shares Bogie's fate at the end), and keeps showing a contempt for human life in most of the film (witness how he kills a cop on one of the rum runners he and Cagney are on, because the cop was once his sergeant in the army who punished him for breaking the rules when he did). But Cagney turns out to have more guts in him than Bogie. At the end of the film the latter, facing his own demise, turns into a total coward.
The film has many touches to set the tone of the 21 years it covers (1918 - 1939). At the start newsreel footage takes the audience back to the end of World War I, showing Presidents and events up to Wilson (who, curiously enough, is shown by an actor playing the President, not as part of an old film). It has been noted that Gladys George's Panama is based on Texas Guinan, the speakeasy hostess. The death of Cagney on the steps of a church is based on the death of Hymie Weiss, a Chicago gangster rival of Capone who was killed that way in 1927. It was too good a death to not use in a gangster film, as it seems more symbolic than it was in real life (it does remind us of how Cagney, for all his good intentions, came up short due to his profession in violence).
I have not commented on the love triangles involving Cagney, Jeffrey Lynn, and Priscilla Lane (and Cagney, Lane, and Gladys George). The irony that Cagney never sees that George is more than just a good friend is rather poignant, for both of them. And it is George who cradles his dead body in the end and gives his epitaph. Perhaps today a director would allow Cagney to wise up and get away with George. But that would spoil the full effect of the film's conclusion.
Both men's characters are far more subtle as studies of success in criminal enterprise than the normal crime bosses of the 1930s. Eddie painstakingly builds up a taxicab corporation to gain legitimacy, as well as his stock acquisitions. Bogart, a bit more realistic on what types of businesses he understands, does not get involved in the stock market. But he enjoys the trappings of the upper class. Witness the scene when he is talking with his underling (Abner Biberman) and he is practicing his putting in his office. At the conclusion, Bogart is living in a townhouse (a sign of his financial success).
There is a tradition in the films of the depression that some gangsters are not as bad as others. This is not to be taken seriously in real life, but the idea is that certain people are driven to crime by economic circumstances (Cagney returning to no job at the end of World War I) and some are driven by pure evil (the sadistic side of Bogart's nature). Cagney, on his rise, gains the friendship of people like Gladys George (actually the unrequited love of Ms George) and tries to find room in his organization for people like Frank McHugh, a nice guy who really never fit in properly as a criminal - and dies as a result. Bogart gains the support of like villains (Bibberman, who shares Bogie's fate at the end), and keeps showing a contempt for human life in most of the film (witness how he kills a cop on one of the rum runners he and Cagney are on, because the cop was once his sergeant in the army who punished him for breaking the rules when he did). But Cagney turns out to have more guts in him than Bogie. At the end of the film the latter, facing his own demise, turns into a total coward.
The film has many touches to set the tone of the 21 years it covers (1918 - 1939). At the start newsreel footage takes the audience back to the end of World War I, showing Presidents and events up to Wilson (who, curiously enough, is shown by an actor playing the President, not as part of an old film). It has been noted that Gladys George's Panama is based on Texas Guinan, the speakeasy hostess. The death of Cagney on the steps of a church is based on the death of Hymie Weiss, a Chicago gangster rival of Capone who was killed that way in 1927. It was too good a death to not use in a gangster film, as it seems more symbolic than it was in real life (it does remind us of how Cagney, for all his good intentions, came up short due to his profession in violence).
I have not commented on the love triangles involving Cagney, Jeffrey Lynn, and Priscilla Lane (and Cagney, Lane, and Gladys George). The irony that Cagney never sees that George is more than just a good friend is rather poignant, for both of them. And it is George who cradles his dead body in the end and gives his epitaph. Perhaps today a director would allow Cagney to wise up and get away with George. But that would spoil the full effect of the film's conclusion.
Opportunity Knocks...
Xstal3 September 2023
A spell of time spent on the front in World War One, leads to a life of opportunity and fun, as a decade makes an entrance, rules of the game become song and dance, with some liquor, a bit of conflict and some guns. Prohibition creates possibilities, to entertain the crowds in so called speakeasies, brewing spirits then creates, the drinks the Volsted Act just hates, though drinking too much might make you, a bit queasy. Alas new Presidents curtail the operations, meaning that changes come to all organisations, markets sink, then fall, decline, your social status realigns, in the end, was it all worth it, you will opine.
Vintage Warner Brothers of the thirties
Tony432 August 2005
Not as well remembered as "Little Caesar" or "Public Enemy," "The Roaring Twenties" is the culmination of a decade's worth of Warner Brothers gangster films. It was also James Cagney's last tough guy role at the studio for almost a decade.
Cagney is criticized by some in this one for not packing the cinematic punch he did in "Public Enemy" or "White Heat." But this film was the brain child of former Broadway columnist Mark Hellinger and was written as almost an ode to the Damon Runion-like characters Hellinger knew when he prowled the great white way during the 20s. Hellinger was a regular at the famous El Fey club and friend of Texas Guinan, the wild saloon hostess who personified the twenties. Cagney's good/bad guy character, Eddie Bartlett, was in fact based on Larry Fay, the cab driver turned bootlegger who opened the El Fey and hired Guinan as his hostess. Fay is also believed to have been one of the inspirations for F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." Bartlett is meant to symbolize,not a psychotic criminal, but more the social confusion that resultedfrom the passage of a highly unpopular law meant to regulate character,which wound up having the absolute opposite effect, spawning an era of lawlessness.
Although Cagney dominates every scene he is in, the more ominous gangster in the film is played by Humphrey Bogart in one of his best performances prior to assuming character roles in the late 40s. His trigger happy hood was probably fashioned after Owen "Ownie the Killer" Madden, the bootlegger who bought into Harlem's Cotton Club and formed a loose alliance with Fay.
Strong supporting work comes from Gladys George, who plays Panama Smith, the Texas Guinan character.
This picture is slick, well produced, uniformly well acted under the direction of action specialist Raoul Walsh and features some great Cagney stick. When he exploded on screen, there was no one like him.
Cagney is criticized by some in this one for not packing the cinematic punch he did in "Public Enemy" or "White Heat." But this film was the brain child of former Broadway columnist Mark Hellinger and was written as almost an ode to the Damon Runion-like characters Hellinger knew when he prowled the great white way during the 20s. Hellinger was a regular at the famous El Fey club and friend of Texas Guinan, the wild saloon hostess who personified the twenties. Cagney's good/bad guy character, Eddie Bartlett, was in fact based on Larry Fay, the cab driver turned bootlegger who opened the El Fey and hired Guinan as his hostess. Fay is also believed to have been one of the inspirations for F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." Bartlett is meant to symbolize,not a psychotic criminal, but more the social confusion that resultedfrom the passage of a highly unpopular law meant to regulate character,which wound up having the absolute opposite effect, spawning an era of lawlessness.
Although Cagney dominates every scene he is in, the more ominous gangster in the film is played by Humphrey Bogart in one of his best performances prior to assuming character roles in the late 40s. His trigger happy hood was probably fashioned after Owen "Ownie the Killer" Madden, the bootlegger who bought into Harlem's Cotton Club and formed a loose alliance with Fay.
Strong supporting work comes from Gladys George, who plays Panama Smith, the Texas Guinan character.
This picture is slick, well produced, uniformly well acted under the direction of action specialist Raoul Walsh and features some great Cagney stick. When he exploded on screen, there was no one like him.
In this movie, Bogart proves to be the sneering, sadistic gangster
Nazi_Fighter_David16 April 2005
Warning: Spoilers
After nearly a decade of concentrating on the gangster period of the twenties, it appeared that Warner Brothers had decided to make one, final glorified kiss-off to the genre in the spectacularly staged "The Roaring Twenties."
Director Raoul Walch was an odd choice for what turned out to be a first-rate action film, for Walsh was not normally a crime-film director The film contained every possible cliché connected with the era
Bogart's portrayal was interesting as we watched him coldly murder an ex-army sergeant who had given him a rough time in the service, and then set put to get rid of Jeffrey Lynn, now a successful lawyer working for the district attorney and intent on crushing Bogart's empire
Cagney, whose energy gave him a panerotic sexual magnetism, was evident with his two relationships which both tend to increase our valuation of Cagney as a person as are the two ladies involved: Priscilla Lane, the innocent whom Cagney helps and loves, and the experienced Gladys George who is evidently devoted to him but never expresses her feelings to him
This basic relationship between Cagney and the two female characters does not take away the great merit of "The Roaring Twenties"-much more it proves the skill of Raoul Walsh and the writers in deploying conventional elements in an effective and meaningful way.
Director Raoul Walch was an odd choice for what turned out to be a first-rate action film, for Walsh was not normally a crime-film director The film contained every possible cliché connected with the era
Bogart's portrayal was interesting as we watched him coldly murder an ex-army sergeant who had given him a rough time in the service, and then set put to get rid of Jeffrey Lynn, now a successful lawyer working for the district attorney and intent on crushing Bogart's empire
Cagney, whose energy gave him a panerotic sexual magnetism, was evident with his two relationships which both tend to increase our valuation of Cagney as a person as are the two ladies involved: Priscilla Lane, the innocent whom Cagney helps and loves, and the experienced Gladys George who is evidently devoted to him but never expresses her feelings to him
This basic relationship between Cagney and the two female characters does not take away the great merit of "The Roaring Twenties"-much more it proves the skill of Raoul Walsh and the writers in deploying conventional elements in an effective and meaningful way.
One of the Best of Warner's Gangster Films!
bsmith555222 February 2005
"The Roaring Twenties" more or less marked the end of Warner Bros. gangster films popular during the 1930s. For the next few years WWII would form the backdrop of their action films.
This one is full of action and memorable characters due largely to the presence of legendary director Raoul Walsh and its stellar cast.
Three soldiers meet on the WWI battlefield in 1918. One is the all good lawyer Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn), one the thoroughly bad George Hally (Humphrey Bogart) and the third, an everyman named Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney). Eddie is smitten with a girl, Jean Sherman (Priscilla Lane) who has been corresponding with him from home.
When the war ends Eddie returns to New York and hooks up with buddy Danny Green (Frank McHugh) who is a Gabie. Eddie goes to meet Jean but is disappointed to learn that she is just a teenager. Unable to find work, Eddie is forced to share the driving of Danny's cab. In the meantime, prohibition takes effect and Eddie discovers that bootlegging is the way to get rich. At the onset he meets saloon girl Panama Smith (Gladys George) who turns out to be his only friend.
Fast forward to 1924 and Eddie re-discovers Jean in a chorus line and decides to take a hand in her career. Eddie is now hopelessly in love with Jean much to the dismay of Panama. Jean however, is in love with Lloyd who has turned up as Eddie's lawyer. One night while hijacking a load of booze from rival gangster Nick Brown (Paul Kelly), Eddie meets up with George Hally (what are the chances of that?) who works for Brown. Hally decides to double cross Brown and throw in with Eddie. All the while Eddie is buying up taxis until he has immersed a fleet of 2,000 cabs.
Everything is running smoothly until Hally begins to get his own ambitions and sets up Brown to Murder Eddie. The plot fails. Meanwhile Jean leaves Eddie and runs off with Lloyd and Eddie begins to drink. At the same time come the stock market crash of 1929 and Eddie is ruined. Hally however, didn't play the stocks and buys out Eddie's cab business for a small figure and leaves Eddie with but one cab for himself.
Eddie hits the skids along with the ever faithful Panama until Hally threatens Jean and Lloyd and.............
Cagney as usual dominates the picture. He is his usual cocky Irish tough guy but with character flaws. His love for Jean ultimately is what destroys him. Lane contributes a couple of classic songs (in her own voice) as Jean. Bogart as the thoroughly evil Hally gives us a preview of the Bogart tough guy image to come in the 40s. Gladys George almost steals the picture from Cagney as the tragic Panama and McHugh is sympathetic as Danny.
Oddly enough, for a gangster picture, there are no major characters in respect of crusading cops or district attorneys. All of the action is between the gangsters.
Cagney would not appear in another gangster film for ten years until "White Heat" (1949).
This one is full of action and memorable characters due largely to the presence of legendary director Raoul Walsh and its stellar cast.
Three soldiers meet on the WWI battlefield in 1918. One is the all good lawyer Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn), one the thoroughly bad George Hally (Humphrey Bogart) and the third, an everyman named Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney). Eddie is smitten with a girl, Jean Sherman (Priscilla Lane) who has been corresponding with him from home.
When the war ends Eddie returns to New York and hooks up with buddy Danny Green (Frank McHugh) who is a Gabie. Eddie goes to meet Jean but is disappointed to learn that she is just a teenager. Unable to find work, Eddie is forced to share the driving of Danny's cab. In the meantime, prohibition takes effect and Eddie discovers that bootlegging is the way to get rich. At the onset he meets saloon girl Panama Smith (Gladys George) who turns out to be his only friend.
Fast forward to 1924 and Eddie re-discovers Jean in a chorus line and decides to take a hand in her career. Eddie is now hopelessly in love with Jean much to the dismay of Panama. Jean however, is in love with Lloyd who has turned up as Eddie's lawyer. One night while hijacking a load of booze from rival gangster Nick Brown (Paul Kelly), Eddie meets up with George Hally (what are the chances of that?) who works for Brown. Hally decides to double cross Brown and throw in with Eddie. All the while Eddie is buying up taxis until he has immersed a fleet of 2,000 cabs.
Everything is running smoothly until Hally begins to get his own ambitions and sets up Brown to Murder Eddie. The plot fails. Meanwhile Jean leaves Eddie and runs off with Lloyd and Eddie begins to drink. At the same time come the stock market crash of 1929 and Eddie is ruined. Hally however, didn't play the stocks and buys out Eddie's cab business for a small figure and leaves Eddie with but one cab for himself.
Eddie hits the skids along with the ever faithful Panama until Hally threatens Jean and Lloyd and.............
Cagney as usual dominates the picture. He is his usual cocky Irish tough guy but with character flaws. His love for Jean ultimately is what destroys him. Lane contributes a couple of classic songs (in her own voice) as Jean. Bogart as the thoroughly evil Hally gives us a preview of the Bogart tough guy image to come in the 40s. Gladys George almost steals the picture from Cagney as the tragic Panama and McHugh is sympathetic as Danny.
Oddly enough, for a gangster picture, there are no major characters in respect of crusading cops or district attorneys. All of the action is between the gangsters.
Cagney would not appear in another gangster film for ten years until "White Heat" (1949).
A Chronicle of the causes and effects of National Prohibition of Alcoholic Beverages following World War I. "National Temperance" becomes parent of Organized Crime.
redryan644 January 2008
We may just be able to chalk it all up to "Nostalgia", but there's no denying that the Gangster Era, Prohibition, Speak Easies and Thompson Sub-Machine guns all seem to have a place in the hearts of most Americans. Libraries and Book Stores, be they one of those big chain shops or a small, independent Out offprint dealer, all prosper if they have an ample sized shelf of those Crime related volumes on hand.
So too it is with the motion picture with the Gangsters always seems to "pack 'em in." Down through the years we've seen an evolution of the Gangster Genre; with the changes in both storyline and stark "realism" all coming along in direct corresponding degrees to the changes of the mores of the times. Hence we would see many different attitudes portrayed in LITTLE CEASAR with Edward G. Robinson (Warner Bros., 1931), THE PUBLIC ENEMY starring James Cagney (Warners, 1931) and Paul Muni in SCARFACE (Caddo Co./United Artists. 1932) than we would see represented in AL CAPONE with Rod Steiger (Allied Artists, 1959), THE BROTHERHOOD starring Kirk Douglas (Brotherhood Co./Paramount Pictures, 1968), Robert Mitchum in THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE (Paramount Pictures, 1973), just to name a few.
When the great gangster pics are discussed and disgusted, it seems that Director Raoul Walsh's THE ROARING TWENTIES (Warner Brothers, 1939) seems to get the also ran treatment of a "B" Picture or something. It is a rap that is undeserved and should have a "Mass Media Pardon"from any such a shoddy reputation.
We watched it last night on Turner Classic Movies and got the pleasure of having the "kids" over, who were never exposed to it before. As for the wife and meself, it had been such a long time that it was almost like a brand new experience. The fact that TCM, like so many Cable/Satellite channels shows a picture start to finish, no commercials or interruptions whatsoever. And that alone proves to be most helpful in screening a picture.
It wasn't so long ago that the best we could do was to see a movie like this on the nightly movie. That meant our tolerating umpteen commercial breaks and many a film sans some of its footage, left out in order to fit the movie into a particular time slot and still being able to get in all those "Messages of Interest and Importance." We recall that our local Channel, WGN TV had presented THE ROARING 20's by starting the story with Cagney and Frank McHugh's ride out to Mineola, Long Island, New York to visit the young girl who corresponded during the World War, Jean Shepherd (Priscilla Lane). This meant that the scenes of battle in the trenches with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Jeffrey Lynn and their nasty Sergeant, Joe Sawyer were never seen, that night. Bogie doesn't appear until about the halfway point. The conversations between the men made no sense without having benefit of seeing the prior encounters.
And now, it's Time for our Feature Review! OUR STORY ..THE ROARING TWENTIES is the film principally written by New York Broadway Columnist, Mark Hellinger. Like so many successful writers of great fiction, he took real people and situations and adapted them to a story, with fictitious names and made up places in New York City. Mr. Hellinger was well known as a writer about crime and was fascinated with those Damon Runyonesque Con Men, Hoods, High and Low ranking Gangsters, Hangers-on and Wannabees. He was also an incurable apologist for The Great White Way, Bagdad on the Trolley, the Big Apple, etc.
The story is one of real significance to countless thousands of our "Doughboys" of the American Expeditionary Force (or A.E.F.) to war weary Europe in 1917-18. You see, this was to be "a War to end all Wars", or a "War to make the World safe for Democracy." Those who survived combat in the trenches returned home to a short lived Hero's Welcome only to find out that the Country had voted itself dry in their absence. A popular song of the times asked, "How you gonna keep 'em down on the Farm now that they've seen Paris? (Pronounced Pair-ee!).
Lost jobs, an almost universal contempt for Prohibition and the general let down over the Wars failed mission ushered in "the Jazz Age", Flappers, Hip Flasks, Speak Easies and "Bath Tub Gin." The otherwise Law Abiding were corrupted with a giant case of "When in Rome " or "Everybody's doing it" logic. As time passed, what had started out as a seemingly harmless participation in a highly unpopular, unfair and even Un-Constitutional Prohibition Law in the Volstead Act, became an Urban Civil War over sales and control of Booze in the various designated territories.
Some fortunes were made and some were lost as the decade came to nearing its end with the Great Stock Market Crash, on "Black Tuesday", October 29, 1929. The trumpeting herald had sounded as the signal of the beginning of some years of Economic Hardship of the Grerat Depression.
Mr. Hellinger's characters vividly portray the convulsions that the Country faced. Those, who once again were based on real life Bootleggers, Rum Runners, etc. were handily portrayed by the Warner Brothers stock company of players headed up by Mr. Cagney, Bogie, Jeffrey Lynn, Priscilla Lane, Gladys George, Frank McHugh, Elizabeth Risdon, Joe Sawyer, Dick Wessel, Ben Welden, Paul Kelly, John Hamilton, Abner Biberman and a cast of thousands! Mark Hellinger's story served as a fictionalized kaleidoscope of the bizarre events of American History during a 13 year period of time sandwiched into those years between the two great World Wars. By way of the drama, Hellinger tries his best to offer us perhaps not any excuses for the bad behaviour, but rather the reasons.
So too it is with the motion picture with the Gangsters always seems to "pack 'em in." Down through the years we've seen an evolution of the Gangster Genre; with the changes in both storyline and stark "realism" all coming along in direct corresponding degrees to the changes of the mores of the times. Hence we would see many different attitudes portrayed in LITTLE CEASAR with Edward G. Robinson (Warner Bros., 1931), THE PUBLIC ENEMY starring James Cagney (Warners, 1931) and Paul Muni in SCARFACE (Caddo Co./United Artists. 1932) than we would see represented in AL CAPONE with Rod Steiger (Allied Artists, 1959), THE BROTHERHOOD starring Kirk Douglas (Brotherhood Co./Paramount Pictures, 1968), Robert Mitchum in THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE (Paramount Pictures, 1973), just to name a few.
When the great gangster pics are discussed and disgusted, it seems that Director Raoul Walsh's THE ROARING TWENTIES (Warner Brothers, 1939) seems to get the also ran treatment of a "B" Picture or something. It is a rap that is undeserved and should have a "Mass Media Pardon"from any such a shoddy reputation.
We watched it last night on Turner Classic Movies and got the pleasure of having the "kids" over, who were never exposed to it before. As for the wife and meself, it had been such a long time that it was almost like a brand new experience. The fact that TCM, like so many Cable/Satellite channels shows a picture start to finish, no commercials or interruptions whatsoever. And that alone proves to be most helpful in screening a picture.
It wasn't so long ago that the best we could do was to see a movie like this on the nightly movie. That meant our tolerating umpteen commercial breaks and many a film sans some of its footage, left out in order to fit the movie into a particular time slot and still being able to get in all those "Messages of Interest and Importance." We recall that our local Channel, WGN TV had presented THE ROARING 20's by starting the story with Cagney and Frank McHugh's ride out to Mineola, Long Island, New York to visit the young girl who corresponded during the World War, Jean Shepherd (Priscilla Lane). This meant that the scenes of battle in the trenches with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Jeffrey Lynn and their nasty Sergeant, Joe Sawyer were never seen, that night. Bogie doesn't appear until about the halfway point. The conversations between the men made no sense without having benefit of seeing the prior encounters.
And now, it's Time for our Feature Review! OUR STORY ..THE ROARING TWENTIES is the film principally written by New York Broadway Columnist, Mark Hellinger. Like so many successful writers of great fiction, he took real people and situations and adapted them to a story, with fictitious names and made up places in New York City. Mr. Hellinger was well known as a writer about crime and was fascinated with those Damon Runyonesque Con Men, Hoods, High and Low ranking Gangsters, Hangers-on and Wannabees. He was also an incurable apologist for The Great White Way, Bagdad on the Trolley, the Big Apple, etc.
The story is one of real significance to countless thousands of our "Doughboys" of the American Expeditionary Force (or A.E.F.) to war weary Europe in 1917-18. You see, this was to be "a War to end all Wars", or a "War to make the World safe for Democracy." Those who survived combat in the trenches returned home to a short lived Hero's Welcome only to find out that the Country had voted itself dry in their absence. A popular song of the times asked, "How you gonna keep 'em down on the Farm now that they've seen Paris? (Pronounced Pair-ee!).
Lost jobs, an almost universal contempt for Prohibition and the general let down over the Wars failed mission ushered in "the Jazz Age", Flappers, Hip Flasks, Speak Easies and "Bath Tub Gin." The otherwise Law Abiding were corrupted with a giant case of "When in Rome " or "Everybody's doing it" logic. As time passed, what had started out as a seemingly harmless participation in a highly unpopular, unfair and even Un-Constitutional Prohibition Law in the Volstead Act, became an Urban Civil War over sales and control of Booze in the various designated territories.
Some fortunes were made and some were lost as the decade came to nearing its end with the Great Stock Market Crash, on "Black Tuesday", October 29, 1929. The trumpeting herald had sounded as the signal of the beginning of some years of Economic Hardship of the Grerat Depression.
Mr. Hellinger's characters vividly portray the convulsions that the Country faced. Those, who once again were based on real life Bootleggers, Rum Runners, etc. were handily portrayed by the Warner Brothers stock company of players headed up by Mr. Cagney, Bogie, Jeffrey Lynn, Priscilla Lane, Gladys George, Frank McHugh, Elizabeth Risdon, Joe Sawyer, Dick Wessel, Ben Welden, Paul Kelly, John Hamilton, Abner Biberman and a cast of thousands! Mark Hellinger's story served as a fictionalized kaleidoscope of the bizarre events of American History during a 13 year period of time sandwiched into those years between the two great World Wars. By way of the drama, Hellinger tries his best to offer us perhaps not any excuses for the bad behaviour, but rather the reasons.
Magnificent Dramatic Story of Crime and Romance, Supported by Historic Events and Wonderful Songs
claudio_carvalho3 October 2006
Warning: Spoilers
In 1919, in the end of the World War I, the G.I. Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney) meets George Hally (Humphrey Bogart) and the student of Law School Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn) in a trench and sooner the war ends. Back in USA, Eddie is not able to find a job and is sustained by his great friend Danny Green (Frank McHugh), who offers Eddie to share his cab and make some money working as cab driver. Eddie decides to visit Jean Sherman (Priscilla Lane), who had corresponded with him during the war and is crazy about him, and for his surprise, she is a teenager. In 1920, with the 18th Amendment, the Volstead Act is in force, beginning the period of the unpopular Prohibition. Eddie accidentally meets the owner of a speakeasy Panama Smith (Gladys George), they become close friends and she introduces him in bootlegging of liquor. Eddie becomes rich, meets Jean Sherman again and falls for her. He also raises a profitable partnership with George and Lloyd is hired as his lawyer. In 1924, bootlegging has a grown from individual effort to a big business associated with corruption, violence and murder, and the light machine-gun Tommy becomes an important tool in this business. Lloyd and Jean fall in love for each other, and Eddie has a great deception. Later, on 19 October 1929 with the Black Tuesday, Eddie looses all his fortune, and when the Prohibition falls after thirteen years in force, he returns to the activity of cab driver. On the Christmas Eve, when he meets Jean again as a client of his cab, his life is leaded to a tragic end.
"The Roaring Twenties" is certainly the best gangster movies I have seen together with "Once Upon a Time in America". I have just included this stunning movie in my list of favorite films ever. It is impressive the capacity of the screenplay writers and director Raoul Walsh in developing a complex and magnificent dramatic story of crime and romance, supported by historic events and wonderful songs, in 104 minutes running time only. The cast, with James Cagney, the lovely Priscilla Lane, Gladys George and Humphrey Bogart among others, seems to be in state of grace with perfect interpretations, particularly Priscilla Lane, singing magnificent classic songs with a wonderful voice. My vote is ten.
Title (Brazil): "Heróis Esquecidos" ("Forgotten Heroes")
"The Roaring Twenties" is certainly the best gangster movies I have seen together with "Once Upon a Time in America". I have just included this stunning movie in my list of favorite films ever. It is impressive the capacity of the screenplay writers and director Raoul Walsh in developing a complex and magnificent dramatic story of crime and romance, supported by historic events and wonderful songs, in 104 minutes running time only. The cast, with James Cagney, the lovely Priscilla Lane, Gladys George and Humphrey Bogart among others, seems to be in state of grace with perfect interpretations, particularly Priscilla Lane, singing magnificent classic songs with a wonderful voice. My vote is ten.
Title (Brazil): "Heróis Esquecidos" ("Forgotten Heroes")
"To touch every man, woman and child"
Steffi_P17 October 2010
The cycle of gangster movies made at Warner Brothers in the 1930s, regardless of who was in them, who directed them or how their stories panned out, all had one thing in common. They came at their audiences at breakneck pace. While their ostensible aim was to condemn violence and lawlessness, their real agenda was one of thrills, danger and nonstop action.
The odd thing about The Roaring Twenties, is that there is not really a lot of action or typical gangster business in it, at least not at the beginning. Bootlegging is seen as a relatively tame activity, and criminality as something any reasonable person could slide into. There aren't even any scenes of gangland violence until 55 minutes in. However it still has that typical crime drama speed and punch. A lot of the impact comes from the regular background-info montages, a staple at Warner Brothers but rarely done better. Most of the shots are close-ups and almost all of them feature some sharp movement, like a kind of visual roller-coaster ride. A lot of thought has gone into how each shot will fit with the next. During the montage showing the effects of prohibition, we get one shot of a car crashing straight towards the camera, followed by a quick dolly in on a row of bottles, giving a dizzying push-pull effect.
Director Raoul Walsh also gives a racy feel to even the more straightforward scenes. He gets the actors constantly moving as they talk, and the camera stays tight on the action, constantly back- and- forth with the players. The first half hour is like a whistle-stop tour as we are buffeted from one scene to the next, and the dialogue is snapped out like gunfire, making up for the lack of real shooting. Even in the relatively sedate scenes towards the middle, where Cagney gets together with Priscilla Lane, Walsh still keeps a sense of nervous edginess with extras milling about in the background, with only one or two genuinely tranquil moments here and there to highlight something of importance or emotional intensity.
The Warner Brothers style had its ideal star in James Cagney, and here he is the usual bundle of shrugs, twitches and cracking delivery, albeit far from his best performance. He simply slots into the general pattern of punches and wisecracks, rather than commanding the screen as he did in Angels with Dirty Faces. His love interest Priscilla Lane makes a disappointingly dull leading lady, although she does have a lot of charm and character when singing. However the best turn of The Roaring Twenties is by alternate female lead Gladys George, billed lower but with comparable screen time and oodles more screen presence. George is the perfect moll, full of vibrant personality, and yet behind her eyes you can see the great weight of sadness. Her Panama Smith is the only truly real-looking character in this drama.
And this emotional strand brought in by the Gladys George character is important to The Roaring Twenties. While every gangster movie of the time finished up with the hero's ignoble demise, perhaps none before it had such a feeling of tragedy and nostalgia. It's no coincidence that the movie's signature tune is "Come to me, my melancholy baby", for this is the most poignant of all the Warner's gangster flicks. And yet this aspect is still underdeveloped, because this is still at its roots a standard genre movie, an uncomplicated action package. It's actually shame that in those days a picture like this had to be a certain kind of thing, because with a little more reflection and credibility The Roaring Twenties could have been a truly moving experience.
The odd thing about The Roaring Twenties, is that there is not really a lot of action or typical gangster business in it, at least not at the beginning. Bootlegging is seen as a relatively tame activity, and criminality as something any reasonable person could slide into. There aren't even any scenes of gangland violence until 55 minutes in. However it still has that typical crime drama speed and punch. A lot of the impact comes from the regular background-info montages, a staple at Warner Brothers but rarely done better. Most of the shots are close-ups and almost all of them feature some sharp movement, like a kind of visual roller-coaster ride. A lot of thought has gone into how each shot will fit with the next. During the montage showing the effects of prohibition, we get one shot of a car crashing straight towards the camera, followed by a quick dolly in on a row of bottles, giving a dizzying push-pull effect.
Director Raoul Walsh also gives a racy feel to even the more straightforward scenes. He gets the actors constantly moving as they talk, and the camera stays tight on the action, constantly back- and- forth with the players. The first half hour is like a whistle-stop tour as we are buffeted from one scene to the next, and the dialogue is snapped out like gunfire, making up for the lack of real shooting. Even in the relatively sedate scenes towards the middle, where Cagney gets together with Priscilla Lane, Walsh still keeps a sense of nervous edginess with extras milling about in the background, with only one or two genuinely tranquil moments here and there to highlight something of importance or emotional intensity.
The Warner Brothers style had its ideal star in James Cagney, and here he is the usual bundle of shrugs, twitches and cracking delivery, albeit far from his best performance. He simply slots into the general pattern of punches and wisecracks, rather than commanding the screen as he did in Angels with Dirty Faces. His love interest Priscilla Lane makes a disappointingly dull leading lady, although she does have a lot of charm and character when singing. However the best turn of The Roaring Twenties is by alternate female lead Gladys George, billed lower but with comparable screen time and oodles more screen presence. George is the perfect moll, full of vibrant personality, and yet behind her eyes you can see the great weight of sadness. Her Panama Smith is the only truly real-looking character in this drama.
And this emotional strand brought in by the Gladys George character is important to The Roaring Twenties. While every gangster movie of the time finished up with the hero's ignoble demise, perhaps none before it had such a feeling of tragedy and nostalgia. It's no coincidence that the movie's signature tune is "Come to me, my melancholy baby", for this is the most poignant of all the Warner's gangster flicks. And yet this aspect is still underdeveloped, because this is still at its roots a standard genre movie, an uncomplicated action package. It's actually shame that in those days a picture like this had to be a certain kind of thing, because with a little more reflection and credibility The Roaring Twenties could have been a truly moving experience.
Nostalgia that roars
TheLittleSongbird17 July 2020
1939 was such a classic, milestone year for film cinema. So many great films, 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'Gone With the Wind' even being masterpieces. 'The Roaring Twenties' had a lot of talent involved, James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart both had career full of great and more performances and Raoul Walsh (in a different film for him at this stage of his career) sure could direct. Also like the genre 'The Roaring Twenties' fits under.
'The Roaring Twenties' did not disappoint. While it is quite rightly highly regarded today, considered by quite a number of people a genre classic and great representations of both Cagney and Bogart, it is a shame that it was over-shadowed by a lot of other films that year and doesn't get as much attention. 'The Roaring Twenties' may not quite be a film milestone in the way that the best films from such a great year are, but it is a great film in my view and deserves the high praise it gets.
It is not quite perfect, with it being a bit of a slow starter and a film that didn't grab my attention straightaway.
Luckily, 'The Roaring Twenties' got going very quickly. And when it did get going, boy did it blister. The photography is atmospheric and very stylish, the noir-ish lighting also adding to the impact. Was amazed at how evocative the Prohibition setting was. The music is appropriately moody without getting bombastic or syrupy and Walsh's direction is remarkably skillful in how vividly the deceptively gleaming yet very ominous at times setting is portrayed. As well in generating suspense.
Something that 'The Roaring Twenties' does incredibly well in. The script has a sharp wit and tight tautness, with some quite hard to forget quotes. Cagney's last line, one of his greatest, really stands out, the very last line of the whole film likewise. Also really loved the hard boiled edge exchanges of dialogue between Eddie and George, delivering on the entertainment value too. The story is both entertaining and suspenseful, especially in the exciting final third. Cagney's exit is one of his greatest.
Characters are well written, personally found George and especially Eddie (very meaty) very well defined. The acting is just right, Cagney is just terrific in a role that is so perfect for him and one that he played extremely well and better than most in that type of role. Bogart has great laconic intensity and steel, giving one of his best pre-'Casablanca' performances.
Altogether, great. 9/10
'The Roaring Twenties' did not disappoint. While it is quite rightly highly regarded today, considered by quite a number of people a genre classic and great representations of both Cagney and Bogart, it is a shame that it was over-shadowed by a lot of other films that year and doesn't get as much attention. 'The Roaring Twenties' may not quite be a film milestone in the way that the best films from such a great year are, but it is a great film in my view and deserves the high praise it gets.
It is not quite perfect, with it being a bit of a slow starter and a film that didn't grab my attention straightaway.
Luckily, 'The Roaring Twenties' got going very quickly. And when it did get going, boy did it blister. The photography is atmospheric and very stylish, the noir-ish lighting also adding to the impact. Was amazed at how evocative the Prohibition setting was. The music is appropriately moody without getting bombastic or syrupy and Walsh's direction is remarkably skillful in how vividly the deceptively gleaming yet very ominous at times setting is portrayed. As well in generating suspense.
Something that 'The Roaring Twenties' does incredibly well in. The script has a sharp wit and tight tautness, with some quite hard to forget quotes. Cagney's last line, one of his greatest, really stands out, the very last line of the whole film likewise. Also really loved the hard boiled edge exchanges of dialogue between Eddie and George, delivering on the entertainment value too. The story is both entertaining and suspenseful, especially in the exciting final third. Cagney's exit is one of his greatest.
Characters are well written, personally found George and especially Eddie (very meaty) very well defined. The acting is just right, Cagney is just terrific in a role that is so perfect for him and one that he played extremely well and better than most in that type of role. Bogart has great laconic intensity and steel, giving one of his best pre-'Casablanca' performances.
Altogether, great. 9/10
Good Warner's Gangster Movie.
rmax30482329 May 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This was directed by Raoul Walsh and included many of the Warner Brothers stalwarts. You'll recognize many familiar faces if you're an aficionado of the genre. Rip-roaring, no-nonsense stuff, it's basically organized around three stories: (1) Cagney's rise from unemployed ex-soldier to the top of the bootlegger heap and back again; (2) the love quadrangle involving Cagney, Gladys George as the soft-hearted blowzy Panama Smith, Priscilla Lane as the "good girl", and Jeffrey Lynn as the lawyer; and (3) the friendship of Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and Jeffrey Lynn in the trenches, turning into a wary partnership, the eventual defection of Lynn, the ruination of Cagney, and the death by natural causes (three bullets) of treacherous, greedy, petty Bogart. According to Mark Hellinger's story, the end of prohibition by Franklin Delano Roosevelt put an end to the gangsters. Zealous moralists, take note. The answer CAN be found in the bottom of a glass.
As far as the movie is concerned, there's nothing much not to like. You may have seen it before, sections of it, in one guise or another. Citizen Kane boosted his girl friend's opera career, didn't he? And as a matter of fact Cagney himself boosted Ruth Etting (Doris Day) in "Love Me or Leave Me." And this was far from the first shootout Cagney had with treacherous ex-colleagues -- or the last, for that matter. But they're all stitched neatly together here. It should be seen if for no other reason than that it's an almost perfect exemplar of Warner's 1930s gangster movies. And it has a famous last line too -- "He used to be a big shot," says Panama Smith over Cagney's corpse. Granted, it's not, "Good-night, sweet prince, flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." It's a classic line only because Walsh's direction and Gladys George's reading make it so.
I rather enjoyed it. There is Priscilla Lane's plain vanilla ice-cream beauty, Bogart's horrifying overacting when he's shot, Gladys George's softly knowing brittleness, Jeffrey Lynn's unimaginative, bourgeois impulses, and above all, James Cagney's acting. He's pretty good. And good at whatever emotional state he's projecting, from doomed resignation to cocky superiority. And he's outstanding after he falls from grace and winds up a seedy bum, haunting saloons and living in hovels that offer rooms for 15 cents a night. He realizes that his time has run out just as he's leaving Flannagan's Saloon, drunk, and for some reason he pauses at the piano on his way out, stares down at a half-empty glass of beer, and smiles to himself, both with sadness and relief. The shot is held for a while too. And it's not strictly functional -- a small but masterly gloss on Cagney's character development.
Well worth seeing.
As far as the movie is concerned, there's nothing much not to like. You may have seen it before, sections of it, in one guise or another. Citizen Kane boosted his girl friend's opera career, didn't he? And as a matter of fact Cagney himself boosted Ruth Etting (Doris Day) in "Love Me or Leave Me." And this was far from the first shootout Cagney had with treacherous ex-colleagues -- or the last, for that matter. But they're all stitched neatly together here. It should be seen if for no other reason than that it's an almost perfect exemplar of Warner's 1930s gangster movies. And it has a famous last line too -- "He used to be a big shot," says Panama Smith over Cagney's corpse. Granted, it's not, "Good-night, sweet prince, flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." It's a classic line only because Walsh's direction and Gladys George's reading make it so.
I rather enjoyed it. There is Priscilla Lane's plain vanilla ice-cream beauty, Bogart's horrifying overacting when he's shot, Gladys George's softly knowing brittleness, Jeffrey Lynn's unimaginative, bourgeois impulses, and above all, James Cagney's acting. He's pretty good. And good at whatever emotional state he's projecting, from doomed resignation to cocky superiority. And he's outstanding after he falls from grace and winds up a seedy bum, haunting saloons and living in hovels that offer rooms for 15 cents a night. He realizes that his time has run out just as he's leaving Flannagan's Saloon, drunk, and for some reason he pauses at the piano on his way out, stares down at a half-empty glass of beer, and smiles to himself, both with sadness and relief. The shot is held for a while too. And it's not strictly functional -- a small but masterly gloss on Cagney's character development.
Well worth seeing.
Roaring
Casablanca378427 July 2003
I got a kick out of this flick having seen in on TCM. In fact I get a kick out of all TCM movies because there are no commercials so whether you like or dislike Ted Turner, I gotta thank the man for giving us that channel and that format. It's just like sitting in the Bijou after buying a ticket for a quarter and a box of popcorn for a dime. Those were the days. When we hear the names Cagney and Bogart,what's taken for granted? Both were legends. Hollywood immortals whom as long as film is preserved, will never really be dead and "The Roaring Twenties" showcased the dynamic duo to the Nth degree. Bogie did not get top billing as did Jimmy however shining throughout that entire movie was unmistakable greatness yet to come from the guy with the impressive speech impediment. His villainous,conniving rotten gangster disposition was there to exploit in how many more films with him? And Cagney too was contemptible but in a nicer way-if indeed that makes any sense whatsoever. I guess I mean to write that if Cagney would shoot someone, he'd first apologize and then perhaps pay for the funeral.But when Bogie shot, his followup would be two or three more right to the gut. Regarding the story line of the film, it's quite straightfoward. Bogie and Cagney meet as Doughboys in France in W.W.I. The war ends, a few years later the Volstead Act becomes law which gives birth to bootlegging, rival murder etc. Jimmy, who's nuts about a gal who sings and is just out of high school is warned by his pal in booze,Bogie,that the gal is two-timing him for their lawyer and so forth and so on. A one time rock solid friendship between Cagney and Bogart disintegrate and why go on? See the film. It's classic gangster stuff and highly enjoyable.
"In this business, you shouldn't worry about your old age"
ackstasis28 November 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Gangster films were all the rage in the 1930s, and 'The Roaring Twenties (1939)' is another excellent Warner Brothers addition. Jimmy Cagney stars as Eddie Bartlett, a WWI soldier who returns home to America to find himself without a job. When Prohibition kicks in, he earns cash by delivering illegal liquor, and soon builds a corrupt underground empire that gives him wealth and power, but not happiness. Bartlett ignites a partnership, and then rivalry, with George Hally (the one-and-only Humphrey Bogart), a hardened, sneering, ruthless criminal with trigger- happy fingers. I recall watching 'Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)' purely for Bogart, and being surprised that Cagney's personality completely dominated him. Here, just a year later, the tables have turned. In this film, Bogart is a veritable force, a shrewd and merciless thug worthy of the great gangster villains. Cagney's performance is good, but perhaps lacking the intensity of earlier his earlier gangster roles.
A common element of most 1930s gangster films was a sympathetic protagonist. Despite being effectively condemned to death by the Production Code, these characters were usually forced towards a life of crime by unfortunate circumstances – in this case, WWI robs Bartlett of his livelihood, and Prohibition provides a means of survival. This plot device, circumstances pushing characters towards a fateful tragedy, proved a precursor to the film noir mould, in which justice is inevitable. Present here is also the interesting approach of mirroring similar characters on either side of the moral coin. In 'Angels with Dirty Faces,' Cagney's character became a gangster, and Pat O'Brien became a priest. In 'Manhattan Melodrama (1934),' William Powell's conflicted District Attorney must prosecute his boyhood friend, played by Clarke Gable. In 'The Roaring Twenties,' Jeffrey Lynn's honest lawyer (if such an oxymoron is to be considered possible) serves as a counterpoint to the film's otherwise shady characters, the only man wholesome enough for the bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked leading lady (Priscilla Lane).
A common element of most 1930s gangster films was a sympathetic protagonist. Despite being effectively condemned to death by the Production Code, these characters were usually forced towards a life of crime by unfortunate circumstances – in this case, WWI robs Bartlett of his livelihood, and Prohibition provides a means of survival. This plot device, circumstances pushing characters towards a fateful tragedy, proved a precursor to the film noir mould, in which justice is inevitable. Present here is also the interesting approach of mirroring similar characters on either side of the moral coin. In 'Angels with Dirty Faces,' Cagney's character became a gangster, and Pat O'Brien became a priest. In 'Manhattan Melodrama (1934),' William Powell's conflicted District Attorney must prosecute his boyhood friend, played by Clarke Gable. In 'The Roaring Twenties,' Jeffrey Lynn's honest lawyer (if such an oxymoron is to be considered possible) serves as a counterpoint to the film's otherwise shady characters, the only man wholesome enough for the bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked leading lady (Priscilla Lane).
Spaghetti with extra cheese
jacabiya12 October 2014
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.
Newspaper memory
chaos-rampant11 September 2013
Sometimes I come to a film because it looks like it can directly fulfill, sometimes because it can provide precious background to other things that matter, letting them stand.
It's watchable in itself, this one; a misfit's rise and fall played against the passing of times. Released on the cusp of WWII, it opened a portal back to more careless times, taking us on a journey from WWI trenches through the highs of Prohibition to the lows of Depression, so we could have this clear moral stance: in the new world there's no room for scoundrels. Right.
Interesting here is that only a year or two before Citizen Kane we have a similar saga about the passing of the times, but one that asks no fundamental question of us, casts no doubt on its testimony. It's as lurid and constructed as newspaper headlines of the time, a main contrast in Welles' film about its world-creating newspaperman. It's machinegun history written in the staccato sounds of a newspaperman's typewriter.
What I really wanted to see though was Cagney.
I am in the middle of a film noir quest looking for its machinery, and as an aside I was brought to explore its roots in 1930's crime stuff. Cagney is a force in this niche. He had so much energy that he could turn into presence. He is not just amused, he doesn't coast on pushing things back like Bogart; he throws himself on the encounter, bitterly cutting himself on the edges.
Not so here. He was asked to play a basically decent guy led astray by the prospect of easy money, meaning to reflect the broader American endeavor that ended on Black Tuesday. Usually in a Cagney film he lets loose in the end. They asked of him here the precise opposite; he sleepwalks, numbed by failure, a human ruin clawing at redemption. He looks like he gives it his all, but it's just not who he is. It's as if you asked Welles to strut like Wayne.
If you want to see Cagney in top form, look him up in Footlight Parade fully in command of a show, White Heat to see him face real demons.
It's watchable in itself, this one; a misfit's rise and fall played against the passing of times. Released on the cusp of WWII, it opened a portal back to more careless times, taking us on a journey from WWI trenches through the highs of Prohibition to the lows of Depression, so we could have this clear moral stance: in the new world there's no room for scoundrels. Right.
Interesting here is that only a year or two before Citizen Kane we have a similar saga about the passing of the times, but one that asks no fundamental question of us, casts no doubt on its testimony. It's as lurid and constructed as newspaper headlines of the time, a main contrast in Welles' film about its world-creating newspaperman. It's machinegun history written in the staccato sounds of a newspaperman's typewriter.
What I really wanted to see though was Cagney.
I am in the middle of a film noir quest looking for its machinery, and as an aside I was brought to explore its roots in 1930's crime stuff. Cagney is a force in this niche. He had so much energy that he could turn into presence. He is not just amused, he doesn't coast on pushing things back like Bogart; he throws himself on the encounter, bitterly cutting himself on the edges.
Not so here. He was asked to play a basically decent guy led astray by the prospect of easy money, meaning to reflect the broader American endeavor that ended on Black Tuesday. Usually in a Cagney film he lets loose in the end. They asked of him here the precise opposite; he sleepwalks, numbed by failure, a human ruin clawing at redemption. He looks like he gives it his all, but it's just not who he is. It's as if you asked Welles to strut like Wayne.
If you want to see Cagney in top form, look him up in Footlight Parade fully in command of a show, White Heat to see him face real demons.
Interesting Foursome
ccthemovieman-114 November 2005
Two of the most famous actors of their day - James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart - are featured here, along with two very interesting women (Priscilla Lane and Gladys George). That foursome would be fun to join anywhere.
Lane is the wholesome pretty girl and George is the tough female bar owner. The latter may not look as good but she delivers the best film noir lines in the movie near the end.
In addition, Jefferey Lynn is good as the clean-cut, nice-guy attorney and Frank McHugh draws laughs as Cagney's buddy (as in real life). Paul Kelly is convincing as a hood.
With this cast, you know you are going to get a well-acted movie. It moves at a good pace, too, with few lulls. The gangster language of the period was fun to hear.
The first time I saw this film I was disappointed. Maybe I expected too much. On the second viewing, I throughly enjoyed it. Having a great DVD transfer on the second viewing didn't hurt, either. It's a nice sharp picture.
Lane is the wholesome pretty girl and George is the tough female bar owner. The latter may not look as good but she delivers the best film noir lines in the movie near the end.
In addition, Jefferey Lynn is good as the clean-cut, nice-guy attorney and Frank McHugh draws laughs as Cagney's buddy (as in real life). Paul Kelly is convincing as a hood.
With this cast, you know you are going to get a well-acted movie. It moves at a good pace, too, with few lulls. The gangster language of the period was fun to hear.
The first time I saw this film I was disappointed. Maybe I expected too much. On the second viewing, I throughly enjoyed it. Having a great DVD transfer on the second viewing didn't hurt, either. It's a nice sharp picture.
The final gangster film goes out with a sonic blast!
alexanderdavies-9938228 August 2017
Gangster films had run their course in Hollywood by the end of the 1930s. Not long after, the sub genre of the "Film Noir" would dominate the 1940s. From "Warner Bros," "The Roaring Twenties" is one of the best films from 1939. It has Cagney and Bogart together, some catchy tunes, very good action scenes, great direction and the dialogue is just right. James Cagney plays a veteran of the First World War who struggles to secure himself a job after returning home from Europe. By a sheer accident, he becomes innocently involved in bootlegging after prohibition is in place. He soon assembles an entire empire before the stock market crash takes effect. Cagney was at the peak of his popularity and had much more of a say in his choice of films at "Warner Bros." Bogart was still struggling to find stardom but his hard efforts were about to pay off and rather unexpectedly. As Eddie Bartlett, Cagney doesn't deliberately turn to a life of crime by becoming a gangster or a hoodlum, he just wanted to survive after he couldn't find a job. As a person, Eddie is rather likable and certainly more of a human being than Bogart. Gladys George does very well as the dame who gets Cagney involved with bootlegging in the first place. When times are lean for him, she sticks by him always. Frank McHugh is a welcome addition to the cast and I felt a bit sorry for him when fate came beckoning for him. I shall always enjoy this classic.
The final Cagney/Bogart pairing...
AlsExGal6 January 2024
... before Bogart's star really begins to rise in the 1940's though not at Cagney's expense, but instead at George Raft's. But I digress.
The Roaring Twenties traces about 20 years of American history, from 1917 to the mid 1930s, starting with three men in a fox hole in France in WWI - Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney), George Hally (Humphrey Bogart), and Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn). You get to know their basic character here. Lloyd doesn't want to shoot a German soldier because he's just a kid of about 15. George shoots him instead and seems to enjoy it. Immediately afterwards the war ends. No thought or mention of the 15 year old who just bought it seconds before the war ended. As for Eddie - He is pragmatic. He doesn't enjoy violence but realizes it is sometimes necessary.
Back in America, Eddie can't catch a break and find a job. His old job was given to somebody else, so he drives his friend's (Frank McHugh as Danny) cab when Danny is off duty in order to make ends meet. One day, after Prohibition begins, Eddie delivers a package for a fare and ends up getting caught for violating the Volstead act - the package has liquor in it. The woman who would have gone to jail, saloon keeper Panama (Gladys George) pays Eddie's fine and brings him into the liquor business with her. Eddie can be tough, but he hasn't had to use gunplay until he decides to expand and bring his old war buddy George into the business. George, the guy who enjoys killing, gets Eddie in deeper as far as the violence goes, and George's slimy little weasel ways are Eddie's ultimate undoing.
So Cagney's character is the tough guy with which you can sympathize - he didn't start out a criminal but was rejected by the country he served and the woman he loved, Bogart is the evil guy who is at least smart enough to not play the stock market in 1929, and Gladys George is the tough "broad" who loves Cagney's Eddie but realizes it will never be mutual. Surrounding all of this is a great score with that brassy Warner Brothers orchestra front and center.
This is not the best of the 1930s gangster films - Those were made in the precode era when they could be more realistic. But this one has WB's best contract players and stars of the era and is a fun ride with a minimum of moralizing considering this is a production code era film.
The Roaring Twenties traces about 20 years of American history, from 1917 to the mid 1930s, starting with three men in a fox hole in France in WWI - Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney), George Hally (Humphrey Bogart), and Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn). You get to know their basic character here. Lloyd doesn't want to shoot a German soldier because he's just a kid of about 15. George shoots him instead and seems to enjoy it. Immediately afterwards the war ends. No thought or mention of the 15 year old who just bought it seconds before the war ended. As for Eddie - He is pragmatic. He doesn't enjoy violence but realizes it is sometimes necessary.
Back in America, Eddie can't catch a break and find a job. His old job was given to somebody else, so he drives his friend's (Frank McHugh as Danny) cab when Danny is off duty in order to make ends meet. One day, after Prohibition begins, Eddie delivers a package for a fare and ends up getting caught for violating the Volstead act - the package has liquor in it. The woman who would have gone to jail, saloon keeper Panama (Gladys George) pays Eddie's fine and brings him into the liquor business with her. Eddie can be tough, but he hasn't had to use gunplay until he decides to expand and bring his old war buddy George into the business. George, the guy who enjoys killing, gets Eddie in deeper as far as the violence goes, and George's slimy little weasel ways are Eddie's ultimate undoing.
So Cagney's character is the tough guy with which you can sympathize - he didn't start out a criminal but was rejected by the country he served and the woman he loved, Bogart is the evil guy who is at least smart enough to not play the stock market in 1929, and Gladys George is the tough "broad" who loves Cagney's Eddie but realizes it will never be mutual. Surrounding all of this is a great score with that brassy Warner Brothers orchestra front and center.
This is not the best of the 1930s gangster films - Those were made in the precode era when they could be more realistic. But this one has WB's best contract players and stars of the era and is a fun ride with a minimum of moralizing considering this is a production code era film.
Cagney on top form in this anything but routine gangster film
fisherelle25 February 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I think that Cagney gives one of his best performances here, as the fairly hapless Eddie, being defined by, while mirroring the times he lived through, from First World War to New Deal. The thing that sets his performance apart is the way we see him constantly struggling with the morality of his actions - especially in contrast to the psychopathic Bogart who has no such problems with inner struggles. We see this at the very beginning in the war scenes, we see it again in his rise up the bootlegger ranks, and his acceptance of the loss of the love of his life to his best friend. Finally, of course, we see it in his actions to protect the lives and life of those who have hurt him most. Cagney gives this fairly typical gangster character depth and pathos that make a very good film into a great one.
"Corruption! Violence! and Murder!"
moonspinner5519 December 2016
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 ****
Terrific Movie
fluffchop27 January 2022
Such a great film, great story, great acting. Great pacing. Just a pleasure to watch. It's not even dated you know, and it was made in 1939. That's the mark of a real classic movie. That you can watch it so many years later and it's still as fresh as when it was made. Definitely check this movie out.
Cagney, Bogart and Lynn after World War I...
Doylenf27 June 2008
Three World War I buddies return from the war, when two of them become bootleggers (JAMES CAGNEY, HUMPHREY BOGART). The third one, JEFFREY LYNN, is a clean-cut war buddy who becomes a lawyer.
PRISCILLA LANE does a passable job as a singer in a clip joint and gets to handle some nice oldies with a certain flair--but let's face it, she has those "American as apple pie looks" and appears out of her element in seedy surroundings. GLADYS GEORGE, as a wise-cracking joint owner of the place, is right at home in a tailor-made role.
Cagney and Bogart resort to crime during the course of their bootlegging activities, with Bogart getting especially rough with an old Army sergeant (JOE SAWYER) and showing no mercy when it comes to pulling off a crime caper with his handy gun.
Bogart gets uneasy with his pal, Cagney, and is soon planning a way to double-cross him. Priscilla Lane has fallen in love at first sight with lawyer Jeffrey Lynn. And Raoul Walsh keeps the tale spinning toward a violent climax, keeping all of the action fast-paced and giving the film a lot of colorful '20s atmosphere that gives it flavor and style.
JEFFREY LYNN gives the only wooden performance and PRISCILLA LANE is a bit too bland to play a nightclub singer despite the golden oldies she sings in low-key style. But JAMES CAGNEY elevates the film with a really gutsy performance, especially good in his final scenes with GLADYS GEORGE, when both of them are down on the skids. Their chemistry is evident from the start.
For Cagney fans, this is a must see Raoul Walsh film.
PRISCILLA LANE does a passable job as a singer in a clip joint and gets to handle some nice oldies with a certain flair--but let's face it, she has those "American as apple pie looks" and appears out of her element in seedy surroundings. GLADYS GEORGE, as a wise-cracking joint owner of the place, is right at home in a tailor-made role.
Cagney and Bogart resort to crime during the course of their bootlegging activities, with Bogart getting especially rough with an old Army sergeant (JOE SAWYER) and showing no mercy when it comes to pulling off a crime caper with his handy gun.
Bogart gets uneasy with his pal, Cagney, and is soon planning a way to double-cross him. Priscilla Lane has fallen in love at first sight with lawyer Jeffrey Lynn. And Raoul Walsh keeps the tale spinning toward a violent climax, keeping all of the action fast-paced and giving the film a lot of colorful '20s atmosphere that gives it flavor and style.
JEFFREY LYNN gives the only wooden performance and PRISCILLA LANE is a bit too bland to play a nightclub singer despite the golden oldies she sings in low-key style. But JAMES CAGNEY elevates the film with a really gutsy performance, especially good in his final scenes with GLADYS GEORGE, when both of them are down on the skids. Their chemistry is evident from the start.
For Cagney fans, this is a must see Raoul Walsh film.
Lovely time capsule
suchenwi7 July 2007
"Roaring Twenties" is a very good piece. I have nothing to add to the comments posted so far. Except... I'd like to point out the "Warner Night at the Movies" part on the DVD.
If you're like me, you probably navigate to "Play Movie", or what it's called, in the DVD menu right away. In the case of the WB DVD of "Roaring Twenties", you're in for a treat if you navigate to "Warner Night at the Movies - Play all" instead. (You might want an extra fistful of popcorn :^) That somehow recreates the experience of cinema-going in 1940. You get to see a trailer for the next attraction (Each Dawn I Die), newsreel, three shorts (mini-musical All Girl Revue, mini-comedy The Great Library Misery, Tex Avery cartoon in Technicolor: Thugs with Dirty Mugs, 8/12/8 minutes) and then the real movie, all in a row. Lovely and lovingly done.
The shorts are nothing very exceptional, but all listed on IMDb. What thrilled me in this approach is that you don't just watch and think about one movie, as usual, but get a handful of assorted (but incoherent) period material. All in all, I at least felt much more "being there".
Googling tells me that Leonard Maltin has hosted more such "Warner Night at the Movies" compositions. This is the first I saw, but I'm already looking forward for more...
If you're like me, you probably navigate to "Play Movie", or what it's called, in the DVD menu right away. In the case of the WB DVD of "Roaring Twenties", you're in for a treat if you navigate to "Warner Night at the Movies - Play all" instead. (You might want an extra fistful of popcorn :^) That somehow recreates the experience of cinema-going in 1940. You get to see a trailer for the next attraction (Each Dawn I Die), newsreel, three shorts (mini-musical All Girl Revue, mini-comedy The Great Library Misery, Tex Avery cartoon in Technicolor: Thugs with Dirty Mugs, 8/12/8 minutes) and then the real movie, all in a row. Lovely and lovingly done.
The shorts are nothing very exceptional, but all listed on IMDb. What thrilled me in this approach is that you don't just watch and think about one movie, as usual, but get a handful of assorted (but incoherent) period material. All in all, I at least felt much more "being there".
Googling tells me that Leonard Maltin has hosted more such "Warner Night at the Movies" compositions. This is the first I saw, but I'm already looking forward for more...
The Roaring Twenties (1939) ***
JoeKarlosi6 February 2005
James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart (who was just about to become a big star) team up here, with Cagney as a more easy-going sort of guy and Bogie as a strictly low-down type (one of his best lines: "He won't be 16"). The strength of the movie is where it plays very much like a historical newsreel headline, taking us through the intervening years from our first meeting with both men fighting together in the WWI trenches, and then later as they become ordinary citizens again and lose contact for a bit; Cagney tries unsuccessfully to get back his old job at the local auto garage but when he's turned away, decides he has to stoop to running his own bootleg liquor business when Prohibition sets in by the '20s. His is a much less conventional gangster type this time around, but he still doesn't hesitate to step into his disgruntled "mobster" mode when he gets occasionally perturbed. Not as consistent as some of Warner Bros.' earlier films of the genre, but still a good one. *** out of ****
My favorite thirties Gangster Film
otter3 March 1999
Most of the famous gangster films were made in the early part of the decade, before the infamous Production Code took all the sex and violence out of the movies, and before they figured out how to make decent movies with sound. The landmark films of the genre like "Little Caesar" and "Public Enemy" are actually kind of poorly made, by modern standards.
Not so this entertaining film, it's full of life and energy and great fun to watch. James Cagney gives a wonderful performance as a dynamic and ambitious man who goes from a barely-eating taxi driver to a gang lord, and back again. Humphrey Bogart gives one of his best pre-Casablanca villain performances, and even generic leading lady Priscilla Land is fresh and likeable.
The only quibble I have with this film is it lacks the immediacy of the earlier "ripped from the headlines" films. It's made about days that had since gone by, and owes more to earlier films than the reality of the day (post-modernism in the thirties?). Still, it's great fun, do see it.
Not so this entertaining film, it's full of life and energy and great fun to watch. James Cagney gives a wonderful performance as a dynamic and ambitious man who goes from a barely-eating taxi driver to a gang lord, and back again. Humphrey Bogart gives one of his best pre-Casablanca villain performances, and even generic leading lady Priscilla Land is fresh and likeable.
The only quibble I have with this film is it lacks the immediacy of the earlier "ripped from the headlines" films. It's made about days that had since gone by, and owes more to earlier films than the reality of the day (post-modernism in the thirties?). Still, it's great fun, do see it.
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