Cold-blooded murder, gang wars, and explosions: Was it a Hollywood production? No, it was the streets of Chicago during the 1920s. The public’s fascination with real crime and gangsters was a guilty pleasure that helped generate huge profits for Hollywood. What was happening on the streets during the 1920s would fuel the popularity of the crime and gangster film genre in the 1930s and 1940s. So much so that a new classification of films emerged: film noir.
The history of crime and the gangster movie has its roots in the silent movies of the early 20th century. However, it wasn’t until the late 1920s until the 1930s that these movies became a bit more realistic for moviegoers. The high-profile existence of real gangsters, their crimes, and the amount of publicity they received made this film genre flourish. These included notorious names like Al Capone Y John dillinger. The gangsters became as identifiable to the general public as the presidents. On the movie screen, these characters were often portrayed as money-hungry, violent, and inclined to shoot first and ask questions later. Viewers loved it!
With that in mind, here are some of the most interesting, exciting, and enjoyable early crime and gangster movies:
The silent movie Underworld came out in 1927, starring George Bancroft as ‘Bull Weed’ along with Clive Brook as ‘Rolls Royce’. There is a unique twist to this story, as it is told entirely from the gangster’s point of view. A crime boss, his ‘moll’ (Evelyn Brent), an outcast he befriended and a fierce rival (Fred Kohler); What can go wrong?
Originally predicted to be a flop, this movie became a huge success as a result of strong word of mouth, and it even won an Oscar for Best Writing for Ben Hecht. More than 80 years later, this image is considered by many to be the first modern American gangster movie.
The public enemy, released in 1931, tells the story of two brothers who grew up during the Prohibition era. Tom (James Cagney) is a small neighborhood with many misguided ambitions, while Mike (Donald Cook) works hard, goes to school, and enlists in the Marines during WWI. With his brother in the service of his country. , Tom and his longtime friend Matt (Edward Woods) rise through the ranks of the Chicago underworld.
Mike returns from the military to find his brother reaping the rewards of a lucrative smuggling business while he has only suffered the pain of war. Mike tries to get Tom to change his life, which only separates the brothers. When Tom’s friend Matt dies, he embarks on a path of revenge that can only lead to one end. This movie turned out to be the main role of James Cagney.
In 1931, Little Cesar hits the big screen. Aspiring small-town criminals Caesar Enrico Bandello (Edward G. Robinson) and Joe Massara (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) head to the city of Chicago in search of their fortune. Crime offers opportunities for those who will stop at nothing. By using his weapon, Rico is able to rise to the head of the gang, earning himself the nickname “Little Caesar”.
Meanwhile, Joe has taken another path. Choosing to be a dancer and meeting a girl named Olga (Glenda Farrell), as a result, the relationship between the siblings becomes strained and distant. Rico tries to get Joe to forget about Olga and go back and join him. When Joe refuses, Rico informs him that he has signed a death warrant for him and Olga.
Worried that Joe or Olga might betray him, Rico sets out to kill them both. However, for the first time, he cannot pull the trigger. This could turn out to be a big mistake: “Is this the end of Rico”? This is considered by the American Film Institute as one of the top ten gangster movies of all time.
One of the most popular early crime and gangster movies is from 1932. Scarface. The film is loosely based on the life of the famous gangster Al Capone. In fact, Capone liked the image so much that he got his own copy. Extremely violent and power-hungry gangster Antonio ‘Tony’ Camonte (Paul Muni) aims to take over business after former director Big Louis Costillo is assassinated.
Police suspect Tony was the killer, having been hired to do the job by Johnny Lovo (Osgood Perkins), but cannot bring a case against him because the body was never found. Tony’s ruthless ambition is quickly becoming a threat to Lovo and the other crime bosses. With continued pressure from the police coupled with the suspicion and danger presented by Lovo and his friends, a violent confrontation cannot be far away. Enjoy magnificent representations of gangsters Guino Rinaldo and Gaffney by George Raft and Boris Karloff.
Scarface It was directed by Howard Hawks and produced by Howard Hughes. The film was considered so violent and glorifying the gangster lifestyle that, although it was completed in 1931, it was not released until the following year. Scarface from 1932 is on the American Film Institutes list of the Ten Greatest Gangster Movies of All Time. Audiences today are most familiar with Brian De Palma’s 1983 contemporary remake of Scarface starring Al Pacino, which has become a cult classic.
Warner Bros. produced a series of hit crime and gangster movies during the 1930s and 1939 The happy twenties it may be the best of Warner’s productions. The story begins just after the end of the First World War. Having met at a large artillery hole and made friends during the war, veterans Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney), George Hally (Humphrey Bogart) and Lloyd Hart (Jeffery Lynn) returned. re-enter society.
Eddie, unable to get back his old job as a mechanic, joins neighborhood friend Danny as a taxi driver, George, a former boatman, becomes a smuggler, and Lloyd seeks work as a lawyer. Eddie and Danny use their taxi business to build a fleet of taxis all smuggling liquor and hire Lloyd to be their attorney.
Eddie and George’s illegal paths cross during a liquor hijacking and form an unfortunate partnership. Your empire is prospering; That is until wars for territory, treacherous betrayal, love, and the great crash of the stock market threaten to topple everyone.
This was perhaps the last gangster movie of its kind before the genre regenerated as film noir. One of the great “Hollywood gangsters” in movie history, James Cagney, did not play another gangster role for ten years until the classic White heat.
Even if crime and gangster movies continue to be made, it will always be difficult, if not impossible, to duplicate actual crime and gangster productions of the mid-20th century.
