Some may remember “Angels with Dirty Faces” as James Cagney’s first Oscar-nominated performance. I’m a ‘90s baby, so I only know it is an answer to a trivia question—the film that inspired gangster films “Angels with Filthy Souls” and “Angels with Even Filthier Souls” in “Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.” Those little gangster films don’t have direct inspiration from any single scene, but it’s just an ode to this era of film.
The film is about different paths taken as Jerry (Pat O’Brien) is now a priest and his old friend, Rocky Sullivan (James Cagney), is now a gangster after spending the last 15 years in and out of prison. Rocky was sent down this path when he was nabbed for trying to steal pens from a train cart with Jerry, but Jerry got away because he ran a bit faster. The brief kid performances of them are decent; William Tracy does a fine job as young Jerry but Frankie Burke looks like a dead ringer for James Cagney as young Rocky. He speaks fast and channels Cagney. Eventually, Rocky makes his way back to town and Jerry tries to prevent him from corrupting a group of teens called the ‘Dead End’ Kids.
It’s also about Rocky trying to get $100,000 back from his sleazy lawyer, James Frazier (Humphrey Bogart) after spending three years in prison as the fall guy. This makes for great exchanges between Cagney and Bogart, and the acting in this film is very good. Cagney is cool and threatening, talking fast because he has places to be. I love how he delivers the “What do you hear, what do you say?” greeting. Pat O’Brien is also very good as Father Jerry and he doesn’t emote as well or command the screen as much as Cagney, but his calming voice and slower delivery is an intriguing contrast. I like their banter, too. Jerry says he knew he wanted to be a priest while sitting on top of a bus. Rocky responds, “I had an idea on top of a bus once and it got me six years.”
It’s Cagney’s performance that brings a lot of the charm to this film. That’s especially the case in his scenes with the ‘Dead End’ Kids and how they look up to him. There’s good humour here, and the scene at a pool hall with just the Kids is a highlight because one of the Kids, Bim (Leo Gorcey) is funny too. I also like the film’s ideas that they idolize a gangster because he just looks so cool. Jerry says he can’t teach honesty when the gangsters show dishonesty is the better policy. “A hoodlum or a gangster is looked up to with the same respect as the successful businessman or popular hero,” Jerry tells Rocky.
The film is at its most interesting dealing with these aspects and the values the kids admire. The film’s ideas of cowardice, too, are fascinating the whole “yellow” slang about cowards seems to be the most obvious influence for the gangster movies in the “Home Alone” films.
As for its flaws, there is a lot of cheesy action here. The way some scenes are directed by Michael Curtiz feel cheesy, especially when Rocky leaves the room as Frazier and Mac Keefer (George Bancroft) discuss business matters; he goes to the door to leave and shuts that door but sneaks into the adjacent bathroom at the same time so it seems like he’s left. I couldn’t suspend my disbelief for that because I assume they would have watched him leave the room. The way he comes back into the room and Keefer spots Rocky is unintentionally very funny in direction, and also incredibly awkward.
I also understand this is from 1938 so the shooting action is dated, but at times there is no point of reference for when characters actually get hit by bullets. They’ll just simply drop—and at one point, a character gets “hit” but takes about 15 more steps before falling down dead. The action is fun regardless, but it’s so cheesy it looks more believable in “Angels with Filthy Souls” when Johnny kills Snakes with his tommy gun and tells him, “keep the change ya filthy animal.”
“Angels with Dirty Faces” also feels like light entertainment and there’s nothing here that had me emotionally invested. There are good quotes here and the ending has great tension, but screenwriters John Wexley and Warren Duff don’t sell the emotional hook as far as I’m concerned.
The film is only 97 minutes so there aren’t that many wasted scenes, though the biggest waste is easily Ann Sheridan as Rocky’s love interest Laury Martin. The romance never rings true and she’s virtually there just so the film has a female character.
Flaws aside, there’s a charm to this old gangster movie. The gangster action and Rocky trying to get more power in this town keeps things interesting, though I think it hits its stride in its drama about old friends who have taken different paths. Their friendship sells the film—and its ideas about improving the future for The ‘Dead End’ Kids is touching.
