Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Reid V

  
  William "Rocky" Sullivan is just a no good kid. Starting off as your average juvenile delinquent, he blossoms into a career criminal. His draw is quick and his name has adorned many a penitentiary charts. His childhood cohort Jerry on the other hand, grows out of his old… More
  William "Rocky" Sullivan is just a no good kid. Starting off as your average juvenile delinquent, he blossoms into a career criminal. His draw is quick and his name has adorned many a penitentiary charts. His childhood cohort Jerry on the other hand, grows out of his old ways and turns to a life of piety. After his most recent stint in the big house, Rocky has come back to his old haunt. Father Jerry and Rocky share a rich history, but their future appears to be heading in different directions. Rocky is still interested in making some dough, while Jerry is focused on turning around a new generation of delinquents. With this story, director Michael Curtiz touches on some serious issues. In a way, Rocky & Father Jerry represent patriarchs of two divergent paths. Both sure know the one that yields more material gain. But as lucrative as it may be, Father Jerry doesn't want the world building their fortunes on rotten foundations. Maybe I am assigning to much meaning to an old gangster picture, but I really feel like there is a good nature vs. nurture argument here. Is there an honorable James Sullivan deep inside? Or was he always destined to be Rocky? Do these kids have it in them to be stand up citizens? Or is it in their blood to be social pariahs? After all, this would have been a hot topic in America during this period in history. Juvenile delinquency was on the rise during the 1930's, disrupting a relatively stable American youth culture. This being the depression years, upward mobility wasn't always within reach. But with a life of crime, many felt that the sky was the limit. Criminals were often glorified for taking their piece of the American dream when it was scarcely available. Curtiz deconstructs these criminals in a very fascinating way. If these aren't good enough reasons to capture your interests, the bold & somewhat ambiguous ending will surely keep you thinking long after the credits roll.

• AJ V

  
  This is my one of my favourite gangster movies. It's not the only movie with the story of two boyhood friends who grow up to be enemies, but it's the best of them. Plus, it has a great cast.

• Cassandra M

  
  Michael Curtiz has made some great films, yet the only one that tends to be well received among film fans is his contender for the best movie ever made - obviously Casablanca (and Robin Hood, to a lesser extent). However, the man has a wealth of other influential classics under his… More
  Michael Curtiz has made some great films, yet the only one that tends to be well received among film fans is his contender for the best movie ever made - obviously Casablanca (and Robin Hood, to a lesser extent). However, the man has a wealth of other influential classics under his belt that don't tend to get the recognition that they deserve, and Angels With Dirty Faces is one of those films. To sum the film up easily, one would say that it is a crime drama. However; like the best crime dramas, this one has multiple themes that elevate it from being merely a film about crime, to being a character study, a portrait of what it is that makes a hero and a condemnation of criminals on the whole. The story follows Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connolly; two young New York thugs, the former of which is caught by the police and sent to a reform school, where, ironically, he learns to be a criminal. The latter escapes punishment and goes on to become a priest. The story follows these two men as they meet up as adults and have an effect on the lives of the kids of their old neighbourhood. The focus of the film is always centred on the neighbourhood. This allows Curtiz to show us the effects that Rocky's criminal endeavours have on the kids of the neighbourhood more effectively. This sort of narrative would be employed in later films, such as the critically acclaimed 'City of God', and works well here too. The way the film shows how impressionable young kids can be influenced by adults works brilliantly, and Curtiz is able to continue this theme up until the powerful ending. James Cagney would later go on to achieve major fame in the incredible 'White Heat', but here he shows us what the quintessential New York gangster would be like. His performance, in short, is incredible and easily ranks among the best gangster roles of all time. The rest of the cast do well in their roles, with distinct New York accents helping to firmly place the audience in the city that the film is taking place in. Furthermore, the film is economic in the way it's plotted and it's also very exciting, and therefore guaranteed to delight it's audience. Angels With Dirty Faces is an absolute cinema classic and quite why it isn't more famous is anyone's guess. Although not quite as good as Casablanca, this is a major notch in Michael Curtiz's filmography and I wouldn't have any qualms with recommending this to film fans at all.

• xGary X

  
  When two young tearaways are interrupted trying to steal from a railway car, one gets away while the other is caught which leads to a life of crime and infamy as a notorious gangster. Angels With Dirty Faces reunites Cagney and Bogart, each once again playing a charismatic gangster… More
  When two young tearaways are interrupted trying to steal from a railway car, one gets away while the other is caught which leads to a life of crime and infamy as a notorious gangster. Angels With Dirty Faces reunites Cagney and Bogart, each once again playing a charismatic gangster and slimy backstabber respectively, and once again they're both fantastic. The central idea of the film is priest Pat O'Brien's "there but for the grace of god go I" attitude, having never given up on his childhood friend but at the same time resenting him for cutting such an attractive figure for the neighbourhood kids who would rather follow his example than take the less glamorous path of the straight and narrow. O'Brien is actually a little dull and wooden compared to the other leading men and as such you can see the attraction but to be honest I would have been happier with the film as a whole if it stayed with Cagney a bit more and we had less of the knockabout sentiment of the Dead End Kids. It definitely gets better and better as it goes though, ending with a fantastic shoot out and a brilliant closing sequence when Cagney finally has one last shot at redemption. Not as good as The Roaring Twenties, but definitely up there.

• William D

  
  I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I'm enjoying the films from 1938 that did NOT receive Best Picture nominations more than those that did. "Angels With Dirty Faces" received several big nominations, e.g. Best Actor (James Cagney, with his first-ever nomination)… More
  I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I'm enjoying the films from 1938 that did NOT receive Best Picture nominations more than those that did. "Angels With Dirty Faces" received several big nominations, e.g. Best Actor (James Cagney, with his first-ever nomination) and Best Director (Michael Curtiz, who would direct "Casablanca" a few years later), but there was no Best Picture nomination. Lo and behold, I found "Angels" a lot more engaging and unique than all the films that got Best Picture nods, including the winner, "You Can't Take It With You," which I rated a 5 out of 10. Something went terribly wrong with the Academy in 1938. "Angels With Dirty Faces" is a crisp, exquisitely edited story about a couple of lower-class boys who go in different directions as they age. One gets involved in serious crime (Cagney), and the other becomes a priest (he is played by a rock-solid actor I've never seen before, Pat O'Brien). That's certainly a hackneyed set-up, but "Angels" plays with this classic idea in unique ways. Cagney's character, named Rocky, has some significant complexity. He is not a crude gangster caricature. Rocky links up with the priest to offer counsel and camaraderie to some of the local juvenile delinquents, but things get messy when it becomes clear that Rocky is not fully reformed. When Rocky gets into mortal danger due to conflicts with the local mob (one mobster is played by Humphrey Bogart), his relationship to the boys and to his priest friend, whom Rocky clearly loves, become delicate indeed. This is especially difficult when Rocky gets the boys involved in one of his scams, and the boys have the possibility of getting out of homelessness and destitution for the first time. The priest has to make very difficult decisions about where his loyalties lie, how to provide an example to boys, and how much corruption to tolerate in society. Do you rat on a good man who's gotten mixed up with the wrong element? What will the boys think if their beloved hero, Rocky, is taken down? The film doesn't flinch in the end either, refusing to give the story a phony, sappy ending that the studio no doubt was hoping for. This isn't the greatest screenplay ever written, but it is more complex and authentic than most. Curtiz keeps a laser-like focus on the story and doesn't waste a shot. He also demonstrates real skill with directing both adults and teenagers. The Academy really had it wrong leaving this off the Best Picture slate, just like they were wrong to leave off "Marie Antoinette." Especially galling is the fact that "Angels" and "Marie" didn't even win in any of the smaller categories. Each film went home completely empty-handed. I suppose the Academy is entitled to an off year every now and again, but this strains one's tolerance.

• Lady D

  
  Jimmy Cagney suited these roles so well and impressively they managed to pick a young ?Rocky? to look and sound just like him. A story with moralistic value of two young boys, whose lives are split in a moments notice, ultimately deciding each of their fates. In my opinion one of… More
  Jimmy Cagney suited these roles so well and impressively they managed to pick a young ?Rocky? to look and sound just like him. A story with moralistic value of two young boys, whose lives are split in a moments notice, ultimately deciding each of their fates. In my opinion one of the best ever film endings, which will leave you contemplating the outcome. This always has been one of my personal favourites.

• First L

  
  Angels With Dirty Faces is a story of two innercity boys who take different paths in life, after one is caught stealing. Jerry goes on to live a respectable life, he attends college and becomes a preacher while Rocky spends the next fifteen years in and out of prison. Rocky's… More
  Angels With Dirty Faces is a story of two innercity boys who take different paths in life, after one is caught stealing. Jerry goes on to live a respectable life, he attends college and becomes a preacher while Rocky spends the next fifteen years in and out of prison. Rocky's final stint is a 3 year sentence, taking the fall for his attorney (Humphrey Bogart), in exchange for $100,000 and a 50/50 partnership in his gangster activity. When he gets out of prison, the partner isn't too anxious to relinquish his dues, and tries to have Rocky bumped off. Meanwhile, the old neighborhood hasn't changed much, and a new gang of kids is running ragged in the streets. Father Jerry is trying to reform them, but it's an uphill struggle when the big gangster hero Rocky moves back into the area. Rocky's way with the kids shows that he isn't so different from his old childhood friend, and that he could've been there right alongside father jerry, had he not been caught so many years ago. It's odd to find poetic symbolism in a 1930s gangster movie, but that just goes to show how top notch the writing was for this movie. Cagney is great, Pat O'Brien is great, and the Dead End kids are like a kiddie 3 stooges (I could swear they're throwing real punches around). It's the interaction of the entire cast that makes this movie so entertaining. What makes this movie unique isn't the message ("Crime Don't Pay" was cliche even by this point), but the questions it raises. When it comes to morality, when it comes to fate, when it comes to justice, where are the lines drawn? And when Jesus won't even throw the first stone, who are we to?

• danny d

  
  easily one of the most underrated gangster films ever made. rarely listed amung the classics, this picture see's a young bogart and a young cagney go head to head in a match of criminal thinking. o'brien is very good as the priest, and the dichotomy that is built between… More
  easily one of the most underrated gangster films ever made. rarely listed amung the classics, this picture see's a young bogart and a young cagney go head to head in a match of criminal thinking. o'brien is very good as the priest, and the dichotomy that is built between his character and cagneys is powerful. two friends with everything in common go in opposite directions because of a single moment in their lives, and they couldnt have ended up more different. the acting was great and the moral commentary was carried out perfectly. this was a profound story, admitting that although this life is made easier by dishonest living, that still doesnt make it right. bearing many similarities to two other films, white heat and on the waterfront, this will be a film i rewatch every few years.

• Pierluigi P

  
  Phenomenal Cagney, great production code era gangster film, a drama about role models, friendship and moral, beautifully shot.

• Veronique K

  
  under the influence of moral code, "angels with dirty face" is helmed by versatile michael curtiz as the sanitized gangster flick without misogynism and abusive malevolence. it's tinted with a light of benevolence while cagney is the admirable mobster with a heart of… More
  under the influence of moral code, "angels with dirty face" is helmed by versatile michael curtiz as the sanitized gangster flick without misogynism and abusive malevolence. it's tinted with a light of benevolence while cagney is the admirable mobster with a heart of gold against humprey bogart's crooked lawyer in his 1930s villainy. the story is about two juvenile mugs who diverge the paths of their seperate lives after one of them gets caught in the train thievery. of course, cagney would be the incorrigible one(rocky sullivan) who accomplishes his notorious career of crimes, and pat o'brien would be the meek goody-goody priest(father jerry) who always preachs without effects. uncannily the child actor who plays the young rocky resembles cagney well and also his poise while saying "don't be a sucker!" to add up some wholesome elements in it, the dead end kids are put into the picture as the conductment for juvenile delinquency, but these adolscent hoodrums are only willing to be bossed around by shrewd cagney. it leaves some dilemma for father jerry who is eager to rescue the kids from rocky's bad influence, later jerry even askes rocky to annihilate the ultimate pride of his mobster prestige by faking cowardice in the gas chamber to reform the dead end kids. the moralistic inference is what hinders the pleasure of "angels with dirty faces" despite you could still watch cagney swear like a machine gun and kicks around like a walking phallis, but the lack of brass could be a spoiler even the flick still remains dynamic with cagney's untamed machismo. ann sheridan as rocky's love interest is like another decorative vase there to enhance the lead then nothing more. but the gas chamber scene is handled with top-notch suspense where you witness the trembling shadow of a struggling man, and the intensity of violence is rendered wondrously without graphic gore. you may inquire whether rocky frightens at last or he just performs an altruistic act to salvage the kids. come what may, the stance of father jerry is like a judgemental bourgeois who wishes to deprive the gangster of everything he possesses, even his last bit of pride, to serve the pretentiously righteous social course. this is the hegemonic comprimose forced by the moral code, expressed soundly in "angels with dirty faces".

• moon r

  
  what're you, a wise guy? get outta my face now or i'll help you.

• Bruce B

  
  Maybe its because I am a James Gagney, Humphrey Bogart Fan. But its a 4 -5 Star Movie. These guys were the bomb in there day. Who can match them today. Great Movie to add to any collection.

• Michael G

  
  Classic Cagney and a pre-star Bogart plays a weasel.

• Matthew Y

  
  Angels with Dirty Faces is a fantastic and undervalued gangster film that has numerous moral parallels and social commentary. Two young boys Rocky Sullivan (James Cagney) and Jerry Connelly (Pat O'Brien) growing up in an impoverished part of the city are one day fleeing the cops… More
  Angels with Dirty Faces is a fantastic and undervalued gangster film that has numerous moral parallels and social commentary. Two young boys Rocky Sullivan (James Cagney) and Jerry Connelly (Pat O'Brien) growing up in an impoverished part of the city are one day fleeing the cops when Rocky is apprehended but Jerry gets away. From that point the two boys paths are forever separated as Jerry finds faith in God and the goodwill of men and Rocky is pushed deeper into the worlds seedy underbelly and emerges as a tough as nails gangster. After getting out of jail an adult Rocky crosses paths with Jerry, now a man of the clothe, and the two pick-up their old friendship. Jerry sees the good still in Rocky and Rocky sees the tough and worldly side still in Jerry. Rocky's notorious legacy as a criminal makes him the idol of a local gang of hooligans, young unguided lads much like Jerry and Rocky were. Jerry fears the boys going down Rocky's unfortunate path and persuades his old friend to convince the boys to go straight even going so far as to ask Rocky to sacrifice his honor and reputation for it. A grand film that still holds up today. P.S. Look out for an early role by the yet to be famous Humphrey Bogart.

• Gevvy S

  
  Early Bogart, Classic Cagney. Cagney is Rocky Sullivan who is cheated by James Frazier (Bogart) when he's released from prison. Rocky's old friend, the priest Jerry Connolly (played by Pat O'Brien) tries to stop him from venturing down the same path again but to no… More
  Early Bogart, Classic Cagney. Cagney is Rocky Sullivan who is cheated by James Frazier (Bogart) when he's released from prison. Rocky's old friend, the priest Jerry Connolly (played by Pat O'Brien) tries to stop him from venturing down the same path again but to no avail. Excellent performances by the 3 men in this film. A well written script with some very classic tough guy dialogue. The basketball game is hilarious to watch. A memorable part was where the cops question Rocky about kidnapping Frazier and he says he wants his lawyer, they ask him who and he replies "Frazier". The only bad things are the sometimes campy things that they say and the melodramatic performance by Ann Sheridan as Laury. An interesting film which has some serious and deep things to say about glorifying criminals.

• Mike T

  
  Conceptually speaking, this is a very rich and interesting film, and there are actually plenty of things about the script that I admire. Michael Curtiz has a strong aesthetic sense as a director, and that is evident throughout the course of the picture. On the other hand, he makes… More
  Conceptually speaking, this is a very rich and interesting film, and there are actually plenty of things about the script that I admire. Michael Curtiz has a strong aesthetic sense as a director, and that is evident throughout the course of the picture. On the other hand, he makes some mistakes in other areas, such as shielding the protagonist's face from the audience in the most pivotal scene. The presence of the Dead End Kids is an aggravating one, and they detract from the serious implications of the focal story. James Cagney is outstanding in the lead role, with Pat O'Brien and Humphrey Bogart holding their own beside him.

• cody f

  
  I love Cagney Gangster Flixs and this one has one of the best endings you will ever see!

• Barry L

  
  Loved it.

Read all 18 featured audience ratings