City Streets (1931)
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79% of users liked it
(153 ratings)
Never one to hide his talent under a bushel basket, director Rouben Mamoulien proudly proclaimed that, while there were ten killings in his 1931 gangster drama City Streets, the audience never sees any of them. This was not the only innovation in this fascinating early talkie, in which… More Never one to hide his talent under a bushel basket, director Rouben Mamoulien proudly proclaimed that, while there were ten killings in his 1931 gangster drama City Streets, the audience never sees any of them. This was not the only innovation in this fascinating early talkie, in which straight-arrow movie hero Gary Cooper is cast as a racketeer known only as The Kid. He has chosen a life of crime out of love for Nan (Sylvia Sidney), the daughter of mob henchman Pop Cooley (Guy Kibbee). Eventually railroaded into prison by her crooked cohorts, Nan implores The Kid to give up the rackets, but he refuses. Things go downhill very rapidly after that, culminating with The Kid and Nan being taken "for a ride" by rival thugs. Cast in a role originally intended for Clara Bow, Sylvia Sidney does a magnificent job and was soon typecast as a downtrodden Depression victim, born with two strikes against her. Conversely, Gary Cooper never again played anything quite like "The Kid." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Rouben Mamoulian
- Written By
- Oliver H.P. Garrett, Dashiell Hammett, Max Marcin
- Genres
- Drama
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Apr 18, 1931 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Gary Cooper, in a fine, gangly performance as a saintly bootlegger, is worth watching.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Mamoulian's inentive crime-gangster film of the early sound era stars the young, handsome Gary Cooper in atypical role, before he became a movie star.
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Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Quite the wry gangster sonata
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A romance story cloaked in the garb of an outdated crime drama.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Gary Cooper
as The Kid
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Sylvia Sidney
as Nan Cooley
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Paul Lukas
as Big Fella Maskal
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Guy Kibbee
as Pop Cooley
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Stanley Fields
as Blackie
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Betty Sinclair
as Pansy
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Terry Carroll
as Esther March
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William "Wild Bill" Elliott
as Dancer
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Wynne Gibson
as Agnes
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Robert E. Homans
as Inspector
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Matty Kemp
as Man Stabbed With Fork
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Bob Kortman
as Servant
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Ethan Laidlaw
as Killer at Prison
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Kate Lawson
as Bit part
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Edward J. Le Saint
as Shooting Gallery Patron
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Barbara Leonard
as Girl
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Bill O'Brien
as Waiter
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Hal Price
as Shooting Gallery Patron
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George Regas
as Machine Gunner
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Willard Robertson
as Detective
- Nick Thompson
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Leo Willis
as Henchman
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Norman Foster
as Extra on Midway
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Bert Hanlon
as Baldy
- W.J. O'Brien
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William 'Stage' Boyd
as McCoy
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Allan Cavan
as Cop
