The Mayor of Hell (1933)

68% of users liked it
(287 ratings)

Gangster Cagney allows his powerful political connections to appoint him "deputy inspector" of a state reform school. There he finds the youths abused and battered by a brutal, heartless warden and his thuggish guards. It is a nurse who informs Cagney and pleads with him to clean things up.… More Gangster Cagney allows his powerful political connections to appoint him "deputy inspector" of a state reform school. There he finds the youths abused and battered by a brutal, heartless warden and his thuggish guards. It is a nurse who informs Cagney and pleads with him to clean things up. Something touches Cagney's normally hard heart and he commits himself to enacting more humane reforms. Soon, he gets the warden booted out and begins working closely with the inmates, who come to trust and respect him until Cagney's dark side emerges and he reveals himself for what he is--a ruthless mobster. This destroys the boys' trust and when the old warden is reinstated makes matters even worse until Cagney makes a difficult choice. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 20 min.
Directed By: Archie Mayo
Genres: Drama, Romance, Classics

In Theaters: Jun 24, 1933 Wide
On DVD: Mar 25, 2008
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

No Critic Reviews Found…

Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

An okay movie, but I've seen others just like it, so it wasn't all that interesting, and the beginning is really boring. The end is where it gets exciting.
Michael G

The Mayor of Hell sounded like it was going to be a weak version of Angels With Dirty Faces but it was surprisingly more than what I'd initially expected. James Cagney plays a racketeer who starts taking a cushy in-title-only government job at a boys reform school seriously. The… More
The Mayor of Hell sounded like it was going to be a weak version of Angels With Dirty Faces but it was surprisingly more than what I'd initially expected. James Cagney plays a racketeer who starts taking a cushy in-title-only government job at a boys reform school seriously. The last half hour starts falling apart a bit once you discover the focus isn't quite where you thought it was but the final fifteen minutes redeem the flimsy third act quite a bit. Cagney plays Cagney and quite a few of the inmates, I mean students turn out some pretty good performances. If you can consider The Mayor of Hell one of the early Warner Bros. gangster movies, I'd say its one of the better ones...
Cindy I

James Cagney is wonderful -- when is he not? -- as a gangster who, through a political favor, becomes the head of a boys' reform school formerly run by a sadistic warden. Great performances by the teenage boys cast in the primary roles, This film had a lot to say about whether… More
James Cagney is wonderful -- when is he not? -- as a gangster who, through a political favor, becomes the head of a boys' reform school formerly run by a sadistic warden. Great performances by the teenage boys cast in the primary roles, This film had a lot to say about whether punishment or reform is the point when children are put away. Even more relevant now in an age of rampant adolescent crime, "boot camps" and alternative schools.

Cast

            James Cagney as Patsy Gargan

            Madge Evans as Dorothy Griffith

            Allen Jenkins as Mike

            Dudley Digges as Mr. Thompson

            Arthur Byron as Judge Gilbert

            Frankie Darro as Jimmy Smith

            William V. Mong as Walters

            Mickey Bennett as Butch Kilgore

            Sidney Miller as Izzy Horowitz

            Robert H. Barrat as Mr. Smith

            Raymond Borzage as Johnny Stone

            Charles Cane as Tommy Gorman

            Hobart Cavanaugh as Mr. Groman

            George Pat Collins as Brandon

            Farina as Smoke

            Harold Huber as Joe

            George Humbert as Tony's father

            Wilfred Lucas as Guard

            John Marston as Hopkins

            Edwin Maxwell as Louis Johnston

            Adrian Morris as Car owner

            Bob Perry as Collector

            Dorothy Peterson as Mrs. Smith

            Charles Sullivan as Collector

            Ben Taggart as Sheriff

            Sheila Terry as Girl

            Fred 'Snowflake' Toones as Hemingway

            Charles C. Wilson as Guard

            Wallace MacDonald as Johnson's assistant

            Ted Offenbecker as Charlie Burns

            George Offerman Sr. as Charlie Burns
See full cast