The Roaring Twenties (1939)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Ken S

  
  Not my favorite Cagney, Bogart or Walsh, but still a solid gangster flick.<br/><br/>Worth seeing for the historical narrative montages.

• AJ V

  
  This is a good movie about the 1920s, and a good gangster movie, with a good cast. I liked this movie.

• xGary X

  
  The Roaring Twenties charts the rise and fall of prohibition racketeer James Cagney from the trenches of the great war to the stock market crash of 1929. It's amazing that only 8 short years separate The Roaring Twenties and the simplistic moralizing and two dimensional… More
  The Roaring Twenties charts the rise and fall of prohibition racketeer James Cagney from the trenches of the great war to the stock market crash of 1929. It's amazing that only 8 short years separate The Roaring Twenties and the simplistic moralizing and two dimensional characterisation of The Public Enemy. It is probably the blueprint for the modern gangster movie and is the equivalent of the likes of The Godfather or Goodfellas for its time. Cagney is at his very best as the morally "grey" but inherently decent mobster who finds himself caught up in the booze hungry fervor of the prohibiton years after returning from fighting for his country as part of a forgotten generation, unable to find any other way to earn a living. Things take a sinister turn when he makes an uneasy partnership with a brilliant Humphrey Bogart who makes such a fantastic asshole you end up wishing he played the bad guy a bit more often. A rather bland Priscilla Lane aside the cast are all spot on, and with the addition of some energetic shoot outs and a brilliant climax when Cagney finally has it out with a sneering Bogie, all set in historical context of the America at the time, you have a timeless crime classic.

• Stella D

  
  a little too much sentiment and the sickly sweet priscilla lane keep this from being a perfect gangster film. the final showdown between cagney and bogie is the best part

• danny d

  
  another gangster classic that delivers. cagney was great as eddie bartlett and bogart plays a very convincing villian. although the film skips through the process of barletts rise to prominence, the story still flows well and satisfies as a rise and fall gangster story. great film.

• jay n

  
  Great Warners Bros gangster flick. Gladys George is heartbreaking as an "off key canary"

• Michael G

  
  Bogart played a great prick and Cagney played a great... himself.

• Matthew Y

  
  A great Hollywood look-in on The Great Depression, Prohibition, Bootlegging and the beginning of organized crime syndicates in America. The Prohibition era is easily my favorite setting in American history (it's the clothes and the tommyguns!) with the classic cops vs. robbers,… More
  A great Hollywood look-in on The Great Depression, Prohibition, Bootlegging and the beginning of organized crime syndicates in America. The Prohibition era is easily my favorite setting in American history (it's the clothes and the tommyguns!) with the classic cops vs. robbers, swing music and speakeasy's it was one of the most exciting and dangerous times in the Country's history. The Roaring Twenties is like a rollercoaster ride through the decades finer points. It starts with James Cagney coming home from fighting in The Great War only to find he has no job to come back to and little opportunities or appreciation for his term of service. Forced to try and survive he gets in on the ground floor of the bootlegging industry and rapidly shoots up the ranks till he's a bonafided "Big Shot".

• Burger S

  
  Cagney AND Bogart. Enough said.

• Mike T

  
  One of the great American crime movies, The Roaring Twenties steers away from the easy mold of cautionary tale, providing a rich and multilayered character drama instead. Employing periodic segments of newsreel footage and narration, director Raoul Walsh gives the characters and… More
  One of the great American crime movies, The Roaring Twenties steers away from the easy mold of cautionary tale, providing a rich and multilayered character drama instead. Employing periodic segments of newsreel footage and narration, director Raoul Walsh gives the characters and situations a sense of something larger. The technique lends itself to the time and place the picture intends to encompass. The performances are strong across the board, with James Cagney dominating in a somewhat complex lead role. Tightly directed and endlessly entertaining, this is a must-see for fans of gangster movies.

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