King of New York (1990)

Today we're going to talk about one of the finest independent gangster movies ever made and another gem in the wave of gangster films that came out in the 1990s.

Frank White would Bitch Slap Tony Montana

Christopher Walken plays a high profile gangster... that should literally be all I need to say to make you want to see this movie.

It was a scary time in the urban centers of America in the late 1980s. The cocaine wave had turned into the crack epidemic which was decimating the urban and African-American neighborhoods of American cities. Americans tuned in to the news every night to see rampant gang violence as it seemed the inner cities literally descended into madness. From this chaos Abel Ferrara's ultra-violent ultra-sexy King of New York was born. King of New York would become an iconic film, especially in the East Coast Rap scene. This film is also interesting for being one of the first films I can remember where black and white mobsters operate as equals in the same gang. This film features an impressive cast including screen legend Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburn, Wesley Snipes, David Caruso, and very young Steve Buscemi and Chris Rock in bit parts.

King of New York follows the story of recently released from prison crime boss Frank White. White is back on the street after several years locked up. White returns New York to reassemble his gang and return to the throne as the de facto crime lord of New York City. Frank White and his gang do away with all rival gang leaders and people who won't do business with them as they organize the city. However White is pursued by a unit of the NYPD who increasingly want to get White, one way or another. King of New York plays almost exactly like one of the classic old Warner Bros. gangster films. Featuring the rise of the gangster, the gangster's love interest, the gangster reaching the top, and then the gangster's fall. This film however plays much like it's subject matter. Featuring a very violent, sexualized, and stylized vision of crime in the 1990s, King of New York plays much like a coked out version of the 1930s gangster films. King of New York is also notable for it's very dark sensibilities as no one in this world is clean and the line between good and evil is blurred.

King of New York is amazing simply to watch Christopher Walken breeze through this film as highly intellectual cold-blooded drug kingpin Frank White. Of course I'm prejudiced but I don't think you can consider a leading man truly great until they define themselves in a gangster movie. Christopher Walken puts together an iconic performance in this film. I found myself almost in disbelief at Walken's performance in this film but as it goes along it becomes increasingly engrossing.

King of New York also features Laurence Fishburn as Frank White's right-hand man Jimmy Jump. Jimmy Jump rivals Tommy DeVito, Nicky Santoro, and Cody Jarrett for the title of the silver screen's most sociopathic gangster. Fishburn's character even wears a classic bowler hat at the beginning of the film seemingly in tribute of the classic movie gangsters. Fishburn has become one of Hollywood's most dependable actors in recent years turning in an iconic performance in the Matrix series and regularly popping up in Hollywood summer blockbusters. We'll talk about his 1997 gangster film Hoodlum soon on this blog.

King of New York also featured break out roles for David Caruso and Wesley Snipes as cops on the NYPD Task Force pursuing Frank White. Caruso was hired by director Abel Ferrera and talked him into hiring Wesley Snipes to play one of the cops. Caruso and Snipes knew each other from working on a television pilot that never materialized. Ferrera would later claim that Snipes was living in his car at the time of filming for this film. From this film Caruso would go on to get a role in the hit TV show NYPD Blue and would later become the uber-posing sunglasses wearing Lt. Horatio Caine in the smash TV show CSI: Miami. Wesley Snipes would go on to star in the cult classic film New Jack City (which we'll get to soon on this blog) which would launch him into stardom.

King of New York deserves your attention for being an iconic film in an extremely free period of film-making in the early 1990s. This film also deserves your attention for the excellent cast of young actors who would later go on to prominence in Hollywood. King of New York is just a solid uber-stylized sexy film that you'll either love or hate. Chances are if you're on this blog and you're still reading, you'll love this film. King of New York is a film that should be added to any gangster cinema film fan's collection.

  

El Mariachi (1992)

Today we look at the film that was a pinnacle in the golden age of independent film-making, the film that launched the career of one of the most talented film-makers in Hollywood today, and the film that was the first in arguably the best gangster movie trilogy of the 1990s. El Mariachi was also the film that first got me interested in film-making when I saw it at thirteen.

Gangster on $7,000

Something magical happened to cinema in the 1990s. With the advent of computer editing, the rise of videotape and digital formats, and the creation of several film festivals. Independent film exploded into a golden age. Most of the big name directors today came out of this boom in cinema. Some of those names include Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderberg, Spike Lee and Kevin Smith to name a few. However arguably the most talented director to come out this era was Robert Rodriguez with his $7,000 16mm micro budget cinematic miracle El Mariachi. Robert Rodriguez was a young film student who sold his body to science to raise the funds to make this film. Originally made largely as a student film starring Rodriguez's friends and intended for the Mexican home video market. El Mariachi proved to be one of the finest independent films of the 1990s winning the Audience's Choice Award at the Sundance Film Festival. El Mariachi also led to Robert Rodriguez signing a multi-million dollar deal with Columbia Pictures to make the sequel to El Mariachi which would eventually become Desperado starring Antonio Banderas. Rodriguez's El Mariachi has stood the test of time and is now remembered as a classic film.

Strutting through small town Mexico.

Shot entirely on location in a small town in Mexico. El Mariachi follows the story of a traveling musician who gets caught up in a battle between two rival gang leaders. The gang leaders were once former partners, however a falling out led to one stealing all the money and the other being imprisoned. However Mexico being Mexico, the imprisoned gang leader is soon running his criminal empire from inside a jail cell. This leads to a war between the two gang leaders in which our friendly mariachi is of course confused for one of the gang leaders. The film stars Carlos Gallardo as the mariachi. Gallardo was Rodriguez's childhood friend and also co-produced the film with Rodriguez. The film co-stars Peter Marquardt as Moco, the white gangster. Rodriguez met Marquardt when the two were housed in a dormitory together while selling their bodies for science. Rodriguez thought Marquardt had the qualities of a good bad guy from watching him deal with other subjects in the dormitory, so he cast Marquardt as the villian in this film. The film also co-stars Reinol Martinez as Azul, the gang leader who's confused with the mariachi. 

The beginning of genius

The reason El Mariachi got so much attention is just how ridiculously enjoyable it is to watch. This is such an entertaining film with it's swift actions scenes, well written story, and humorous quirks. El Mariachi had the touch of a master to it. Rodriguez had been making films since he was a small kid. Growing up in a large family, he would utilize his brothers and sisters for cast and crew. Rodriguez would also invent creative and ingenious ways of maneuvering out of traditional money traps in film-making. I would strongly recommend anyone interested in film-making pick up the El Mariachi DVD which Rodriguez made himself. The DVD is basically an entire film school from Rodriguez himself how he made the film and got around problems typically faced by young film-makers. 

All in all, this film deserves your attention because it is a cinematic icon of a golden age in film history. El Mariachi also deserves your attention for launching the career of one of today's best film-makers and inspiring an entire generation of film-makers. And El Mariachi deserves your attention for being a very entertaining film popcorn flick. This film also features a few interesting traditional Mexican songs. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this film however is the look into what early 1990s Mexico looked like. Rodriguez shot this film in Gallardo's home town. Gallardo was well known in the area and was pretty much allowed to do whatever he wished. Rodriguez and Gallardo even managed to borrow real sub-machine guns from the local police for this film. Rodriguez even commented that he thought it was funny how they didn't get a second glance running down the sidewalks with sub-machine guns and movie cameras in that small Mexican town. I really can't say enough good things about this film or it's rightful place in cinema history. Please check it out and let me know what you think.

Strolling down Mexico Way with a Machine Gun
Ain't No Big Thing

  

NEXT MOVIE:

King of New York

On monday we'll pick back up with another classic gangster movie from the 1990s.

Scarface (1932)

Today we get talk to talk about perhaps the greatest gangster film ever made. Scarface truly deserves a 500 page book written by some brilliant researcher and writer. However we'll do our what we can to cover why this film is truly the best in it's genre. Please, if this blog does nothing else, let it encourage you to see Scarface at some time in your life. Scarface is truly The Sistene Chapel of Gangster Films. It's nice that Scarface has also been getting some respect in recent years with several decent DVD prints being released. I can remember just a couple of years ago having to track down a poorly transferred VHS copy of this film and "temporarily borrow" it from a video store... I'm pretty sure my late fees for this film have reached five digits by now.

Why does this seem familiar?

Remember when that ultra-violent gangster movie called Scarface took a story straight out of the headlines about an immigrant gangster with the sexually precocious young sister and womanizing best friend working his way up through the criminal underworld to become the head of a large black market smuggling operation absolutely captivated the nation, became an ingrained part of American culture, and sent the moralistic segments of society into an uproar? If you're thinking of the 1983 film starring Al Pacino, you'd be thinking of the weak imitation of the original. Howard Hawk's Scarface was largely the first Blockbuster in cinema history, largely the first film to run into censorship trouble and the first film to spawn the merchandising empires we see with films now. Sometimes the stars just align to create a watermark in artistic achievement. For the gangster film, this watermark is Scarface. Scarface was directed by one of the finest directors in silver screen history, Howard Hawks. Produced by one of the most powerful and wealthy men in American history, Howard Hughes. Written by one of the finest screenwriters in Hollywood history, Ben Hecht. And launched the careers of future screen icons Paul Muni, George Raft, and Ann Dvorak.

Look! They got Machine Guns you can carry!

If you know the plot to the 1983 film, you pretty much know the plot of the 1932 film. Just substitute cocaine for alcohol and drug war for prohibition. However what's interesting to me is how different the two film's approach Tony's relationship with his sister. In the 1932 film, the incestuous themes between the two are much more on the surface. Two or three times while watching this film I've raised an eyebrow and felt a little uncomfortable. Also what makes this film standout is the amount of sheer violence. You can tell from the energy and exuberance coming out of this film that the cast and crew were immensely enjoying the violence and characters they were portraying in this film. Even by today's standards the shootings, bombings, and throwing people out of cars is jarring and sensationalistic. However Scarface is born out of the height of the prohibition gang war era and the headlines that carried it.

When Tommy Guns were available at the local drugstore

Scarface was written by Ben Hecht, a Chicago newspaper man during the heyday of Al Capone and The St. Valentine Day's Massacre. Hecht largely created the gangster film genre with his first screenplay Underworld (which we'll get to soon on this blog) and used his experiences with real gangsters and real events in the Chicago turf wars in his early films. Virtually every character in Scarface is based upon a prominent gangster from those times. Scarface marches across the screen like a tabloid novel from the early 20th century. Both glorying and condemning the gangsters, the politicians, and the newspaper men of the time. Scarface also has a strange dark comedic tone to it at times. Camonte's secretary is largely comic relief and serves to relief tension and gain a few cheap laughs. Scarface has several subtle jokes in it and serves to point fun at the less than Ivy league backgrounds of the stereotype of gangsters at the time. Hecht would later write and contribute on such films as Mutiny on the Bounty, The Man with the Golden Arm, and virtually all of the Hitchcock films.

Accidents happen while shaving.

Scarface stars Paul Muni as Tony Camonte, a character largely based on Al Capone who was a contemporary in the daily headlines when this film was released. Muni could be considered possibly the first method actor in Hollywood. One can see a lot of Roberto De Niro in Muni's performance. Especially when considered against Muni's other films where his characters came across so differently than Camonte. Muni's performance of Tony Camonte in Scarface is an unashamed ensemble of the violence and brashness of the gangsters of headlines. Ruthless, cold, unsophisticated, and vibrant. It's said that Muni was discovered in a Jewish Playhouse in New York for the lead role in Scarface. When asked to play a character loosely based on Al Capone, Muni responded "I'm not that kind of guy." Legend had to hire a boxer to teach Muni to be a tough guy as he was completely sedentary before this film. Muni would become a superstar in from his performance in Scarface, signing one of the biggest deals in Hollywood with Warner Bros. immediately after this film's release. Muni would later go on to star in such films as I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang (we'll get to this one soon) The Story of Louis Pasteur, and The Good Earth.

The beginning of an iconic image

This film was also the breakout role for tough guy turned dancer turner actor and Hell's Kitchen's own George Raft. Raft's version of the coin flipping henchman Guino Rinaldo became the culture's idea of a gangster much the same way Tony Montana is our image today. Raft drew upon his experience growing up with real life gangsters such as Benny Siegel (we'll get to the movie Bugsy soon) in the legendary neighborhood Hell's Kitchen. Raft cooly breezes through the film as Camonte's best friend and henchman. I got to be honest though, I've never been much of a George Raft fan. However he does add a lot to this film and adds an air of legitimacy. Raft would go on to act in such great films as They Drive By Night, Some Like it Hot, and A Bullet for Joey.

Look Familiar?

Ann Dvorak play's Tony's little sister Francesca 'Cesca' Camonte in Scarface. Dvorak is the very embodiment of teenage precociousness in this movie. Cesca is young strong headed woman just beginning to blossom into womanhood. Dvorak captures the spirit and the defiance of this character and proves to be a great match to Muni's performance. Dvorak is probably my favorite actress from the golden age of Hollywood. She had a great exuberance and exotic beauty to her that set her apart from the other actresses in this time period. Dvorak would also go on to play very edgy cynical characters as she got older. Dvorak would go on to be in such films as Bright Lights, Love is a Racket, and Gangs of New York (1938).

Hawks's dares any director to follow him

Scarface was directed by Howard Hawks who was arguably one of the best directors during the golden age of Hollywood. Hawk's visionary and extremely artistic Scarface is still impressive for it's cinematic impact today. In 1932 in the beginnings of the sound era Hawks's moving shots and wild atmosphere were like a gangster virtual reality ride. Scarface was named the best American sound film by critic Jean-Luc Godard. And I think Scarface should honestly be held on the same level as films like Citizen Kane for it's cinematic technical achievements. Hawks employed a number of clever and genius artistic and visual tricks in this film. The most prominent being an X subtly displayed on the screen whenever a murder was about to or had taken place. This visual symbology represented the headlines at the time where newspapers would post mug shots of criminals with Xs over them when they had been killed. Hawks embraced and was able to bring Hecht's Chicago's sensationalistic headlines and writing style to the screen. Hecht would later say that Hawks was the only director he ever enjoyed working with.

What does the world's richest man do? Make the world's
greatest gangster movie of course.

I don't usually talk about the producer of a film. However when it was the richest, most powerful, and most controversial man in American history... how can you not? Howard Hughes was a multi-millionare eccentric playboy who decided one day he was going to get into the movies. A few years and successful films later, Hughes decided that he was going to make a film of the best seller novel at the time about Al Capone. So Hughes enlisted Hecht (whom he employed on his previous film The Front Page) to draw up the script and Scarface was born. Hughes is notable because this film wouldn't have existed without him. Censorship boards all across the country rejected Scarface for it's violence and glorfying of mobsters. Hughes used his money and influence to shoot a new ending for Scarface to appease the Censorship Boards. However when this version was also rejected, Hughes used his influence to bully through the censorship boards with the original version and have his film played to very positive critical reviews. This resulted in wide spread acclaim for the film. Hughes is also notable for making the first deal for product placement in a movie. This film proved so popular that White Owl Cigars paid $250,000 to be able to say their brand of cigar was the brand Tony Camonte smokes. Scarface became Hughes's biggest cinematic financial success. Hughes's maverick attitude wasn't forgotten by film industry which is largely why this film went out of print and as recently as a few years ago was difficult to get a copy of.

Not an ominous scene at all.

All in all, this film deserves so many more words than the ones I've given it here. Scarface is truly the genre defining and perhaps best film in the gangster film genre. This film is so good that an almost exact replica proves to still be one of the most popular films ever almost 80 years later. I strongly recommend any fans of the original film, any fans of classic films, and any film fans in general give this film a view.

     

NEXT MOVIE:

EL MARICHI (1992)

Arguably the best movie to come out of the independent film wave of the early 1990s and the film that launched the career of one of the best film makers today Robert Rodriguez.

A Better Tomorrow (1986)

I'm soooo excited to talk about this movie today. This was the first modern Asian gangster movie. A Better Tomorrow absolutely captivated all of Asia when it first came out and launched virtually the entire expansive Asian gangster movie genre that has given us so many cool films and directors. I was lucky enough to find this film as a youth at an Asian VHS store back in the day and it opened an entire world of Asian cinema up to me.

What do you think of when you think of Asian gangster films? Operatic themes, beautifully choreographed gunplay, wild and graphic violence, triple digit body counts. philosophical main leads? A Better Tomorrow was the film to create all of those hallmarks of the Asian gangster film. This film created an entire genre and shattered all previous box office records in Asia. A Better Tomorrow was listed No. 2 on the list of The Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures. This film also spawned huge trends all over Asia, which we'll get into later in this essay. A Better Tomorrow also served to launch John Woo and Chow Yung-Fat into becoming international stars. A Better Tomorrow is the Chinese Godfather (I think it's better personally and you don't have to sit through an hour long wedding scene) yet so many Westerns haven't seen it. 

A Better Tomorrow follows the story of Sung Tse Ho (Lung Ti) an OG in the Chinese Triad who's going to pull one last job in Taiwan before retiring. With him is his partner of (at least) twelve years Mark Gor (Chow Yung-Fat) Together they're the most respected operations in an American currency counterfeit scheme. Ho and Mark have a young inexperienced operator with them named Shing (Waise Lee) who's learning the ropes. Ho also has a brother named Sung Tse Kit (Leslie Cheung) who's on the path to becoming a police investigator at police academy. On Sung Tse Ho's last job, someone from inside snitches on him which leads to the job becoming a mess and Sung Tse-Ho being sent to prison. Mark is subsequently crippled from the revenge hit on the rival gang who set Ho up. Shing goes from rookie to Godfather in Ho's time in prison and makes Mark a pan handler. And Ho's and Kit's father is accidentally killed when the triad sends a hit man to kidnap him for fear Ho will talk in prison. And that's just the first act....

A Better Tomorrow definately has a bit of a Chinese television soap opera feel to it. However what makes this movie so good is it's masterful story-telling by John Woo, and two excellent performances from Chow Yung-Fat and Leslie Cheung. A Better Tomorrow has a very opera like feel to it in the way fate handles each of the characters. John Woo said that he wanted to make a film about men of honor, and gangsters were the only kind in the Chinese consciousness at the time. This film deals largely with the concept of honor and loyalty and how those are the prime motivators for the film's characters. A Better Tomorrow was also the first Asian gangster film I had the pleasure of watching in my youth. The violence in it is shocking to a first time viewer. In Western movies, blood is almost non-existant. Watch any gangster movie before Bonnie and Clyde and you'll see hardly any blood or reality in the violence of those films. However in A Better Tomorrow's characters get shot multiple times, stabbed, thrown through windows and blood sprays with every injury. This would become a common trait of all following Asian gangster films. It's also interesting in Woo films how the choreography of the violence is more important than the realism. For instance I chuckled more than a few times in this movie when the lead character was shot in the stomach with a shotgun and then was fighting and jumping over a fence with not much difficulty. These scenes have become a staple of Woo movies and have gained the affectionate terms "Bullet Ballets" and "Woo Physics."

Chow Yung-Fat who plays Mark Gor absolutely steals the film. Fat's charatcer Mark became so iconic that wide spread trends broke out across Asia for young men to wear the same trench coat (which literally became known at the "Brother Mark Coat") chew on match sticks, and wear the same model RayBand glasses as the character in the film. Fat's performance in this film despite the cultural differences translates as cool in any language. It's largely his performance that made this film such an international success. Fat originally a television actor in Hong Kong, was initially thought to be not commercially viable enough to be in this film. However Director John Woo fought to have him in this part. What's funny is that Fat's character is dramatically killed off in this film. However, Fat's character proved such a popular character that in the sequels to this film... all of sudden he has a twin brother from Vietnam who looks and acts exactly as the character who was killed off.

Leslie Cheung turns in an exception performance as Sung-Tse Kit, the gangster's little brother who has to live down his brother's reputation in the police world. Cheung would go onto become a big star in China but didn't seem to ever translate in the international market. Cheung's character's turn from naive loyal brother to driven obsessed cop is the emotional driving force behind this film. It's his tenacity that gives this film it's energy. 

John Woo is one of the finest directors in the world. Woo had made a few films before A Better Tomorrow, however this was his first worldwide success. The way Woo moves through this movie with so many sub-plots going on is absolutely masterful. The one thing that amazed me about this film is how it's able to transition between deep believable emotional scenes between characters into surreal amounts of violence in the next seamlessly. Many film aficionados out there feel that A Better Tomorrow is Woo's best film. I would defiantly say it's probably his purest. 

A Better Tomorrow was the film that launched an entire genre in the Asian film markets and is largely considered to be one of the finest films ever made.  If you have any interest in getting into Asian films, John Woo films, or Chow-Yung Fat films, you have to see A Better Tomorrow. It's also worth seeing to see what a Chinese gangster or what the Chinese lifestyle and culture looked like in the 1980s. A Better Tomorrow is one of the best cinematic gangster films ever made and should be considered on the same level as The Godfather, Scarface, and Goodfellas. 

Every man who controls his destiny is a god.

Additional Thoughts...

You know, I may do this quite often where I'll come back and add additional thoughts when I have them. However, one thing I forgot to mention in this article is just how dynamic the soundtrack is. I was working with some sound effects tonight and needed gunshots. I then realized I wanted to use the sound effects from A Better Tomorrow because the gun fights sounded so cool. Also the score is in perfect step and absolutely completes the emotion and world of this film. All day today two different themes have been stuck in my head (it's been a cool day) and the entire score is memorable. I really can't think of a single negative to this film unless you're not into subtitles (in which case leave my blog my now!) or Woo-Physics is too much for you.

      

NEXT MOVIE:

SCARFACE (1932)

Arguably (and in my opinion) the greatest gangster movie ever made.

The Public Enemy (1931)

Ahhhh yeah, now this blog is finally starting to pick up steam as we get to one of the finest classic gangster movies. I originally wanted to do Scarface (1931) today as I feel it's the best gangster movie ever made hands down. However, I think I lent my DVD ( :facepalm: ) to a friend so we're going to jump into the definitive classic gangster film. Also since we did High Sierra yesterday, the film that launched Bogart's career. I thought it'd be appropriate to cover the film that launched James Cagney's career.

This is the definitive classic gangster film. The Public Enemy has all the all marks of what one thinks of in a classic gangster film. Fast-talking dialogue, snappy one liners, beautiful lethal women, oozing glamour, and charismatic tough guys creating a criminal empire. This film is also a stark contrast to the film of my previous review High Sierra. While High Sierra is a poetic film following a brooding lead. The Public Enemy is like a gritty documentary following an explosive lead. This film could also be considered the crowning achievement of the Warner Bros. gangster pictures and spawn several dozen more to follow. 

How do you want 'em this time, up or down?

1931 the year The Public Enemy released was a very interesting year in America. Prohibition of Alcohol which was enacted in 1919 created the great criminal gold rush of the 20th century (well until the Drug War) as every hood with a six shooter and a brass set were bootlegging and flooding the streets of America with black market alcohol and criminal violence from an illegal trade. Also with the Stock Crash of 1929, the vast majority of Americans faced economic hardship and looked upon the establishment and the rich with distain and distrust. These circumstances served to vault criminals, robbers, gangsters, and murderers to the front pages of the news papers and served to turn them into cult heroes to the majority of the American public. The film studios at the time not ones to miss out began to turn out films that reflected the mood in the country and followed the characters in the headlines that drew so much attention. These gritty violent films soon became box office champions and captivated the audience's imagination with their violence and rags to riches stories. 

CASH OR HIS HEART, ONE OR THE OTHER!

HA HA, I'LL BRING YOU BOTH!

The Public Enemy is the typical gangster story. It follows the rise of the gangster, the gangster's love story, and the gangster's end. What's interesting about The Public Enemy is how much it humanized it's characters. A signature of Warner gangster movies is how they tried to explain and humanize their gangster leads to explain how and why they became criminals. In The Public Enemy we follow two main characters, a pair of friends through their childhoods as we watch them rise into crime. From stealing watches from a store to killing a cop in a botched robbery, to eventually get into bootlegging. Our lead is Tom Powers (James Cagney), a tough guy from the working class who was brought into crime through some poor adult influences. In this career path, the great criminal gold rush of Prohibition begins. We follow Tom in the infancy of his criminal career and his rise through the criminal underground to his eventual end by the hands of a rival gang. Tom is joined by his lifelong best friend Matt Doyle (Edward Woods) as a partner in crime. This film also features sex symbol Jean Harlow as Power's love interest.

Sure, we might have been ding-dings on a streetcar.

This movie is captivating to see Cagney in his first leading role and to see him embody everything that   would inspire nearly a century of bad impressions (you dirty rat!) In this film Cagney is pure energy and electricity as his sneer and short jab commands the screen. Interestingly enough Cagney was cast to play Matt Doyle the supporting role, and Edward Woods was cast to play Tom Powers the lead role. However Cagney was so convincing in rehearsals that William Wellman switched Woods and Cagney roles. You'll notice this when in the beginning of the film the child version of Power's looks more like Woods and the child version of Doyle looks more like Cagney. This movie has been heralded for being one of the most honest looks at prohibition during the time period. This film also features several scenes taken directly from stories in the headlines at the time. Cagney himself based his character off of Irish Prohibition Dean O'Bannion and two local street hoods he knew in his childhood growing up in New York. 

... I didn't ask you for any lip. I asked you if you had a drink. 

This film was directed by legendary film maker William Wellman who was infamous for directing bravado movies and being a bit wild. For instance in one of the final scenes Wellman insisted in using real ammunition. We see Cagney duck behind a wall and as soon as his head disappears, a weapons expert with a machine gun lights up the wall. This film features a strong quick moving documentary like feel through the pivotal moments of Tom's life. The symbology and psychology of this film is an astounding artistic statement. This film also just barely made it past censors in it's re-releases due to some lude inside jokes and violence. A re-edited cut was usually issued (that's why some scenes look strange and grainy on some DVD releases) on a double billing with Little Caesar. This movie is also one of the first sound films to break out of the early limitations of sound recording and camera technology. In large part due to Wellman's skill we get a flowing movie with many action shots on location. By comparison a film like Little Ceaser (1930) which came out just a few months before hand seems slow and hemmed down because of the previous limitations. 

It means they buy our beer, or they don't buy any beer.

The Public Enemy is incredible and deserves your attention because it's the debut of perhaps the finest actor in screen history. This film also is a great historical piece of a time often romanticized but not really understood today. It's also one of the definitive gangster movies and a film where 90 minutes goes by without you realizing it. This film also has one of the most engrossing endings of any film I've ever seen. 

"I AIN'T SO TOUGH"

       

NEXT MOVIE:

A BETTER TOMORROW (1986)

The movie that launched perhaps the finest modern asian director John Woo, perhaps the finest modern Asian actor Chow-Yung Fat and created an entire genre.

High Sierra (1941)

I've decided to start this blog with arguably one of my favorite films of all time and the film that launched arguably my favorite actor into stardom. High Sierra is also considered to be one of the first noir movies and one of the last classic gangster movies.

Bogart Does Not Play Games

The film follows the story of Roy "Mad Dog" Earle, a hard scramble gangster with a famous rep as a bank robber and murderer.  Earle has just been pardoned after a hard eight year stretch in prison by crime boss "Big Mac" to pull a jewelry heist at a palatial resort and playground for the rich. Earle through his noir leading man luck is saddled with a beautiful woman from the wrong side of the tracks, two rookie "jitterbugs," a nervous inside man who talks too much, and a cursed dog. Unfortunately the job gets botched when Earle has to grease a cop who accidentally walks into the middle of the job. There's also a side plot involving Earle getting mixed up with a farmer's family and their handicapped daughter.

This film is a typical Warner Bros. assembly line gangster movie featuring the bad guy, the bad guy's rise, the bad guy's love story, and then the bad guy's fall. However High Sierra is a classic because it features Bogart in his first leading role in the persona as the strong cynical silent tough guy that would make him a silver screen legend. The real joy of this film is watching Bogart effortlessly own the screen and watching his brooding emotions explode.  Bogart was originally Warner Bros. third choice behind Paul Muni and George Raft. However thanks to Bogart's perseverance and some smooth talk on Raft, Bogart was able to win the part. This film was the beginning of perhaps the finest year in cinema for an actor, as legendary Bogart films The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca were released the same year.

Lupino and Bogart

The film also features a sizzling performance from Ida Lupino, who was the very definition of sleazy sex appeal in the 40s. Lupino plays Marie Garson a wayward taxi dancer who gets saddled with the two rookie jitterbug thiefs as a way out of her troubled life. Lupino is incredible in this film displaying a depth and dimension not often seen from female roles of that time. Ida Lupino strangely enough was also given top billing in this film (look at the Amazon ads at the bottom of this post) as Warner Bros. thought she was a bigger star at the time based on her success in They Drive By Night (1940) which came out the previous year. Lupino is one of the most unheralded women in the golden age of Hollywood. Turning in some of the best and most complex performances of her era. Lupino was also one of the first female directors in Hollywood (she was incredible at directing tension. Check out The Hitch-Hiker if you get a chance) and later worked in television.

This film also marked the first collaboration between legendary screen pairing Director/Screenwriter John Huston and Humphrey Bogart. John Huston adapted the screenplay from
W.R. Burnett's novel and was on set to help Bogart with his character where the two became friends. This notable relationship would turn in such classic films as The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Siera Madre, Key Largo, and The African Queen.

High Sierra was directed by Raoul Walsh, a legendary filmmaker with such credits as The Roaring Twenties, White Heat, and They Died With Their Boots On. Walsh was known for his gritty and masculine films but also had a stark poetic tone to his pictures. High Sierra may be one of his finest artistic works and statements. Walsh demanded to film this picture on location in the Sierra mountains, something that was unheard of at the time. The result is a beautiful and haunting film that keeps a constant beat.

High Sierra is a great work in the art of cinema. This film could have been a forgotten cookie cutter if not for the powerful performances of Bogart and Lupino and the poetic and gritty styles of Huston and Walsh. This film stands as a terrific movie for a rainy afternoon or just a good popcorn flick. This film also has one of the most memorable endings in classic movies.

             

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THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931)