As a youth, I remember watching Angels With Dirty Faces with my dad. It was an experience I will never forget because neither of us had seen it before, and the way that film ended left us shocked. Movies from this time had to adhere to the Hays Code, which meant that villains had to pay for their crimes by the end of the movie. There could be no film promoting that crime pays in the end; the legion of Christian decency would have a field day otherwise. But we had never seen a classic film that ended the way this one did. I have since seen other films that went down similar routes, but this was the one that introduced me to the concept.
The story is about two young boys, Jerry and Rocky, who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Because Jerry runs faster than the other, he escapes after the two have been seen stealing from a train car while Rocky is captured by the police. Rocky is sent off to reform school, thus beginning a lifetime of crime. Jerry (Played by Pat O’Brien as an adult) escapes that life, eventually becoming a priest. We catch up with Rocky (James Cagney) as he is being paroled from prison, looking to reconnect with his old gang, including a crooked lawyer played by Humphrey Bogart who is holding a large amount of money he doesn’t want to give back. Soon afterwards, Rocky runs into some local street kids who come to idolize the gangster, much to the chagrin of Father Jerry, who is trying to see to their spiritual well-being, hoping they can avoid the kind of fate he almost had.
This is a wonderful look at friendship, fate, and how people can be influenced by those around them. Both Rocky and Jerry were born into the same environment, but Jerry rose above that, getting out of his situation partially because he wasn’t brought up in a reformatory, an environment that only puts troubled kids together with other troubled kids, often creating delinquents for life. This message alone would be powerful enough for this film, but the added element of the young boys, played by The Dead End Kids, looking up to Rocky and how they are eventually disillusioned by him elevates this film beyond the realm of good and into greatness. This is one of Cagney’s best films and deserving of all the accolades it still enjoys to this day. 1939 - 97 minutes
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