Baby Face Nelson often reminded me of another, similar film about a violent bank robber and his loyal girl: Bonnie and Clyde. The film even ends on a similar note, as anyone familiar with the real story would already know. But, aside from the real-world story of Baby Face Nelson (AKA Lester Joseph Gillis), much of what is presented in this film can be taken straight out of any of a number of other noir films. The presentation of gangster life, the violence, and the robberies—all of it has been seen before and since. It’s entertaining, for sure, but nothing groundbreaking.
The film opens with Baby Face (Mickey Rooney) being released from prison, sprung from jail in Joliet by mob boss Rocca (Ted de Corsia). The reason behind this is to have Nelson kill a labor organizer, but Nelson refuses, preferring robberies instead. He reconnects with his girl Sue (Carolyn Jones), but before much can happen, he is arrested, framed for the labor organizer’s murder. With Sue’s help, he escapes custody, kills Rocca, and goes on the lam, joining up with the John Dillinger gang for a while, robbing banks. But when Dillinger is killed by the police, Nelson takes his place on the FBI’s most wanted list. Eventually, Nelson’s luck is going to run out, especially now that the feds have turned their sights squarely on him.
Rooney really leans into the insecurities of this character. Nelson is portrayed as having a size complex, and the 5’2” Rooney plays into that, growing sullen whenever someone references it. He is also insanely jealous whenever someone shows any affection for Sue. You can see the rage building up in his eyes as Doc Saunders (Cedric Hardwicke), the man who saves his life when he is shot early on, flirts with her. Later, Nelson will vent his rage by killing the man, but that only comes after he no longer has others to talk him down from that murderous impulse. Aside from being a movie ripped from the headlines, this is a straightforward gangster film that rarely steps up and does anything new. The highlight is watching Rooney and Jones play off each other, which makes the finale resonate more than it otherwise would. Still, aside from those two attributes, this isn’t much more than a traditional gangster flick complete with the inevitable shootout climax. 1957 - 85 minutes
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