Angels With Dirty Faces

Angels with Dirty Faces is a film with one of my favorite ancient actors, James Cagney. This gangster movie came out in 1938 which also starred Humphrey Bogart. It starts off with Rocky (Cagney) and Jerry growing up in the rough side of town. They robbed a train and in the process, Rocky saves Jerry's life by pushing him out of the way of an oncoming train. While they were trying to escape, Rocky gets caught and ends up going to juvenile but only after telling Jerry not to incriminate his own self. Rocky had problems in jail and ends up growing up there and not coming out until several years later. By this time, Rocky has become a notorious gangster and Jerry a priest. Rocky sets out to his old neighborhood where he gets together with Jerry and a girl he knew as kids. He also meets some young hoodlums who remind him of him so he takes them under his wing. Jerry, or Father Jerry, is also trying to get the boys under his wing but they choose Rocky over him because they've adored Rocky even before he got there. Rocky helps in his own corrupt way but doesn't really help them make better decisions the way Father Jerry would like them to. In the midst of all this Rocky is up to his old ways and starts getting into deeper and deeper trouble both with the law and the local gangsters and corrupt officials. In the end, Rocky is caught and is given the death penalty but what he never sees coming is the favor his old pal asks him to do before he dies. Black and white films are awesome! You can watch this movie in its entirety on YouTube.