The Roaring Twenties
You want the Brooklyn Bridge, all you gotta do is ask for it. If I can't buy it, I'll steal it.
cricket definitely hits the mark regarding the gist of this film.
It's almost set up in 3 Acts with all the filler that goes into this, involving the necessity to get into crime, the rise to power and, as these stories will go, the eventual fall. Which isn't a bad thing, at all. There's plenty to entertain even though the saga of a man who rises to power and then tumbles back down is an exceedingly common one this IS a very worthwhile film and one for anyone who enjoys the actors and the genre.
While there are two great actors here, Bogart and Cagney, you will see in any poster of this and, upon watching it, it truly centers around Cagney's character, Eddie. And Bogart, as friend and then foe is an excellent antagonist for him. Since it's very hard to see anyone, really, stand toe to toe with Cagney BUT Bogart.
A lot of the voice over narration that occurs DOES have a great bit of history thrown it while we see Eddie, having shared trenches and cigarettes with Bogart and a third friend, played by Jeffrey Lynn, who has dreams of being a lawyer; returning home to find the ONLY job available involves making and selling illegal booze.
Anyone who has ever watched a Cagney film knows just how easy it is to get behind him and wish him well. And this is no different. Where he plays a decent guy who plays fair with the usual Cagney charm AND temper.
When the fall comes, as they do, Cagney has a rough time picking himself back up and it's that inherent decency that triggers the finale to this decade long story.
When I was a teenager, having only seen one huge gangster saga, The Godfather, this was pretty impressive stuff. For very good reason.
Now, having seen countless of them, it is still a great gangster saga, though a bit more genteel, it still remains one that any fan of the gangster genre SHOULD check out as being the -- (yeah, I am SOOO using the pun) godfather of them all.