THE ROARING TWENTIES
(1939)With James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, Jeffery Lynn, Gladys George, Frank McHugh
Directed by Raoul Walsh
Black and White
Reviewed by JL
THE ROARING TWENTIES
is a coda to the great Warner Bros. gangster films of the
'30s.
Like many that came before it -- such as LITTLE CAESAR, THE PUBLIC
ENEMY, and ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES -- it was another variation on the
rags-to-riches-to-rags saga of a young mug lured into the criminal
life. This one had a feeling of closure, however, as its
tragic
denouement suggests not only the end of an era, but the end of a genre
as well. Cagney delivers another astonishing performance as
Eddie
Bartlett, a World War I vet who turns to bootlegging in a postwar world
that offers few opportunities. Eddie is one of Cagney's most
multi-layered of such characters, a somewhat kindhearted guy with a lack
of ego, but who will stop at nothing to remain at the top of his
empire. Bogey is also outstanding in one of his best early
roles
as Eddie's comrade-turned-rival. The near-equal in every
respect
to the great ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES, the film to which it is often
compared, THE ROARING TWENTIES is a slightly less violent and slightly
more thoughtful classic of its kind. 
- JL
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Copyright © 2010 John V. Brennan, John Larrabee