Reviews (27)

"Whaddya hear? Whaddya say?"
"Angels with Dirty Faces" is one of the greatest gangster pictures of the 1930's, a decade which saw many great ones. Some people might be turned off by the old style acting (When people shoot, it seems more like they are punching). But I very much enjoyed this movie, and I'm only 14! (Some plot spoilers).

James Cagney is "Rocky" Sullivan, who as a kid was driven to a life of crime by an arrest. Cagney gives what some consider his definitive gangster performance, which was awarded by the New York Film Critics as best actor, but was not awarded by the academy. Pat O'Brien is his childhood friend Jerry Connolly, who is now a priest. He is concerned with Sullivan's involvement on a group of kids, believing that he is influencing them in a life of crime. He vows to fight organized crime, even if that means crushing his friend.

Before he was a major star, Humphrey Bogart was a supporting player who made a major impact. In here, he plays Sullivan's lawyer, who tries to knock off Rocky after his release from prison. There is also Ann Sheridan as Laury, a love interest to Sullivan, and there are also the Dead End Kids (Led by Billy Halop as "Soapy").

I will make this short and sweet. You must see this movie. If you want more, you must own this movie. Thank You.

The Angels: Their Dirt Washes Off
ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is no by the numbers gangster melodrama of the 1930s. It is a penetrating insight into a number of well-known character types. Director Michael Curtiz portrays a bulls-eye of distinct personalities with Rocky Sullivan centered on ground zero. James Cagney, who plays Sullivan with the bravura performance of a long and distinguished career, absolutely dominates each scene with his tongue and flashing arms. Sullivan is a recently released convict from Brooklyn who returns to the scene of his youth and finds that the local youth gangs have elevated him to heroic stature. He takes this adulation in stride; he has business to take care of. He plans to regain money taken from him by a former cohort in crime (Humphrey Bogart), or failing that, to kill him. Yet, despite his criminal life, there is much good within him. At one time early in life, the merest of chances pushed him down the wrong path of a one way street while allowing another (Pat O'Brien) to take the right one. His life after that was predictable: reform school, the criminal life, back to jail, a hard-nosed attitude about life. Now he walks the streets, attempting to have it all, money, a good-looking dame (sweetly played by Ann Sheridan), and the respect of his peers, even if those peers are the Dead End Kids. These kids form the first outer circle around Rocky. They are both literally and emotionally around him. In Sullivan's interactions with them, he is squarely centered, tossing out bills as if they were candy bars, smacking them on the head with his fedora hat, exhorting them with words to upgrade their lives. And they, of course, tough as they are, lionize him, protecting him and his property from the common enemy--the cops--, and setting in motion the wheels to wind up just like him. In the third and final circle orbiting Sullivan lie the trio of Sullivan's girlfriend (Ann Sheridan), his crooked business partner (Bogie) and the other boy whom fate pushed down the right path to grow up to be a priest (O'Brien).
Try as hard as he can, Rocky cannot escape the bulls-eye painted plainly on his forehead. His girlfriend badgers him to go straight. The Dead End Kids are contstantly in trouble, trying to emulate their hoodlum god. Bogie has sicced both his own hoods and the cops in a vain attempt to eliminate Sullivan. And Father Jerry (O'Brien) tells Sullivan up front that he will go after him using the power of the media. It would have been easy for Sullivan to despair and act meanly, but he adheres to his own moral code that demands that all debts be paid. To his surprise, when he is arrested by the police and is ready to face the electric chair, Father Jerry reminds him of one more debt to be paid. This debt is to kids like those who idolize him and expect him to, in Rocky's own words, 'to walk up to the executioner and spit in his eye.' Father Jerry asks a great deal of him, to pretend fear and die seen as a gutless coward. Some debts, Father Jerry reminds him, are tougher to pay than others. The movie ends with the Dead End Kids emotionally flattened, their hero as just another yellow punk who could not walk that last walk unaided. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is a character drama that uses crime and hero worship as a backdrop against which a flavor of a decade is portrayed. The angels at the close of this movie have been convinced that one of their own had been permanently covered with the dirt of cowardice. Yet the audience knows that the dirt of crime can be washed off if the one facing his destiny can only scrub hard enough.

don't see this for Bogie
Humphrey Bogart's part is minor. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is a Cagney movie. Sure, it does seem dated. See it for the old boys' gymnasium, the boys playing basketball in their gym clothes, the trapezes hanging from the gymnasium ceiling above the basketball court. See it for Cagney helping the priest by refereeing a game, and punching the kids around when they commit fouls.

Cagney looks good as Rocky Sullivan, famous gangster put away for years, only to return to the streets. Doublecrossed by two former allies, he guns them down, only to be hunted down by police. Cagney's the real McCoy.

This is classic Cagney and not to be missed by fans of gangster movies. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES: 5 stars

Good Acting but a Flawed Script
As a life-long Bogart fan, I couldn't pass up this VHS movie on the sale rack. I had seen it 25 years ago and I recalled that it was a mediocre role for Bogie. I was right about that; This is a James Cagney movie all that way. Nothing wrong with that; I became a Cagney fan watching a lot of those old Bogart movies. What really impressed me about this movie is the beginning. Cagney plays a character named Rocky Sullivan but the movie opens with Rocky as a teenager played by Frankie Burke. Young Mr. Burke does a better Cagney imitation than Rich Little ever did. Cagney does a pretty good job himself as he plays someone who learned the wrong lessons in the school of hard knocks. In and out of prison, we finally catch up with him as he's released from the Pen one more time. This time he goes back to his old New York neighborhood to collect on the $100,000 he stashed with his lawyer after his last big haul. The lawyer is the Bogart character who does everything to prevent Rocky from collecting his money. Along side this story is a romance with Ann Sheridan and a rekindling of friendship with his old partner who is now a priest. Pat O'Brien plays this role and does it like we'd expect to see Pat O'Brien playing a priest. However, next to Cagney's role, the main focus is on the "Angels" played by Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey and the Dead End kids. These kids are a bit much but they are important because they come to idolize Rocky Sullivan. Let's skip ahead here; Rocky gets even with Bogart and his gang, Ann Sheridan falls in love with him, and Father O'Brien takes time out from building a recreation center for boys so that he can fight corruption. Rocky is headed for the electric chair and Father O'Brien is concerned that his old friend will become a martyr to the "Angels". Rocky, who's not backed down from anyone so far in the movie, rudely declines to play the coward. Of course, at the last minute he does and that, I guess, is the saving grace for the "Angels".

OK, this is fairly standard fare for Hollywood in the 30's but, in my estimation, this one goes a bit too far. The problem is the headlines the next day. In print that takes up a third of the front page we read "ROCKY SULLIVAN DIES A COWARD". Maybe it was a slow news day but I find it hard to think that's a New York City headline. Of course, we see the headlines because the "Angels" are reading the paper as we rejoin them. That's all it takes: they drop Rocky like a hot potato (pardon the metaphor) and follow Father O'Brien off to the new recreation center. I enjoyed the action, the acting and the basic plot up to the end. I just never bought into the ending

One Of The Best Gangster Movies Ever Made
What do you get when you mix James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Pat O'Brien and the Dead End Kids?
Just about the best gangster movie ever made!
Cagney plays a gangster trying to go straight, who is idolized by the Dead End Kids.
Bogie is a psycho gangster and Cagney's ex partner-in-crime.
Pat O'Brien is the priest who is trying to keep the Kids on the straight-and-narrow.
Cagney is forced to gun down Bogie and winds up going to the chair.
At the end, director Michael Curtiz makes you wonder if Cagney really turned yellow or not.
Classic gangster melodrama and among the top 100 films ever made. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

It beats the 11:35
If you look close. For that matter if you do not look close, you can see yourself and others in this movie. Kim Novak (Cathy) is a sociologist who finds a perfect setup for applied research. Now before you cover your kid's eyes, it is not that type of movie. In fact every time a juicy story starts, some train comes by and all we get is the punch line. It must be an educational movie as the husbands tell their wives that they signed up for classes at "The new School for Social Research" I looked it up and the school is real. One class is "creative accounting"

Be sure to look at the cast list. It is fun to try to remember other movies that they were in. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

"Whaddya hear? Whaddya say?"
"Angels with Dirty Faces" is one of the greatest gangster pictures of the 1930's, a decade which saw many great ones. Some people might be turned off by the old style acting (When people shoot, it seems more like they are punching). But I very much enjoyed this movie, and I'm only 14! (Some plot spoilers).

James Cagney is "Rocky" Sullivan, who as a kid was driven to a life of crime by an arrest. Cagney gives what some consider his definitive gangster performance, which was awarded by the New York Film Critics as best actor, but was not awarded by the academy. Pat O'Brien is his childhood friend Jerry Connolly, who is now a priest. He is concerned with Sullivan's involvement on a group of kids, believing that he is influencing them in a life of crime. He vows to fight organized crime, even if that means crushing his friend.

Before he was a major star, Humphrey Bogart was a supporting player who made a major impact. In here, he plays Sullivan's lawyer, who tries to knock off Rocky after his release from prison. There is also Ann Sheridan as Laury, a love interest to Sullivan, and there are also the Dead End Kids (Led by Billy Halop as "Soapy").

I will make this short and sweet. You must see this movie. If you want more, you must own this movie. Thank You.

The Angels: Their Dirt Washes Off
ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is no by the numbers gangster melodrama of the 1930s. It is a penetrating insight into a number of well-known character types. Director Michael Curtiz portrays a bulls-eye of distinct personalities with Rocky Sullivan centered on ground zero. James Cagney, who plays Sullivan with the bravura performance of a long and distinguished career, absolutely dominates each scene with his tongue and flashing arms. Sullivan is a recently released convict from Brooklyn who returns to the scene of his youth and finds that the local youth gangs have elevated him to heroic stature. He takes this adulation in stride; he has business to take care of. He plans to regain money taken from him by a former cohort in crime (Humphrey Bogart), or failing that, to kill him. Yet, despite his criminal life, there is much good within him. At one time early in life, the merest of chances pushed him down the wrong path of a one way street while allowing another (Pat O'Brien) to take the right one. His life after that was predictable: reform school, the criminal life, back to jail, a hard-nosed attitude about life. Now he walks the streets, attempting to have it all, money, a good-looking dame (sweetly played by Ann Sheridan), and the respect of his peers, even if those peers are the Dead End Kids. These kids form the first outer circle around Rocky. They are both literally and emotionally around him. In Sullivan's interactions with them, he is squarely centered, tossing out bills as if they were candy bars, smacking them on the head with his fedora hat, exhorting them with words to upgrade their lives. And they, of course, tough as they are, lionize him, protecting him and his property from the common enemy--the cops--, and setting in motion the wheels to wind up just like him. In the third and final circle orbiting Sullivan lie the trio of Sullivan's girlfriend (Ann Sheridan), his crooked business partner (Bogie) and the other boy whom fate pushed down the right path to grow up to be a priest (O'Brien).
Try as hard as he can, Rocky cannot escape the bulls-eye painted plainly on his forehead. His girlfriend badgers him to go straight. The Dead End Kids are contstantly in trouble, trying to emulate their hoodlum god. Bogie has sicced both his own hoods and the cops in a vain attempt to eliminate Sullivan. And Father Jerry (O'Brien) tells Sullivan up front that he will go after him using the power of the media. It would have been easy for Sullivan to despair and act meanly, but he adheres to his own moral code that demands that all debts be paid. To his surprise, when he is arrested by the police and is ready to face the electric chair, Father Jerry reminds him of one more debt to be paid. This debt is to kids like those who idolize him and expect him to, in Rocky's own words, 'to walk up to the executioner and spit in his eye.' Father Jerry asks a great deal of him, to pretend fear and die seen as a gutless coward. Some debts, Father Jerry reminds him, are tougher to pay than others. The movie ends with the Dead End Kids emotionally flattened, their hero as just another yellow punk who could not walk that last walk unaided. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is a character drama that uses crime and hero worship as a backdrop against which a flavor of a decade is portrayed. The angels at the close of this movie have been convinced that one of their own had been permanently covered with the dirt of cowardice. Yet the audience knows that the dirt of crime can be washed off if the one facing his destiny can only scrub hard enough.

don't see this for Bogie
Humphrey Bogart's part is minor. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is a Cagney movie. Sure, it does seem dated. See it for the old boys' gymnasium, the boys playing basketball in their gym clothes, the trapezes hanging from the gymnasium ceiling above the basketball court. See it for Cagney helping the priest by refereeing a game, and punching the kids around when they commit fouls.

Cagney looks good as Rocky Sullivan, famous gangster put away for years, only to return to the streets. Doublecrossed by two former allies, he guns them down, only to be hunted down by police. Cagney's the real McCoy.

This is classic Cagney and not to be missed by fans of gangster movies. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES: 5 stars

Good Acting but a Flawed Script
As a life-long Bogart fan, I couldn't pass up this VHS movie on the sale rack. I had seen it 25 years ago and I recalled that it was a mediocre role for Bogie. I was right about that; This is a James Cagney movie all that way. Nothing wrong with that; I became a Cagney fan watching a lot of those old Bogart movies. What really impressed me about this movie is the beginning. Cagney plays a character named Rocky Sullivan but the movie opens with Rocky as a teenager played by Frankie Burke. Young Mr. Burke does a better Cagney imitation than Rich Little ever did. Cagney does a pretty good job himself as he plays someone who learned the wrong lessons in the school of hard knocks. In and out of prison, we finally catch up with him as he's released from the Pen one more time. This time he goes back to his old New York neighborhood to collect on the $100,000 he stashed with his lawyer after his last big haul. The lawyer is the Bogart character who does everything to prevent Rocky from collecting his money. Along side this story is a romance with Ann Sheridan and a rekindling of friendship with his old partner who is now a priest. Pat O'Brien plays this role and does it like we'd expect to see Pat O'Brien playing a priest. However, next to Cagney's role, the main focus is on the "Angels" played by Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey and the Dead End kids. These kids are a bit much but they are important because they come to idolize Rocky Sullivan. Let's skip ahead here; Rocky gets even with Bogart and his gang, Ann Sheridan falls in love with him, and Father O'Brien takes time out from building a recreation center for boys so that he can fight corruption. Rocky is headed for the electric chair and Father O'Brien is concerned that his old friend will become a martyr to the "Angels". Rocky, who's not backed down from anyone so far in the movie, rudely declines to play the coward. Of course, at the last minute he does and that, I guess, is the saving grace for the "Angels".

OK, this is fairly standard fare for Hollywood in the 30's but, in my estimation, this one goes a bit too far. The problem is the headlines the next day. In print that takes up a third of the front page we read "ROCKY SULLIVAN DIES A COWARD". Maybe it was a slow news day but I find it hard to think that's a New York City headline. Of course, we see the headlines because the "Angels" are reading the paper as we rejoin them. That's all it takes: they drop Rocky like a hot potato (pardon the metaphor) and follow Father O'Brien off to the new recreation center. I enjoyed the action, the acting and the basic plot up to the end. I just never bought into the ending

One Of The Best Gangster Movies Ever Made
What do you get when you mix James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Pat O'Brien and the Dead End Kids?
Just about the best gangster movie ever made!
Cagney plays a gangster trying to go straight, who is idolized by the Dead End Kids.
Bogie is a psycho gangster and Cagney's ex partner-in-crime.
Pat O'Brien is the priest who is trying to keep the Kids on the straight-and-narrow.
Cagney is forced to gun down Bogie and winds up going to the chair.
At the end, director Michael Curtiz makes you wonder if Cagney really turned yellow or not.
Classic gangster melodrama and among the top 100 films ever made. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Bogie and The Dead End Kids
This is the film that propelled the Dead End Kids (Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan et al) to stardom.
Humphrey Bogart portrays a gangster who returns to his old neighborhood only to come to grief.
The Dead End Kids portray slum kids living right next door to the luxurious apartment houses of the rich.
Sylvia Sidney and Joel McCrea are the star-crossed lovers who try to battle their way out of the slums.
Gangster melodrama at its finest!

can't beat bogart and dead end kids
this performance doesn't rank with bogart's most famous but it should, since he is darn near perfect in the part. it makes you wonder why he struggled for so many years in his career. it also has sylvia sydney, the perfect depression era actress with her nobility and wounded sweet beauty. even joel mccrea, who i usually find to be a dud (wait, he was phenomenal in "Sullivan's Travels" and "Palm Beach Story"!) is excellent here. of course, the dead end kids became national institutions with this movie. a fine, fine, really fine movie.

"Yeah, she was my goile when we was kids"
This is a wonderful film about the life of people living in a Manhattan ghetto in the 30's. Their life is starkly juxtaposed against that of an upper class family living in a posh residence in the same neighborhood--moving there for a desirable view of the river. From their terrace, the rich folks are insulated from, and can look down upon, the poor people living in tenements.

The film has a very theatrical feel; most of the action happens right on the street in the neigborhood. The dialouge, written by Lillian Hellman, is snappy and excellent.

The kids of the Dead End are young adolescent boys on the verge of growing up. Their choices in life are constrasted by the characters of Joel McCrea and Humphrey Bogart: adults who were also once Dead End kids. McCrea, who still lives in the neigborhood, has been to college but is now is looking for work. Bogart, who is returning to the neighborhood after many years away, is the nortorious gangster, Baby-faced Martin; he has killed eight men.

The adults are facing tough choices too: McCrea is torn beween two women: Sylvia Sidney, a neighborhood friend who is trying to raise her younger brother (one of the Kids) on her own, and Wendy Barrie, a member of the rich family (her father is brother to a Judge). Sidney, when her brother gets in trouble, contemplates helping him run away. Barrie is apparently engaged but wants to go with McCrea--if a prospective job for him comes through.

Bogart has come back to the neighborhood for something...he's not sure. Perhaps he wants some stability in his life so he seeks out an former girlfriend, Clair Trevor, leading to a memorable scene:

Bogart (reminiscing): "Remember that night on the roof?"
Trevor: "The night was full of stars and I was full of dreamy ideas."

He makes a pitch for her to come away with him but she tells him to take a closer look at her... Bogart feels betrayed--and this comes shortly after being rejected by his own mother--whom he hasn't seen for years. Trevor, like other characters here, feels as if her life is at a dead end. What hope? But this film is not depressing. There is a glimmer of hope offered through the characters of McCrea and Sylvia; and, of course, in the boys.

This is a very enjoyable film, well written and executed. And the dilemmas portrayed are still with us today.

AN all time great movie
This is the movie that made Billy Halop a star..He was a fine actor and its a shame his last job was a male nurse, before he died in 1976...Only 56 years old .God Bless You Billy...You are missed indeed.

Park Ave. it ain't!
In the film Dead End, the murky waters of Manhattan's East River served as an appropriate backdrop for the squalor that manifested itself within the conefines of tenament housing. City streets that offered little hope for the jobless, poor, and oppressed were truely "dead ends". Written by Lillian Hellman and directed by William Wyler, Dead End exposed the stark social and economic divisions between the affluent and the underpriveledged. Logistically, the film was easily adapted from Sidney Kingsley's stage play, as most of the scenes are shot within the shadows of Manhattan's East 53rd street highrises. Dead End is essentially about people and their relationship with the neighborhood that spawned them. Gangster Baby Face Martin ( Humphrey Bogart) returns to his old block seeking glorified acceptance from his mother, only to be rudely rebuffed. Plastic surgery may conceal Martin's outward identity, but his crimminal persona is clearly defined through his street wise and violent attitude towards survival. At first Martin basks in the limelight; preening with sharp suit, hat, and polished shoes. As if to make a social statement exclaiming the virtues and rewards of crime, Martin becomes an icon for a teenage street gang (The Dead End Kids). When Martin is shocked by his mother's repulsive behavior, he seeks out his old flame (Clair Trevor). When she reveals that she is now a prostitute, Martin once again becomes tormented that his homecoming is a lonely one. Sylvia Sydney plays Drina, a young unemployed woman struggling to forge an identity of her own while raising her teenage brother. Drina can only dream about escaping the confines of her depressing neighborhood, since her childhood beau ( Joel McCrea) has been enticed by a society girl ( Wendy Barrie) who resides in an exclusive penthouse overlooking the shoddy apartments that define Dead End. Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Leo Gorcey, and the rest of the Dead End kids provide enough street talk to make an English teacher cringe with embarrassment. Is there a way out of Dead End? Most street toughs assumed a life of crime would free them from poverty. Others set up businesses relying on the patronage of tenanment residents to keep the bills paid. Others relied on marriage in hopes of "marrying up". Still others sought education as a way out. The year is 2000, and if you visit the streets of Manhattan above 110th street not much has changed since Wyler's 1937 film Dead End. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

"Whaddya hear? Whaddya say?"
"Angels with Dirty Faces" is one of the greatest gangster pictures of the 1930's, a decade which saw many great ones. Some people might be turned off by the old style acting (When people shoot, it seems more like they are punching). But I very much enjoyed this movie, and I'm only 14! (Some plot spoilers).

James Cagney is "Rocky" Sullivan, who as a kid was driven to a life of crime by an arrest. Cagney gives what some consider his definitive gangster performance, which was awarded by the New York Film Critics as best actor, but was not awarded by the academy. Pat O'Brien is his childhood friend Jerry Connolly, who is now a priest. He is concerned with Sullivan's involvement on a group of kids, believing that he is influencing them in a life of crime. He vows to fight organized crime, even if that means crushing his friend.

Before he was a major star, Humphrey Bogart was a supporting player who made a major impact. In here, he plays Sullivan's lawyer, who tries to knock off Rocky after his release from prison. There is also Ann Sheridan as Laury, a love interest to Sullivan, and there are also the Dead End Kids (Led by Billy Halop as "Soapy").

I will make this short and sweet. You must see this movie. If you want more, you must own this movie. Thank You.

The Angels: Their Dirt Washes Off
ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is no by the numbers gangster melodrama of the 1930s. It is a penetrating insight into a number of well-known character types. Director Michael Curtiz portrays a bulls-eye of distinct personalities with Rocky Sullivan centered on ground zero. James Cagney, who plays Sullivan with the bravura performance of a long and distinguished career, absolutely dominates each scene with his tongue and flashing arms. Sullivan is a recently released convict from Brooklyn who returns to the scene of his youth and finds that the local youth gangs have elevated him to heroic stature. He takes this adulation in stride; he has business to take care of. He plans to regain money taken from him by a former cohort in crime (Humphrey Bogart), or failing that, to kill him. Yet, despite his criminal life, there is much good within him. At one time early in life, the merest of chances pushed him down the wrong path of a one way street while allowing another (Pat O'Brien) to take the right one. His life after that was predictable: reform school, the criminal life, back to jail, a hard-nosed attitude about life. Now he walks the streets, attempting to have it all, money, a good-looking dame (sweetly played by Ann Sheridan), and the respect of his peers, even if those peers are the Dead End Kids. These kids form the first outer circle around Rocky. They are both literally and emotionally around him. In Sullivan's interactions with them, he is squarely centered, tossing out bills as if they were candy bars, smacking them on the head with his fedora hat, exhorting them with words to upgrade their lives. And they, of course, tough as they are, lionize him, protecting him and his property from the common enemy--the cops--, and setting in motion the wheels to wind up just like him. In the third and final circle orbiting Sullivan lie the trio of Sullivan's girlfriend (Ann Sheridan), his crooked business partner (Bogie) and the other boy whom fate pushed down the right path to grow up to be a priest (O'Brien).
Try as hard as he can, Rocky cannot escape the bulls-eye painted plainly on his forehead. His girlfriend badgers him to go straight. The Dead End Kids are contstantly in trouble, trying to emulate their hoodlum god. Bogie has sicced both his own hoods and the cops in a vain attempt to eliminate Sullivan. And Father Jerry (O'Brien) tells Sullivan up front that he will go after him using the power of the media. It would have been easy for Sullivan to despair and act meanly, but he adheres to his own moral code that demands that all debts be paid. To his surprise, when he is arrested by the police and is ready to face the electric chair, Father Jerry reminds him of one more debt to be paid. This debt is to kids like those who idolize him and expect him to, in Rocky's own words, 'to walk up to the executioner and spit in his eye.' Father Jerry asks a great deal of him, to pretend fear and die seen as a gutless coward. Some debts, Father Jerry reminds him, are tougher to pay than others. The movie ends with the Dead End Kids emotionally flattened, their hero as just another yellow punk who could not walk that last walk unaided. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is a character drama that uses crime and hero worship as a backdrop against which a flavor of a decade is portrayed. The angels at the close of this movie have been convinced that one of their own had been permanently covered with the dirt of cowardice. Yet the audience knows that the dirt of crime can be washed off if the one facing his destiny can only scrub hard enough.

don't see this for Bogie
Humphrey Bogart's part is minor. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is a Cagney movie. Sure, it does seem dated. See it for the old boys' gymnasium, the boys playing basketball in their gym clothes, the trapezes hanging from the gymnasium ceiling above the basketball court. See it for Cagney helping the priest by refereeing a game, and punching the kids around when they commit fouls.

Cagney looks good as Rocky Sullivan, famous gangster put away for years, only to return to the streets. Doublecrossed by two former allies, he guns them down, only to be hunted down by police. Cagney's the real McCoy.

This is classic Cagney and not to be missed by fans of gangster movies. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES: 5 stars

Good Acting but a Flawed Script
As a life-long Bogart fan, I couldn't pass up this VHS movie on the sale rack. I had seen it 25 years ago and I recalled that it was a mediocre role for Bogie. I was right about that; This is a James Cagney movie all that way. Nothing wrong with that; I became a Cagney fan watching a lot of those old Bogart movies. What really impressed me about this movie is the beginning. Cagney plays a character named Rocky Sullivan but the movie opens with Rocky as a teenager played by Frankie Burke. Young Mr. Burke does a better Cagney imitation than Rich Little ever did. Cagney does a pretty good job himself as he plays someone who learned the wrong lessons in the school of hard knocks. In and out of prison, we finally catch up with him as he's released from the Pen one more time. This time he goes back to his old New York neighborhood to collect on the $100,000 he stashed with his lawyer after his last big haul. The lawyer is the Bogart character who does everything to prevent Rocky from collecting his money. Along side this story is a romance with Ann Sheridan and a rekindling of friendship with his old partner who is now a priest. Pat O'Brien plays this role and does it like we'd expect to see Pat O'Brien playing a priest. However, next to Cagney's role, the main focus is on the "Angels" played by Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey and the Dead End kids. These kids are a bit much but they are important because they come to idolize Rocky Sullivan. Let's skip ahead here; Rocky gets even with Bogart and his gang, Ann Sheridan falls in love with him, and Father O'Brien takes time out from building a recreation center for boys so that he can fight corruption. Rocky is headed for the electric chair and Father O'Brien is concerned that his old friend will become a martyr to the "Angels". Rocky, who's not backed down from anyone so far in the movie, rudely declines to play the coward. Of course, at the last minute he does and that, I guess, is the saving grace for the "Angels".

OK, this is fairly standard fare for Hollywood in the 30's but, in my estimation, this one goes a bit too far. The problem is the headlines the next day. In print that takes up a third of the front page we read "ROCKY SULLIVAN DIES A COWARD". Maybe it was a slow news day but I find it hard to think that's a New York City headline. Of course, we see the headlines because the "Angels" are reading the paper as we rejoin them. That's all it takes: they drop Rocky like a hot potato (pardon the metaphor) and follow Father O'Brien off to the new recreation center. I enjoyed the action, the acting and the basic plot up to the end. I just never bought into the ending

One Of The Best Gangster Movies Ever Made
What do you get when you mix James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Pat O'Brien and the Dead End Kids?
Just about the best gangster movie ever made!
Cagney plays a gangster trying to go straight, who is idolized by the Dead End Kids.
Bogie is a psycho gangster and Cagney's ex partner-in-crime.
Pat O'Brien is the priest who is trying to keep the Kids on the straight-and-narrow.
Cagney is forced to gun down Bogie and winds up going to the chair.
At the end, director Michael Curtiz makes you wonder if Cagney really turned yellow or not.
Classic gangster melodrama and among the top 100 films ever made. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Bogie and The Dead End Kids
This is the film that propelled the Dead End Kids (Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan et al) to stardom.
Humphrey Bogart portrays a gangster who returns to his old neighborhood only to come to grief.
The Dead End Kids portray slum kids living right next door to the luxurious apartment houses of the rich.
Sylvia Sidney and Joel McCrea are the star-crossed lovers who try to battle their way out of the slums.
Gangster melodrama at its finest!

can't beat bogart and dead end kids
this performance doesn't rank with bogart's most famous but it should, since he is darn near perfect in the part. it makes you wonder why he struggled for so many years in his career. it also has sylvia sydney, the perfect depression era actress with her nobility and wounded sweet beauty. even joel mccrea, who i usually find to be a dud (wait, he was phenomenal in "Sullivan's Travels" and "Palm Beach Story"!) is excellent here. of course, the dead end kids became national institutions with this movie. a fine, fine, really fine movie.

"Yeah, she was my goile when we was kids"
This is a wonderful film about the life of people living in a Manhattan ghetto in the 30's. Their life is starkly juxtaposed against that of an upper class family living in a posh residence in the same neighborhood--moving there for a desirable view of the river. From their terrace, the rich folks are insulated from, and can look down upon, the poor people living in tenements.

The film has a very theatrical feel; most of the action happens right on the street in the neigborhood. The dialouge, written by Lillian Hellman, is snappy and excellent.

The kids of the Dead End are young adolescent boys on the verge of growing up. Their choices in life are constrasted by the characters of Joel McCrea and Humphrey Bogart: adults who were also once Dead End kids. McCrea, who still lives in the neigborhood, has been to college but is now is looking for work. Bogart, who is returning to the neighborhood after many years away, is the nortorious gangster, Baby-faced Martin; he has killed eight men.

The adults are facing tough choices too: McCrea is torn beween two women: Sylvia Sidney, a neighborhood friend who is trying to raise her younger brother (one of the Kids) on her own, and Wendy Barrie, a member of the rich family (her father is brother to a Judge). Sidney, when her brother gets in trouble, contemplates helping him run away. Barrie is apparently engaged but wants to go with McCrea--if a prospective job for him comes through.

Bogart has come back to the neighborhood for something...he's not sure. Perhaps he wants some stability in his life so he seeks out an former girlfriend, Clair Trevor, leading to a memorable scene:

Bogart (reminiscing): "Remember that night on the roof?"
Trevor: "The night was full of stars and I was full of dreamy ideas."

He makes a pitch for her to come away with him but she tells him to take a closer look at her... Bogart feels betrayed--and this comes shortly after being rejected by his own mother--whom he hasn't seen for years. Trevor, like other characters here, feels as if her life is at a dead end. What hope? But this film is not depressing. There is a glimmer of hope offered through the characters of McCrea and Sylvia; and, of course, in the boys.

This is a very enjoyable film, well written and executed. And the dilemmas portrayed are still with us today.

AN all time great movie
This is the movie that made Billy Halop a star..He was a fine actor and its a shame his last job was a male nurse, before he died in 1976...Only 56 years old .God Bless You Billy...You are missed indeed.

Park Ave. it ain't!
In the film Dead End, the murky waters of Manhattan's East River served as an appropriate backdrop for the squalor that manifested itself within the conefines of tenament housing. City streets that offered little hope for the jobless, poor, and oppressed were truely "dead ends". Written by Lillian Hellman and directed by William Wyler, Dead End exposed the stark social and economic divisions between the affluent and the underpriveledged. Logistically, the film was easily adapted from Sidney Kingsley's stage play, as most of the scenes are shot within the shadows of Manhattan's East 53rd street highrises. Dead End is essentially about people and their relationship with the neighborhood that spawned them. Gangster Baby Face Martin ( Humphrey Bogart) returns to his old block seeking glorified acceptance from his mother, only to be rudely rebuffed. Plastic surgery may conceal Martin's outward identity, but his crimminal persona is clearly defined through his street wise and violent attitude towards survival. At first Martin basks in the limelight; preening with sharp suit, hat, and polished shoes. As if to make a social statement exclaiming the virtues and rewards of crime, Martin becomes an icon for a teenage street gang (The Dead End Kids). When Martin is shocked by his mother's repulsive behavior, he seeks out his old flame (Clair Trevor). When she reveals that she is now a prostitute, Martin once again becomes tormented that his homecoming is a lonely one. Sylvia Sydney plays Drina, a young unemployed woman struggling to forge an identity of her own while raising her teenage brother. Drina can only dream about escaping the confines of her depressing neighborhood, since her childhood beau ( Joel McCrea) has been enticed by a society girl ( Wendy Barrie) who resides in an exclusive penthouse overlooking the shoddy apartments that define Dead End. Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Leo Gorcey, and the rest of the Dead End kids provide enough street talk to make an English teacher cringe with embarrassment. Is there a way out of Dead End? Most street toughs assumed a life of crime would free them from poverty. Others set up businesses relying on the patronage of tenanment residents to keep the bills paid. Others relied on marriage in hopes of "marrying up". Still others sought education as a way out. The year is 2000, and if you visit the streets of Manhattan above 110th street not much has changed since Wyler's 1937 film Dead End. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

The boys are working on a farm. Here comes John Garfield.
This is the forth Dead End Kids film. (Dead End [1937], Crime School [1938], Angeles With Dirty Faces [1938]). A boxer (John Garfield) has a little party after his fight. In a apartment, Johnnie trys to swing a punch at a nosy reporter, but he is so drunk he misses and ends-up passed out in a chair. Another man hits the reporter over the head with a whiskey bottle. The reporter McGee ends up dead. Later, they decide to make Johnnie take the fall. Johnnie is innocently drunk-sleep. The bad man and woman try to make there getaway, but with the police catching them, they go off the road and instantly die. They think it is Johnnie who is dead. But one detective is on the hunt. Johnnie runs away and he comes across a farm where the delinquent Dead End Kids (Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, Bernard Punsly) have been sent to work. There he meets the boys who he trys to reform. Also a woman at the date farm, Peggy (Gloria Dickson), softens his heart too. Meanwhile a detective (Claude Rains) is close on the trail. This is a good film for Billy Halop, who practically steals the film. Great acting from Halop. Good performances by May Robson who played the Grandma on the farm. Filmed at Palm Desert, California. Great ending. Get a hankercheif. On this DVD version, Alpha Video only offers an "index" which is a chapter selection. Very good print of film.

John Garfield meets the Dead End Kids
Future superstar, John Garfield, is cast as a boxer on the lam from a (false) murder rap.
Claude Raines is miscast as the detective who pursues him.
Garfield winds up at a farm where the ever-popular Dead End Kids are too.
There's plenty of action, drama and intrigue as Garfield gets involved with the farm's gorgeous owner and the Dead End Kids, who come to idolize him.

A Very Thirties Film
The always intense John Garfield stars as a boxer framed for the murder of a newspaper reporter who was about to expose the real story behind his carefully crafted public image. Conveniently, the real killer and the only witness to what really happened are both killed in a car accident, leaving Garfield without a defense. So he takes off, ends up in California and gets mixed up with the Dead End Kids, a girl, and an old lady who befriend him, not knowing his real identity. There's a lot left to luck in this film as dogged detective Claude Rains chases after the boxer. The Dead End Kids are an acquired taste, although in this film they aren't as grating as they would become in later years. Garfield, as usual, is very watchable and believable. Rains, on the other hand, is miscast as the detective and never for a moment seems convincing. Ann Sheridan is equally miscast as Garfield's drunk girlfriend, although she makes a quick exit in the film, despite her uncalled-for high billing. Gloria Dickson, the girl he falls in love with, has a few good moments, but lacks star quality. The script has a number of holes in it, but it also has some good moments. I particularly enjoyed the dramatic water tower sequence, as the boys must try to escape from a water tower where the water is going down. This is very much an old fashioned movie, especially in the boxing scenes, but that is also part of its appeal, since it is a great example of the kind of film Thirties audiences enjoyed.

Boxer on the lam hobos to Arizona date farm.
One of the original six DEAD END KIDS films, this "The Fugitive"-style story involves a world-class boxer(John Garfield) who is thought to be dead (but he's not) and also a murderer (but he's not). On the lam with a new identity and little money he hobos his way to an Arizona date farm where the Dead End Kids are on rehabilitation off of New York's East Side and being taken care of by a gorgeous farmer (Gloria Dickson). Garfield is a bad influence on the kids but somehow he is where he belongs. When a boxing promoter offers $500 a round for anyone who can stay in the ring with his champion, Garfield can't resist coming out of hiding to go for the prize. There is an investigation sub-plot (with Claude Rains doing what Tommy Lee Jones did in "The Fugitive") but here it is totally useless and just doesn't work. The ending is even more useless. Regardless, there is much to like due to great direction (Busby wasn't very good at telling the story but boy did he know where to put the cameras and how to fill up the screen), great acting (John Garfield brings compassion to a dislikable character, the reliable Dead End Kids are in top form, and Gloria Dickson is very appealing).

Entertaining Drama
They Made Me A Crimminal is not remembered as a classic drama, but the film still provides predictable entertainment sixty-one years after its theatrical release. Busby Berkeley's direction is excellent as the sequences involving the car crash, Garfield's train ride, and the water tower appear realistic. The fight scenes in the ring are a bit histrionic, but at least Berkeley used enough extras to create a boxing arena type atmosphere- John Avildsen (Rocky) are you reading this? The film contains a credible cast with John Garfield in the lead as Johnny a prize fighter on the run. Gloria Dickson as Peggy gives a Sylvia Sydney type performance as a reformer intent on reabilitating juvenille deliquents. Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Gabriel Dell, and the rest of the Dead End Kids are the NYC teens who idolize tough Johnny, but respect Peggy. Cluade Rains plays a newspaperman who wants to rip the veil of deceit from Johnny's persona. Ann Sheridan receives top billing over Gloria Dickson and for no good reason. Sheridan's role as Goldie is brief and totally unconvincing as a drunken floozie riding the coat tails of Johnny's ring success. For those that enjoy happy endings with morality values, this 90 minute film will not disappoint you. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A GLOBAL AFFAIR
THIS IS THE TYPICAL BOB HOPE SHOW. IT IS A COMEDY, AND HE IS THE STAR.

HOWEVER, THIS IS A CUTE STORY. HE IS A BACHELOR WORKING AT THE UNITED NATIONS. BOB HOPE ENDS UP BEING PLACED IN CHARGE OF AN ABANDONED BABY GIRL. ALL THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD WANT TO CLAIM HER, AND RAISE HER AS THEIR'S. BOB HOPE MUST DECIDE WHAT NATION IT WILL BE. MANY GLAMOURS WOMAN OF DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES TRY TO CONVINCE BOB THAT THE BABY SHOULD GO TO THEIR NATION.

WITH WIT AND CHARM HE MAKES UP HIS MIND AND REVEALS IT TO THE WORLD OF NATIONS.

IF YOU LIKE BOB HOPE, THIS IS SHORT, SWEET AND TO THE POINT, WITH ALL HIS TRADEMARK REMARKS AND GESTURES. A GOOD VIDEO TO SAVE IN YOUR COLLECTION. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Gangster Rocky Sullivan (James Cagney) returns from prison to make a name for himself in the crime world. He's soon discovered by the Dead End Kids, who idolize him, and childhood pal Father Jerry Connolly (Pat O'Brien). The good Father has taken a different turn from Rocky and is struggling to bring the Kids around; while still friends with Rocky, he tries to persuade him to steer clear of the gang of urchins. Rocky runs afoul of the law, however, when he guns down his former partners Frazier (Humphrey Bogart) and Keefer (George Bancroft) after they betray him over a cut of crime-related profits. Seen as a whole, Angels with Dirty Faces may seem dated to many viewers, but its ending is still enough to bring chills. Director Michael Curtiz infused this gritty 1938 effort with an amazing amount of energy and pacing; the Dead End Kids, in their screen debut, supply a fair amount of comic relief along with their dramatic roles. It's also worth noting that at the time, the notion of a criminal being a product of his environment was a controversial one. The swaggering bantam-rooster role played by Cagney, one of the screen's greats, helped define how he would be perceived (and parodied) for years to come. This movie easily stands along with The Roaring Twenties and Little Caesar as one of the most important, archetypal gangster films of the '30s. --Jerry Renshaw ... Read more

Reviews (27)

"Whaddya hear? Whaddya say?"
"Angels with Dirty Faces" is one of the greatest gangster pictures of the 1930's, a decade which saw many great ones. Some people might be turned off by the old style acting (When people shoot, it seems more like they are punching). But I very much enjoyed this movie, and I'm only 14! (Some plot spoilers).

James Cagney is "Rocky" Sullivan, who as a kid was driven to a life of crime by an arrest. Cagney gives what some consider his definitive gangster performance, which was awarded by the New York Film Critics as best actor, but was not awarded by the academy. Pat O'Brien is his childhood friend Jerry Connolly, who is now a priest. He is concerned with Sullivan's involvement on a group of kids, believing that he is influencing them in a life of crime. He vows to fight organized crime, even if that means crushing his friend.

Before he was a major star, Humphrey Bogart was a supporting player who made a major impact. In here, he plays Sullivan's lawyer, who tries to knock off Rocky after his release from prison. There is also Ann Sheridan as Laury, a love interest to Sullivan, and there are also the Dead End Kids (Led by Billy Halop as "Soapy").

I will make this short and sweet. You must see this movie. If you want more, you must own this movie. Thank You.

The Angels: Their Dirt Washes Off
ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is no by the numbers gangster melodrama of the 1930s. It is a penetrating insight into a number of well-known character types. Director Michael Curtiz portrays a bulls-eye of distinct personalities with Rocky Sullivan centered on ground zero. James Cagney, who plays Sullivan with the bravura performance of a long and distinguished career, absolutely dominates each scene with his tongue and flashing arms. Sullivan is a recently released convict from Brooklyn who returns to the scene of his youth and finds that the local youth gangs have elevated him to heroic stature. He takes this adulation in stride; he has business to take care of. He plans to regain money taken from him by a former cohort in crime (Humphrey Bogart), or failing that, to kill him. Yet, despite his criminal life, there is much good within him. At one time early in life, the merest of chances pushed him down the wrong path of a one way street while allowing another (Pat O'Brien) to take the right one. His life after that was predictable: reform school, the criminal life, back to jail, a hard-nosed attitude about life. Now he walks the streets, attempting to have it all, money, a good-looking dame (sweetly played by Ann Sheridan), and the respect of his peers, even if those peers are the Dead End Kids. These kids form the first outer circle around Rocky. They are both literally and emotionally around him. In Sullivan's interactions with them, he is squarely centered, tossing out bills as if they were candy bars, smacking them on the head with his fedora hat, exhorting them with words to upgrade their lives. And they, of course, tough as they are, lionize him, protecting him and his property from the common enemy--the cops--, and setting in motion the wheels to wind up just like him. In the third and final circle orbiting Sullivan lie the trio of Sullivan's girlfriend (Ann Sheridan), his crooked business partner (Bogie) and the other boy whom fate pushed down the right path to grow up to be a priest (O'Brien).
Try as hard as he can, Rocky cannot escape the bulls-eye painted plainly on his forehead. His girlfriend badgers him to go straight. The Dead End Kids are contstantly in trouble, trying to emulate their hoodlum god. Bogie has sicced both his own hoods and the cops in a vain attempt to eliminate Sullivan. And Father Jerry (O'Brien) tells Sullivan up front that he will go after him using the power of the media. It would have been easy for Sullivan to despair and act meanly, but he adheres to his own moral code that demands that all debts be paid. To his surprise, when he is arrested by the police and is ready to face the electric chair, Father Jerry reminds him of one more debt to be paid. This debt is to kids like those who idolize him and expect him to, in Rocky's own words, 'to walk up to the executioner and spit in his eye.' Father Jerry asks a great deal of him, to pretend fear and die seen as a gutless coward. Some debts, Father Jerry reminds him, are tougher to pay than others. The movie ends with the Dead End Kids emotionally flattened, their hero as just another yellow punk who could not walk that last walk unaided. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is a character drama that uses crime and hero worship as a backdrop against which a flavor of a decade is portrayed. The angels at the close of this movie have been convinced that one of their own had been permanently covered with the dirt of cowardice. Yet the audience knows that the dirt of crime can be washed off if the one facing his destiny can only scrub hard enough.

don't see this for Bogie
Humphrey Bogart's part is minor. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES is a Cagney movie. Sure, it does seem dated. See it for the old boys' gymnasium, the boys playing basketball in their gym clothes, the trapezes hanging from the gymnasium ceiling above the basketball court. See it for Cagney helping the priest by refereeing a game, and punching the kids around when they commit fouls.

Cagney looks good as Rocky Sullivan, famous gangster put away for years, only to return to the streets. Doublecrossed by two former allies, he guns them down, only to be hunted down by police. Cagney's the real McCoy.

This is classic Cagney and not to be missed by fans of gangster movies. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES: 5 stars

Good Acting but a Flawed Script
As a life-long Bogart fan, I couldn't pass up this VHS movie on the sale rack. I had seen it 25 years ago and I recalled that it was a mediocre role for Bogie. I was right about that; This is a James Cagney movie all that way. Nothing wrong with that; I became a Cagney fan watching a lot of those old Bogart movies. What really impressed me about this movie is the beginning. Cagney plays a character named Rocky Sullivan but the movie opens with Rocky as a teenager played by Frankie Burke. Young Mr. Burke does a better Cagney imitation than Rich Little ever did. Cagney does a pretty good job himself as he plays someone who learned the wrong lessons in the school of hard knocks. In and out of prison, we finally catch up with him as he's released from the Pen one more time. This time he goes back to his old New York neighborhood to collect on the $100,000 he stashed with his lawyer after his last big haul. The lawyer is the Bogart character who does everything to prevent Rocky from collecting his money. Along side this story is a romance with Ann Sheridan and a rekindling of friendship with his old partner who is now a priest. Pat O'Brien plays this role and does it like we'd expect to see Pat O'Brien playing a priest. However, next to Cagney's role, the main focus is on the "Angels" played by Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey and the Dead End kids. These kids are a bit much but they are important because they come to idolize Rocky Sullivan. Let's skip ahead here; Rocky gets even with Bogart and his gang, Ann Sheridan falls in love with him, and Father O'Brien takes time out from building a recreation center for boys so that he can fight corruption. Rocky is headed for the electric chair and Father O'Brien is concerned that his old friend will become a martyr to the "Angels". Rocky, who's not backed down from anyone so far in the movie, rudely declines to play the coward. Of course, at the last minute he does and that, I guess, is the saving grace for the "Angels".

OK, this is fairly standard fare for Hollywood in the 30's but, in my estimation, this one goes a bit too far. The problem is the headlines the next day. In print that takes up a third of the front page we read "ROCKY SULLIVAN DIES A COWARD". Maybe it was a slow news day but I find it hard to think that's a New York City headline. Of course, we see the headlines because the "Angels" are reading the paper as we rejoin them. That's all it takes: they drop Rocky like a hot potato (pardon the metaphor) and follow Father O'Brien off to the new recreation center. I enjoyed the action, the acting and the basic plot up to the end. I just never bought into the ending

One Of The Best Gangster Movies Ever Made
What do you get when you mix James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Pat O'Brien and the Dead End Kids?
Just about the best gangster movie ever made!
Cagney plays a gangster trying to go straight, who is idolized by the Dead End Kids.
Bogie is a psycho gangster and Cagney's ex partner-in-crime.
Pat O'Brien is the priest who is trying to keep the Kids on the straight-and-narrow.
Cagney is forced to gun down Bogie and winds up going to the chair.
At the end, director Michael Curtiz makes you wonder if Cagney really turned yellow or not.
Classic gangster melodrama and among the top 100 films ever made. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

the most sensational airplane serial ever made!
Don't miss this!This the best oldie movie I have ever seen! The special effects, in crisp black and white, were flawless, not "hokey" like most action movies of the period. When I watch this movie I feel that I'm "there" - I love the big cars,the street scenes, machines, fire trucks, ambulances, ships, planes and the fashions!Donald Woods is as dashing a hero as Erroll Flynn and Kathyrn Adams is as sweet as your little sister. The bad guys are trying to kill them and steal the protype of the Air Forces military plane.There's a lot of fistfights, car chases, crashes, and we enjoy long displays of flying stunts (small propeller planes)in every segment of the serial. The characters are all very close, like a family and their is a constant light-heartedness and implied romances. Each part ends in a disaster (or "cliff-hanger" to keep your interest. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Decades may pass, but The Courtship of Eddie's Father never loses any of its abundant charm. Long before he became an Oscar®-winning director, 8-year-old "Ronny" Howard (then appearing on TV's The Andy Griffith Show) costarred with Glenn Ford in this heartwarming family classic, later adapted into a TV series (1969-72) starring Bill Bixby and Brandon Cruz. While the later show adopted a hip, late-'60s sensibility, this 1963 production is more straight-laced and, for its time, remarkably frank--and disarmingly funny--about the many questions that precocious son Eddie (Howard) has for his widower father (Ford) as they recover from the death of wife and mother. A perfect director for this delicate material (wonderfully adapted from Mark Toby's novel), Vincente Minnelli hits all the right notes of sadness, hope, and parental concern; Ford's unspoken love for a helpful neighbor (Shirley Jones) may be a foregone conclusion, but romantic subplots (and Eddie's diligent matchmaking) add plenty of domestic drama. Sweet but never saccharine, this timeless Courtship is guaranteed to make you smile. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (7)

The Original Courtship
The film version of The Courtship Of Eddie's Father is not as well known as the television show it spawned, but it is an enjoyable film. The film stars Glenn Ford as recently widowed New York City disk jockey who must raise his eight-year old son, Eddie played by Ron Howard. Shirley Jones co-stars as the family's next-door neighbor who develops into a love interest for Mr. Ford (this is the second film in row that Mr. Howard & Ms. Jones starred in together after 1962's The Music Man). Jerry Van Dyke provides comic relief as a fellow DJ who is the typical early 60's swinging ladies man. The film's best moments are the interaction between Mr. Ford & Mr. Howard. Their relationship is lovingly depicted and the sense of loss and coping that they go through is quite realistic. The Courtship Of Eddie's Father is a good, family friendly film.

Courtship of Eddies Father Is Finnaly On DVD
I love this DVD. I had always loved this movie and I bought the DVD of this title on May 13, 2003 which was the release date/

I love the special features on this great dvd.

This dVD is about a sweet Father (Glen Ford) who is a widow and his son Eddie (Ronny Howard). The Father is trying to get remarried but every time he brings home someome Eddie doesn't like her. The person who we wants his father to marry is the girl next door Shirley Jones. Well this movie ends well

The Courtship Of Shirley & Ronny
Of course, being a huge Partridge Family fan I have encountered every film Shirley Jones ever made. The Re-teaming of Shirley Jones and Ronny Howard (Also 1962 THE MUSIC MAN) for this film was a delight. She looks beautiful in this film, too. And the scene between Ronny Howard and Glen Ford at the end of the film had me rolling with laughter. He was truly an amazingly gifted young child actor. His sincerity and believability was remarkable for such a young age. His preformance alone would have been enough in this film but every actor gives a wonderfully talented performance (Even Jerry Van Dyke). So, if you want to see a funny, touching and romantic view of the world through the eyes of a little boy for his father......Buy this movie. It's a step back into the early 1960's where life was simpler and movies still had style. HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!!

Overwhelming!
That movie stuck in my mind for decades.It has a magic ingredient that nails you on your seat.I love it!

charming family comedy
Glenn Ford and Ronny Howard star in the wonderful family comedy THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE'S FATHER, a warm, winning film directed by master showman Vincente Minnelli.

After his wife dies, Tom Corbett (Glenn Ford) is coping as best he can, now being one of New York's most eligible bachelors. His young son Eddie (Ronny Howard), however, has definite ideas about who he wants his father to marry. None other than the kindly young divorcee living across the hall, Elizabeth (Shirley Jones). Tom, however, is dating cold socialite Rita (Dina Merrill).

How father and son teach each other about life and love makes for unforgettable screen entertainment.

With Stella Stevens, Roberta Sherwood and Jerry Van Dyke. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

The boys are working on a farm. Here comes John Garfield.
This is the forth Dead End Kids film. (Dead End [1937], Crime School [1938], Angeles With Dirty Faces [1938]). A boxer (John Garfield) has a little party after his fight. In a apartment, Johnnie trys to swing a punch at a nosy reporter, but he is so drunk he misses and ends-up passed out in a chair. Another man hits the reporter over the head with a whiskey bottle. The reporter McGee ends up dead. Later, they decide to make Johnnie take the fall. Johnnie is innocently drunk-sleep. The bad man and woman try to make there getaway, but with the police catching them, they go off the road and instantly die. They think it is Johnnie who is dead. But one detective is on the hunt. Johnnie runs away and he comes across a farm where the delinquent Dead End Kids (Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, Bernard Punsly) have been sent to work. There he meets the boys who he trys to reform. Also a woman at the date farm, Peggy (Gloria Dickson), softens his heart too. Meanwhile a detective (Claude Rains) is close on the trail. This is a good film for Billy Halop, who practically steals the film. Great acting from Halop. Good performances by May Robson who played the Grandma on the farm. Filmed at Palm Desert, California. Great ending. Get a hankercheif. On this DVD version, Alpha Video only offers an "index" which is a chapter selection. Very good print of film.

John Garfield meets the Dead End Kids
Future superstar, John Garfield, is cast as a boxer on the lam from a (false) murder rap.
Claude Raines is miscast as the detective who pursues him.
Garfield winds up at a farm where the ever-popular Dead End Kids are too.
There's plenty of action, drama and intrigue as Garfield gets involved with the farm's gorgeous owner and the Dead End Kids, who come to idolize him.

A Very Thirties Film
The always intense John Garfield stars as a boxer framed for the murder of a newspaper reporter who was about to expose the real story behind his carefully crafted public image. Conveniently, the real killer and the only witness to what really happened are both killed in a car accident, leaving Garfield without a defense. So he takes off, ends up in California and gets mixed up with the Dead End Kids, a girl, and an old lady who befriend him, not knowing his real identity. There's a lot left to luck in this film as dogged detective Claude Rains chases after the boxer. The Dead End Kids are an acquired taste, although in this film they aren't as grating as they would become in later years. Garfield, as usual, is very watchable and believable. Rains, on the other hand, is miscast as the detective and never for a moment seems convincing. Ann Sheridan is equally miscast as Garfield's drunk girlfriend, although she makes a quick exit in the film, despite her uncalled-for high billing. Gloria Dickson, the girl he falls in love with, has a few good moments, but lacks star quality. The script has a number of holes in it, but it also has some good moments. I particularly enjoyed the dramatic water tower sequence, as the boys must try to escape from a water tower where the water is going down. This is very much an old fashioned movie, especially in the boxing scenes, but that is also part of its appeal, since it is a great example of the kind of film Thirties audiences enjoyed.

Boxer on the lam hobos to Arizona date farm.
One of the original six DEAD END KIDS films, this "The Fugitive"-style story involves a world-class boxer(John Garfield) who is thought to be dead (but he's not) and also a murderer (but he's not). On the lam with a new identity and little money he hobos his way to an Arizona date farm where the Dead End Kids are on rehabilitation off of New York's East Side and being taken care of by a gorgeous farmer (Gloria Dickson). Garfield is a bad influence on the kids but somehow he is where he belongs. When a boxing promoter offers $500 a round for anyone who can stay in the ring with his champion, Garfield can't resist coming out of hiding to go for the prize. There is an investigation sub-plot (with Claude Rains doing what Tommy Lee Jones did in "The Fugitive") but here it is totally useless and just doesn't work. The ending is even more useless. Regardless, there is much to like due to great direction (Busby wasn't very good at telling the story but boy did he know where to put the cameras and how to fill up the screen), great acting (John Garfield brings compassion to a dislikable character, the reliable Dead End Kids are in top form, and Gloria Dickson is very appealing).

Entertaining Drama
They Made Me A Crimminal is not remembered as a classic drama, but the film still provides predictable entertainment sixty-one years after its theatrical release. Busby Berkeley's direction is excellent as the sequences involving the car crash, Garfield's train ride, and the water tower appear realistic. The fight scenes in the ring are a bit histrionic, but at least Berkeley used enough extras to create a boxing arena type atmosphere- John Avildsen (Rocky) are you reading this? The film contains a credible cast with John Garfield in the lead as Johnny a prize fighter on the run. Gloria Dickson as Peggy gives a Sylvia Sydney type performance as a reformer intent on reabilitating juvenille deliquents. Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Gabriel Dell, and the rest of the Dead End Kids are the NYC teens who idolize tough Johnny, but respect Peggy. Cluade Rains plays a newspaperman who wants to rip the veil of deceit from Johnny's persona. Ann Sheridan receives top billing over Gloria Dickson and for no good reason. Sheridan's role as Goldie is brief and totally unconvincing as a drunken floozie riding the coat tails of Johnny's ring success. For those that enjoy happy endings with morality values, this 90 minute film will not disappoint you. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

The boys are working on a farm. Here comes John Garfield.
This is the forth Dead End Kids film. (Dead End [1937], Crime School [1938], Angeles With Dirty Faces [1938]). A boxer (John Garfield) has a little party after his fight. In a apartment, Johnnie trys to swing a punch at a nosy reporter, but he is so drunk he misses and ends-up passed out in a chair. Another man hits the reporter over the head with a whiskey bottle. The reporter McGee ends up dead. Later, they decide to make Johnnie take the fall. Johnnie is innocently drunk-sleep. The bad man and woman try to make there getaway, but with the police catching them, they go off the road and instantly die. They think it is Johnnie who is dead. But one detective is on the hunt. Johnnie runs away and he comes across a farm where the delinquent Dead End Kids (Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, Bernard Punsly) have been sent to work. There he meets the boys who he trys to reform. Also a woman at the date farm, Peggy (Gloria Dickson), softens his heart too. Meanwhile a detective (Claude Rains) is close on the trail. This is a good film for Billy Halop, who practically steals the film. Great acting from Halop. Good performances by May Robson who played the Grandma on the farm. Filmed at Palm Desert, California. Great ending. Get a hankercheif. On this DVD version, Alpha Video only offers an "index" which is a chapter selection. Very good print of film.

John Garfield meets the Dead End Kids
Future superstar, John Garfield, is cast as a boxer on the lam from a (false) murder rap.
Claude Raines is miscast as the detective who pursues him.
Garfield winds up at a farm where the ever-popular Dead End Kids are too.
There's plenty of action, drama and intrigue as Garfield gets involved with the farm's gorgeous owner and the Dead End Kids, who come to idolize him.

A Very Thirties Film
The always intense John Garfield stars as a boxer framed for the murder of a newspaper reporter who was about to expose the real story behind his carefully crafted public image. Conveniently, the real killer and the only witness to what really happened are both killed in a car accident, leaving Garfield without a defense. So he takes off, ends up in California and gets mixed up with the Dead End Kids, a girl, and an old lady who befriend him, not knowing his real identity. There's a lot left to luck in this film as dogged detective Claude Rains chases after the boxer. The Dead End Kids are an acquired taste, although in this film they aren't as grating as they would become in later years. Garfield, as usual, is very watchable and believable. Rains, on the other hand, is miscast as the detective and never for a moment seems convincing. Ann Sheridan is equally miscast as Garfield's drunk girlfriend, although she makes a quick exit in the film, despite her uncalled-for high billing. Gloria Dickson, the girl he falls in love with, has a few good moments, but lacks star quality. The script has a number of holes in it, but it also has some good moments. I particularly enjoyed the dramatic water tower sequence, as the boys must try to escape from a water tower where the water is going down. This is very much an old fashioned movie, especially in the boxing scenes, but that is also part of its appeal, since it is a great example of the kind of film Thirties audiences enjoyed.

Boxer on the lam hobos to Arizona date farm.
One of the original six DEAD END KIDS films, this "The Fugitive"-style story involves a world-class boxer(John Garfield) who is thought to be dead (but he's not) and also a murderer (but he's not). On the lam with a new identity and little money he hobos his way to an Arizona date farm where the Dead End Kids are on rehabilitation off of New York's East Side and being taken care of by a gorgeous farmer (Gloria Dickson). Garfield is a bad influence on the kids but somehow he is where he belongs. When a boxing promoter offers $500 a round for anyone who can stay in the ring with his champion, Garfield can't resist coming out of hiding to go for the prize. There is an investigation sub-plot (with Claude Rains doing what Tommy Lee Jones did in "The Fugitive") but here it is totally useless and just doesn't work. The ending is even more useless. Regardless, there is much to like due to great direction (Busby wasn't very good at telling the story but boy did he know where to put the cameras and how to fill up the screen), great acting (John Garfield brings compassion to a dislikable character, the reliable Dead End Kids are in top form, and Gloria Dickson is very appealing).

Entertaining Drama
They Made Me A Crimminal is not remembered as a classic drama, but the film still provides predictable entertainment sixty-one years after its theatrical release. Busby Berkeley's direction is excellent as the sequences involving the car crash, Garfield's train ride, and the water tower appear realistic. The fight scenes in the ring are a bit histrionic, but at least Berkeley used enough extras to create a boxing arena type atmosphere- John Avildsen (Rocky) are you reading this? The film contains a credible cast with John Garfield in the lead as Johnny a prize fighter on the run. Gloria Dickson as Peggy gives a Sylvia Sydney type performance as a reformer intent on reabilitating juvenille deliquents. Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Gabriel Dell, and the rest of the Dead End Kids are the NYC teens who idolize tough Johnny, but respect Peggy. Cluade Rains plays a newspaperman who wants to rip the veil of deceit from Johnny's persona. Ann Sheridan receives top billing over Gloria Dickson and for no good reason. Sheridan's role as Goldie is brief and totally unconvincing as a drunken floozie riding the coat tails of Johnny's ring success. For those that enjoy happy endings with morality values, this 90 minute film will not disappoint you. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Billy Halop and the Dead End gang help Little Tough Guys.
Billy Halop was part of the Dead End Kids gang that did many films after Broadway, starting with Dead End (1937). The Dead End Kids films lasted from 1937-1939 with seven films and some of the cast including Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell and Bernard Punsly crossed over to be with The Little Tough Guys from 1938-1943. By 1940, Billy Halop wanted to branch out on his own. They also made Saturday matinee serials by Universal Pictures. Junior G-Men (1940), Sea Raiders (1941), Junior G-Men of the Air (1943). 12 chapters, 11 cliffhangers. Each new chapter was shown every week in the local theatre. Each episode was only 18-21 minutes long. Now on VHS and DVD, you can see all of the chapters together. With some searching you can find them in a two-tape pak or a two volume-dvd pak. Volume 1, chapters 1-6. Volume 2, chapters 7-12 or each volume may be available separatly. Alpha Video with Nina's Discount Oldies or Amazon.com may have a good deal for you. Buy both volumes so you can see all of the cliffhanger episodes together. Total running time: 3 hours and 58 minutes. The story is: Billy Barton (Billy Halop has been looking for his father who he has not seen in five years. His father left him at the military academy. The government sent his father on a secret mission. This special medal was left in a briefcase for Billy. Billy left the academy to look for his father, but he was mugged, wallet taken and left for broke. The FBI tells Billy that his father was looking for him. Six months ago, Billy read in the newspaper that his father was dead. He blames it on the coppers. This is why Billy is so tough and has an attitude. The FBI tells Billy that his father is alive and is being held captive by a dangerous organization, The Flaming Torch. The Flaming Torch is trying to overthrow the present social order. They want the formula that Admiral Barton (Russell Hicks) has. Billy must join the Junior G-Men to help save his fathers life. In 1940, the Dead End Kids changed into The East Side Kids.