Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 3 (Smart Money / Picture Snatcher / The Mayor of Hell / Lady Killer / Black Legion / Brother Orchid)

 

 

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Volume#3 of Warner's "Gangsters Collection" features alot of Cagney,some Robinson with a little bit of Bogie thrown into the mix.This one is a step up from Volume#2 as far as ratings go,and features,for the most part,some interesting flicks that you will be sure to enjoy.
"Lady Killer",released in time for Christmas of 1933(3 1/2 stars) stars a very likable James Cagney as Dan Quigley.He is fired as an usher at a theatre and winds up being a victim of a purse to card game scam,with one Myra(Mae Clarke)as the bait.When Dan gets wise to it,he virtually takes it over promising bigger returns for her and the rest of the cons.True to his word the gang rakes in the dough but when a house keeper gets killed Dan washes his hands of them and they all go on the lam.He and Myra head to L.A.where he ends up in the slammer and Myra and another gang member run out on him.Eventually he gets out and makes a new career for himself in the movies,falling in love with an actress Louis Underwood(Margaret Lindsay).But the old gang comes back to haunt him and blackmail him.He pays them off but they keep after him.In the end he acquits himself and the gang goes off to jail.
The plot is a bit contrived at times but Cagney's persona,as in so many other films,wins you over practically from the start.This film also features the (then) much anticipated return "bout" with Mae Clark.In this one he grabs her hair,drags off a chair to the door then picks her up and throws her into the hallway;baggage not far behind.Watch for some neat little pre-code sexual innuendoes in the first part of the film.
"Black Legion",released January/37,(3 stars) features Humphrey Bogart as Frank Taylor.He is a factory machinist who thinks he is a shoe in for the upcoming foreman's position.He is married and a father of one son,lives a pleasant life and is well liked among his friends.When he is passed up for promotion he becomes very bitter.That night he listens to a radio broadcast concerning a group "concerned" about the the protection of American jobs from foreigners and other hate motivated rhetoric;the Black legion.A co-worker he learns is already a member and after a meeting he joins up.He and the group go on a local reign of terror until Frank inadvertantly shoots one of his best friends.He is put on trial and instead of lying as the Legion demands,part way through he gives in and confesses on the stand.He and the group go off to serve life sentences.
The film is based on the actual group the Black Legion,which terrorized and killed many "undesirables" during the 30s;an arm of the infamous KKK.The film was intended to be a little preachy but gets its' message across without going over board.Watch for actor Joe Sawyer as Bogie's friend who was already a BL member.A busy actor who is well remembered for his role years later in the Sc-Fi flick "It Came From Outer Space" as one of the power company men(Russell Johnson was the other).
'Brother Orchid',released in June/40(4 stars) stars Edward G Robinson as Johnny Sarto,a rackateer boss.Johnny is fed up with the crime scene,quits(once and for all)and leaves on a five year trip to Europe to search for "class",leaving his underling Jack Buck(Bogart)in charge.His "search" just ends up blowing all his dough and he telegraphs his return to his former gang mates.When he arrives he finds he isn't welcome,is tossed out and vows to get back on top.In an attempt to get Sarto and Buck back together,his girlfriend Florence(Ann Southern) arranges a meeting between Jack and Johnny which goes horribly awry with Johnny fleeing only to get shot in the back.He falls down in front of a monastery and the brothers therein nurse him back to health.Over time Johnny,now called Brother Orchid,becomes quite popular but when a chance comes to finally get back at his former gang he takes it and he helps the police shut them down.Instead of marrying his girlfriend he returns to the monastical way of life;'real class',he says.
This an utterly charming film as we see Robinson transform from his shallow but tough guy persona into a trusting and sincere human being in the end. Everyone involved from Southern to the monastery Brother Superior(Donald Crisp) to Southerns' boyfriend Clarence(Ralph Bellamy) does a fine job.
'Mayor of Hell',released in June/33(3 '-4 stars),stars James Cagney as Patsy Gargan a racketeer who,due to his influence,gets a job as deputy commissioner of reform schools.The low down head of the school Mr Thompson(Dudley Digges)doesn't much like Patsy's style,when he comes calling.Patsy soon meets one of the tougher boys Jimmy(Frankie Darro) who was sent here with the rest of his young gang friends.Things are bad at the school with Ferguson cooking the books until Patsy with the help of the school nurse Miss Griffiths(Madge Evans) change things for the better.When Patsy accidentally shoots one of his gang for a double cross he has to lamb out of town,leaving the boys at the school in the hands of Ferguson again.Things go down hill and when one boy dies in the cooler,the entire school takes their revenge on Ferguson.Patsy,wise to the news,returns back in time to stop things before they go too far.The kids are exonerated and Patsy gets Ferguson's job.
A well done movie,it is a bit of a different role for Cagney but he pulls it off with ease.All the boys involved do a tremendous job in their parts.Watch for 'Farina' from the Our Gang series as Joliet.
'Smart Money',released in July/31(3 ' stars),stars Edward G Robinson as Greek barber Nick Venizelos and James Cagney as Jack,his right hand man.Nick is a successful barber who is amazingly lucky in gambling.His employees back him when he decides to go to the big city to try his luck.He gets into a game,is conned and gets fleeced.He soon gets wise and tails the men.By this time he is not alone and has back up.He wins back his money and more and goes on to open a very successful gambling club.The local law wants nothing better than to put him away and in the end they do,but with a twist.A girl Nick has trusted has turned snitch on him and Jack discovers it and hits her.Nick walks in and seeing it knocks Jack down,inadvertently killing him.The police come in and at first arrest him for gambling but when they discover Jack is dead, a murder rap gets added to the list.The girl confesses to a stunned Nick that she did indeed snitch.He is led away,but with his spirits not shaken.
Partly filmed during 'The Public Enemy',Cagney's part is scant and many of the other actors get far more screen time than he does.Overall the pace is good and the dialogue punchy.Watch for a brief appearance of Boris Karloff,pre-Frankenstein.
Finally "Picture Snatcher",released in May of/33(3 1/2 - 4 stars),stars Cagney as ex con Danny Kean.Just out of the jug he returns to his gang and tells them he is quitting and going legit.Danny always wanted to be a newpaperman and gets a job with the lowest of the lowest rags in town.The editor Al Maclean(Ralph Bellamy),smart but alcoholic,become fast friends.Danny takes every dirty job going and becomes very succesful.When he sneaks a pic of a women getting fried in the chair,the cops and every newspaperman in town go after him.But the photo gets published.However Danny has fallen in love with the daughter of the cop who put him in the slammer in the first place and his "exploits" on the paper get him in hot water with him on many occasion.In the climax of the movie Al informs Danny he's quit the paper to get a job somewhere else but he needs a great story to get a chance.At that moment one of Danny's ex gang members is holed up in an apartment hiding from the cops for killing three people.Danny goes there and is with him until the inevitable shooting stops and he is dead.But Danny gets his pictures,he and Al get a job,he gives credit to his girl's father,and he and his girl reunite for a happy ending.
I can't say enough about Cagney.He had such a great range of emotion and characterization and he really dominates every scene he is in.He is certainly one of the greatest actors of all time.And,oh,yes,I counted THREE slugs to a woman in this picture!The public at the time ate it up and it added to the Cagney mystique and payed off big time at the box office.
Technically these movies have been remastered well from good prints and are generally crisp and clean.What gives this a solid four star rating are the extras added into each DVD.There are the vintage cartoons(very clean),commentary for each movies,trailers for the movies and other titles,vintage newsreel clips,and some wonderful 30s musical shorts featuring three big band names of the time,including the great Cab Calloway.
All in all another welcome release by Warner Brothers of some of their earlier gangsters films.While some of these films may be a little light on the gangster angle,they are still all enjoyable flicks.We get to see a star on the rise(Bogie),and two newly established stars,Robinson and Cagney.Cagney has deservedly received great critical acclaim over the years but Robinson has never received the same treatment.Watch his performances and tell me you don't see the same presence and domination of almost every scene like Cagney.Hopefully with these welcome releases of Robinson material the public will get to see just how good an actor he was;every bit on a par with his peers."Gangsters-Volume 3" is a definite keeper,see.

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