The Warner Gangsters Collection (The Public Enemy/ White Heat/Angels with Dirty Faces/Little Caesar/The Petrified Forest/The Roaring '20s)

 

 

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Warners has put six of its' best gangster flicks into this first volume of "Gangsters",and many still pack a mean wallop.
"The Public Enemy"(4 stars),referred still mistakenly by many today as just "Public Enemy",stars James Cagney as Tom Powers,his two girlfriends Mae Clarke as Kitty and Jean Harlow as Gwen,Ed Woods as his buddy Matt Doyle,his girlfriend Joan Blondell as Mamie,and others.The movie involves the story of Tom and Matt as two boys growing up on the mean streets of the big city and their first brushes as young kids with petty criminals and crime.As they grow up we see their graduation into the big time and their climb to success during prohibition as two of its' biggest hustlers in the illegal distribution of homemade booze.Of course crime doesn't pay and Tom gets his,in the end.Skillfully directed by William Wellman(Wings),this was Cagneys' breakthrough part and put him solidly on the path to major stardom in short order.Originally Woods had the Cagney role but they were reversed due to Cagney's powerful presence.This version has two minutes of restored footage re-inserted into it.It is definitely pre-code(/34)and is violent,with(still)quite shocking overt sexual moments and has the famous grapefruit in the kisser scene.
"Little Ceasar"(4 1/2 stars)released in August of /31,was Edward G.Robinson's breakthrough role also.Robsinson gives a rivetting performance as Enricco Bondello who as a petty thief longs to be the number one man and one day starts on the path to become so.It is a slow climb up the ladder as he steps on many toes,displaces bosses and makes many enemies.When you're at the top there is only one way to go and down and out Bondello goes in a hail of bullets;the only fitting end.Director Mervyn LeRoy(Wizard of Oz,Mister Roberts)nicely directs this taut gangster flick and Robinson gives an Oscar-caliber performance.It is absolute lunacy that Robsinson was never nominated for an Oscar in his entire career.He received an honourary one in /73 but died before getting it.
"Petrified Forest"(4 stars),released in Feb/36,stars wonderful British Actor Leslie Howard as Alan Squier who is hitchiking westward through Arizona when his journey brings him to a small cafe.Bette Davis as Gabrielle works as a waitress for her father,who dreams and longs to go to her mothers' homeland of France.The two strike up a quick bond,much to the chagrin of her boyfriend Dick Foran(Boze).Enter Duke Mantee(Humphrey Bogart)as an arch criminal on the run trying to get to Mexico,who decides to use the cafe as a temporary lay over.In the end the law gets its' man and Gabrielle gets her wish,with the help of Alan;in spirit.The film was originally a successful play starring Howard and Bogart.Howard retained the rights to the property and when Warners wanted Edward G. Robinson in the Mantee role he stubbornly balked and in the end won the day for Bogie.The mise en scene for the most part revolves around the cafe and a wonderful tension and atmosphere prevails the entire film.This was Bogies' breaktrough film who literally dominates every scene he is in.
"Angels with Dirty Faces"(3 1/2 stars),released in Nov/38,stars James Cagney as Rocky Sullivan and Pat O'Brien as his buddy Jerry Connelly.We again see the rise of two friends during lean times as petty thieves.As Rocky continues on the path of crime doing major jail time over the years,his friend Jerry pursues a different course and becomes a priest in their old neighbourhood.Rocky returns to his old haunt and is looked up to by a local gang of youths(The Dead End Kids with Huntz Hall,Leo Gorcy,Gabriel Dell,et al).In the end Rocky gets caught and is sentenced to death in the chair.Jerry asks Rocky to act a coward in his final moments to turn the lives around of the admiring local kids.He does so and the final scene shows Jerry leading the boys off to Church.The film has top acting throughout and is well directed by Michael Curtiz(Casablanca).I have always had a major problem with this films ending.I just cannot see any justification in the script for anything that would remotely suggest in Rocky's personality, that he'd turn yellow at the end just for the kids sake.See what you think.
"The Roaring Twenties"(4 stars),released in Oct/39,stars James Cagney as Eddie Bartlett,an out of work WW1 vet.Unable to get his old job back or ANY employment he eventually turns a burgeoning cab business into hauling bootleg booze.He hires his WW1 buddy Jeff(Lloyd Hart)as his lawyer.Along the way he meets up with another WW1 pal George( Humphrey Bogart),who comes into business as a partner.George gets other ideas along the way and double deals Eddie.Priscilla Lane stars as Jeannie,the girl who can never return Eddies'love and Gladys George as Panama Smith,who loves Eddie but again never in turns receives the love she wants from him.In the end,Eddie goes out in a blaze of glory.The movie almost runs like a documentary and is a telling comment on the times and how such behaviour amongst other wise good people could have developed.Skillfully directed by Raoul Walsh(Sadie Thompson) the movie really packs a powerful punch in its' portrayals and Gladys George is an especial stand out.
Finally "White Heat"(4 stars),released in Sept/49,stars James Cagney as Cody Jarrett.He leads a rag tag bunch of criminals who loyalties are suspect to say the least.Cody is married to Verna(Virginia Mayo)who doesn't love him and is coddled by his dominant mother(Margaret Wycherly).The gang opens the film by pulling a train heist and spends the rest of the movie fleeing from the law.The law is persistant and when they threaten to capture Cody he gives himself in in another state on a lesser(time)indictment.While in the pen a plant by the name of Eddie(Edmond O'Brien) befriends Cody.Suspicious at first Cody finally comes to trust him.In the end Cody is surrounded on top of a gas storage tank,now completely out of his mind, with his mother dead and the truth about Eddie now revealed.Raoul Walsh again directs this gangster flick and Cagney plays a wide range of character personality quirks to a tee.His last gangster flick had been ten years before and it was "The Roaring 20s".
Technically, although many of these films do show their age,they have been transferred very well by Warners.All the DVDs contain the same general line up of extras which include things like the trailers,snippets of vintage newsreels,featurettes,commentaries and of course those wonderful vintage cartoons.
All in all this is a collection worth owning.It helps,but you do not have to be a gangster fan to enjoy the offerings here.The acting is all first rate and historically speaking they are important for it shows three of Hollywood's biggest names,Cagney,Bogart and Robinson in their breakthrough roles.A fine collection on anybody's shelf.

The good people at Warner Home Video have outdone themselves on this sassy six pack of classic gangster films. The box set includes William Wellman's "The Public Enemy" (1931)a benchmark acheivement in crime cinema; Raoul Walsh's intense character study of criminal insanity, "White Heat" (1949)and his ode to the ultimate decade of decadence - "The Roaring Twenties" (1939); Robert E. Sherwood's Broadway blockbuster, "The Petrified Forest" (1936),"Little Caesar" (1931)and "Angels With Dirty Faces."

"The Public Enemy is the undisputed trend setting monarch of this box set with James Cagney in his breakout performance as bad boy Tom Powers, a deviant from the wrong side of the tracks who refuses to mellow with age. In "White Heat" Cagney plays the psychotic and sadistic Arthur 'Cody' Jarrett, a ruthless gang leader with a penchant for deriving pleasure from the affliction of pain. "The Petrified Forest" is basically two acts of melodrama with a crime thriller finish, pitting idealists, Alan Squier (Leslie Howard)and Gabby Maple (Bette Davis) against ruthless prison escapee, Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart). In "The Roaring Twenties" Cagney and Bogart unite as a pair of unlikely pals who scratch each other's back for a while, then tear one another to pieces. "Little Caesar" is the slightly off kilter recanting of the Al Capone story, told under the auspices of not so pure fiction. It's loveable fluff mixed with arsenic and twice as explosive with Edward G. Robinson in the driver's seat. And last, but certainly not least, is "Angels With Dirty Faces" a mix of empathy and excitement as two childhood buddies wind up on opposite sides of morality. Good versus evil never came out so good!

Warner's DVD transfers throughout this box set are marvelous improvements over previous video incarnations. Though age related artifacts still exist the remastered print elements are generally smooth and inviting. Of the set, "Little Caesar" rates the poorest in quality - though it's still pretty good. "The Roaring Twenties" is the best of the bunch - a near flawless transfer that simply sparkles. The gray scale on each transfer has been impeccibly rendered. There are moments where film grain will appear more excessive but this, again, is the fault of a 70 plus year old negative. The audio is mono and exhibits a decided hiss on "The Public Enemy" but is generally smooth and engaging elsewhere. No more could have been done by the good people at Warners on these transfers - save a full blown and costly restoration.

Extras include engaging audio commentaries by film historians, featurettes for each film and the return of Leonard Maltin, hosting "Warner Night at the Movies." Highly recommended.

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