Dieselpunk + Steampunk Culture
Two Fisted Tuesdays presents The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Welcome back to Two Fisted Tuesdays, Dieselpunks'' stroll down the mean back alleys of noir. This week, we're taking a look at James Cagney's quintessential mobster flick, The Roaring Twenties.
The story follows a young Eddie Bartlett (played by Jimmy Cagney) on his way home from WWI. A successful soldier, Eddie lands on hard times upon returning to America. The flood of soldiers back into the workplace has created a labor shortage, and Eddie gets caught in the tide of organized crime that popped up due to prohibition. Eventually, Eddie crawls his way to the top of the rat pack and drags a young lounge singer with him as his beau. Things are great, then Fate steps in and topples Eddie's house of cards.
Why do I like this movie so much?
The Roaring Twenties starts in the trenches, rises to the top hats of society, and ultimately ends in the gutters. In essence, it's a visual tale of the rise and fall of the '20s filled with fantastic performances by James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Gladys George, and Priscilla Lane.
Little Known Fact
This film started a '20s nostalgia craze in 1939. Disk jockeys began to run Roaring Twenties music. Producer Mark Hellinger was an important guest on singer Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall radio show and singer Kate Smith promoted the film on all of her radio programs. Both Life and Look magazines published "Roaring Twenties" layouts.
What's the verdict?
Cagney's rabid, "animal in a cage" energy in The Roaring Twenties beats the slogging pace of The Godfather with a baseball bat, and places this classic gangster flick into the #1 position on my "gangster movie top ten" picks. You'll be hard pressed to find a movie that flows any smoother and tells a better story of this turbulent era in American history.
It can be found in the Dieselpunks Store on DVD.
The story follows a young Eddie Bartlett (played by Jimmy Cagney) on his way home from WWI. A successful soldier, Eddie lands on hard times upon returning to America. The flood of soldiers back into the workplace has created a labor shortage, and Eddie gets caught in the tide of organized crime that popped up due to prohibition. Eventually, Eddie crawls his way to the top of the rat pack and drags a young lounge singer with him as his beau. Things are great, then Fate steps in and topples Eddie's house of cards.
Why do I like this movie so much?
The Roaring Twenties starts in the trenches, rises to the top hats of society, and ultimately ends in the gutters. In essence, it's a visual tale of the rise and fall of the '20s filled with fantastic performances by James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Gladys George, and Priscilla Lane.
Little Known Fact
This film started a '20s nostalgia craze in 1939. Disk jockeys began to run Roaring Twenties music. Producer Mark Hellinger was an important guest on singer Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall radio show and singer Kate Smith promoted the film on all of her radio programs. Both Life and Look magazines published "Roaring Twenties" layouts.
What's the verdict?
Cagney's rabid, "animal in a cage" energy in The Roaring Twenties beats the slogging pace of The Godfather with a baseball bat, and places this classic gangster flick into the #1 position on my "gangster movie top ten" picks. You'll be hard pressed to find a movie that flows any smoother and tells a better story of this turbulent era in American history.
It can be found in the Dieselpunks Store on DVD.
Comment
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Comment by Pablo J. Alvarez on April 27, 2010 at 6:27pm -
I never forget the moment when Cagney back to his Taxi to work. It's a hard lesson, Or the smile of Bogart when he shot a young soldier at the first moment of the film.
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Comment by Jer on April 27, 2010 at 1:43pm -
You're right that this film isn't 100% noir. The beginning of the noir period is set around 1941 with World War II already raging around the world. But the seeds are present in this film. Look at The Public Enemy from 1931 and this film, and the atmosphere is darker and more violent. The film has an interesting foreshadowing. America enters the war two years after this film, and we start to get more stories like this. However, when movies are made during and after the war, the noir style has its place and develops into what we love today.
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