The 1930s was the Golden Age of the gangster flick, the period in Hollywood history where almost every cliché and archetype about the cinematic mob life was created. A nation sandwiched between the Great Depression and World War II flocked to witness these outlaws try to climb the social ladder in America, both as wish fulfillment power fantasy and as cautionary tales meant to steer citizens away from crime. But all things must come to an end, and by 1939, the gangster film had to change and become about more than cathartic violence, and that’s where The Roaring Twenties came in to shake things up. Now’s as good a time than ever to see a film that’s ahead of its time in its empathetic portrayal of falling into crime.
What Is ‘The Roaring Twenties’ About?

Image via Warner Bros. 

Eddie (James Cagney) and George (Humphrey Bogart) are two veterans of World War I who come back home having to make ends meet in a postwar economy that’s been inflated by Prohibition. They both eventually fall into the business of bootlegging manufactured alcohol, with Eddie using his cab driver connections to transport liquor while George becomes the kingpin of an entire bootlegging empire. Eddie thinks of himself as an honest criminal, sticking to an honor among thieves mentality, while George is a complete sociopath with a relish for violence and a disdain for the concept of loyalty. Their attempt at a fair partnership can only last for so long, and the two former friends will inevitably come to a head in a bloodbath that will destroy everything.
The Epic Gangster Movie Examines How the Government Connects to Criminality

On paper, this is still your typical rise and fall mobster tragedy, where crime never pays, and you can only fly so high. But what sets it apart from other gangster films of the time is the attention it pays to how criminality can come from unpopular government decisions that screw over citizens who didn’t ask for such policies. This is in contrast to prior gangster films of that era, like Scarface or Little Caesar, where gangsters tended to be fully formed creatures who thirsted for money and power purely for the greed of it. Eddie and George come back to a country with an increased cost of living, no job opportunities, and the ability to bribe their way out of a law they don’t respect is far too easy to pass up.

The crushing weight of these social conditions is effectively sold via propaganda-esque newsreel-style montages that give a crash course on the ups and downs of the 1920s, a perfect fit for the muscular, pedal-to-the-metal directing style of Raoul Walsh. His approach is at once nostalgic for the high-wire fun before it came crashing down, and empathetic to how well-intentioned people get sucked into a trap of their own making, similar to what Martin Scorsese would perfect decades later.
James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart’s Dynamic Is Exceptional in ‘The Roaring Twenties’

James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart being paired together was no surprise, as their pairing was a staple of the 1930s in previous films like Angels With Dirty Faces and The Oklahoma Kid, but this film was a turning point in both of their careers. Cagney stopped doing gangster films entirely after The Roaring Twenties, and wouldn’t do another one until a decade later when he made one of his most iconic films, White Heat. Bogart, meanwhile, was shifting out of his standard villain roles into more textured and world-weary roles like in High Sierra and Casablanca, which would finally make him a top-billing star.

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In The Roaring Twenties, they’re positioned as two potential sides of the same coin, showing how their respective core personalities were exacerbated by becoming hardened criminals. Cagney is all rough and tumble street pride, his tiny body constantly ready for retaliation and dictatorial assertions of power. Bogart has traces of his eventual star persona, with his sardonic delivery and beleaguered suspicion of everyone, but here it has more of a vengeful hatred underneath it. The two butt heads splendidly, heating the film to a fever pitch of chaos that brings home the film’s ultimate message of the foibles of pursuing wealth through crime in an inherently unfair country. It’s all waiting for you, so you can learn their lesson, too.
The Roaring Twenties is available to watch on Max in the U.S.
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The Roaring Twenties follows three World War I veterans as they navigate the post-war American landscape. Eddie Bartlett builds a bootlegging empire as a cab driver, George Hally becomes a partner in crime, and Lloyd Hart turns to law. Their intertwined fates reveal the complexities of ambition, love, and rivalry.

Release Date

October 28, 1939

Director

Raoul Walsh

Cast

James Cagney
, Priscilla Lane
, Humphrey Bogart
, Gladys George
, Jeffrey Lynn
, Frank McHugh
, Paul Kelly
, Elisabeth Risdon
, Edward Keane
, Joe Sawyer
, Joseph Crehan
, George Meeker
, John Hamilton
, Robert Elliott
, Eddy Chandler
, Abner Biberman
, Vera Lewis
, John Deering
, Eddie Acuff
, Ernie Alexander
, Murray Alper

Runtime

104 Minutes

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