Angles with Dirty Faces Movie Review

Angles with Dirty Faces (1938)

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Written by: John Wexley and Warren Duff (screen play), Rowland Brown (from a story by), Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur (uncredited)
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Starring: James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, George Bancroft
Rated: --

Plot
Childhood friends choose different life paths, one a gangster and the other a priest.

Verdict
It's in the vein of the classic '30s gangster films, bolstered by a great story. The misdeeds of Rocky's youth shape his future and his friend Jerry who becomes a priest. While Rocky is a criminal, he isn't a bad guy. The ending is amazing.
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Review
A simple twist of fate changes everything. Jerry could run faster than Rocky and avoided getting arrested for stealing as a kid. If Rocky could have run faster, would he have grown up to be a priest and Jerry the criminal?

I always find older movies hard to watch due to the lack of establishing shots, the straight forward editing, and over dramatic acting. Despite the style, this is a solid story that overcomes my issues with older movies. 

Rocky is out of jail and wanting the money promised him by his lawyer Frazier. That was their deal for Rocky going to jail.
The bad guys that do bad things, Frazier and Keefer, are contrasted with Rocky who is a good guy that does bad things. Frazier and Keefer plan murders to protect their interests, Rocky murders in retaliation to save his friend Jerry's life.

Rocky's childhood friend Jerry is trying to teach the children he mentors values and steer them away from a life like Rocky's. Jerry pleads with Rocky to set an example. The kids are impressed with Rocky's lifestyle, and they want to be like him. Jerry knows how that ends. He knows he'll never reach the kids like Rocky can. Jerry walks the line of helping the kids that have a future or protecting his friend.

Angels with Dirty Faces - An amazing story and an even better ending.

The ending is amazing, leaving you wondering what happened. Jerry asks Rocky to beg for mercy on the way to the electric chair, to do something shameful. If he's brave on the way to the chair, it just bolsters the kids desire to be a tough guy like him. Rocky refuses. Sometimes it's the guys playing tough that are scared, but we don't want to think that's Rocky.

On the way to the chair Rocky begs for mercy, and he begs for his life. Was he putting on a show or was it real? Is this another simple twist of fate, or a deliberate choice by Rocky to steer the kids that look up to him?

The movie lets you argue either way, and at the same time, it lets us keep Rocky as the tough hero. He refused to sacrifice his dignity, but then he began begging only after he saw the chair.  Rocky was tough, but when his fate became real, he wanted out. The movie gives me the excuse that Rocky was doing it for the kids, but I don't buy it. While I don't want to think that Rocky was scared, I don't think any less of him.

The boys' hero Rocky, isn't a hero. He's a coward No longer do they aspire to be like Rocky, and thus no longer do they aspire to commit crimes. Rocky sacrificed his reputation to help the kids.

A lot of this movie is what Rocky did. What did Jerry do? He left Rocky to be arrested when they were kids, and that could be the same thing that compelled him to be a priest, his remorse. While he asked Rocky to sacrifice his reputation, which is a big deal to Rocky, Jerry wasn't sacrificing anything. While that's true, Jerry was never going to get through to the kids. Rocky was the cool Uncle Jessie that kids wanted to emulate and Jerry was the nebbish Bob Saget.