Angels with Dirty Faces

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This article is about the film. For other uses, see Angels with Dirty Faces (disambiguation).
'Angels with Dirty Faces'

Angels with Dirty Faces Theatrical Poster
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Produced by Samuel Bischoff
Written by Rowland Brown
John Wexley
Warren Duff
Ben Hecht (uncredited)
Charles MacArthur (uncredited)
Starring James Cagney
Pat O'Brien
Humphrey Bogart
Dead End Kids
Music by Max Steiner
Cinematography Sol Polito
Editing by Owen Marks
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s) November 24, 1938
Running time 97 min
Language English
Preceded by Crime School (1938)
Followed by They Made Me a Criminal (1939)
IMDb profile

Angels with Dirty Faces is a well-known and often referenced 1938 Warner Brothers gangster film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Pat O'Brien, and The Dead End Kids.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Rocky Sullivan (James Cagney) and Jerry Connally (Pat O'Brien) are two boyhood friends who robbed a railroad car as kids. Rocky was caught, but Jerry escaped. Rocky, after being sent to reform school, grows up to become a notorious gangster, while Jerry has become a priest.

Rocky returns to his old neighborhood, where Jerry is running a home that intends to keep young boys away from a life of crime. Six of those boys, Soapy (Billy Halop), Swing (Bobby Jordan), Bim (Leo Gorcey), Patsy (Gabriel Dell), Crabface (Huntz Hall), and Hunky (Bernard Punsly), idolize Rocky, and Jerry attempts to keep his former friend from corrupting them.

Meanwhile Rocky gets involved with Frazier (Humphrey Bogart), a crooked lawyer, and Keefer (George Bancroft), a shady businessman. They try to dispose of Rocky, but he finds the record book that they keep where they list the bribes to city officials. Jerry learns of these events and warns Rocky to leave before he informs the authorities. Rocky ignores his advice and Jerry gets the public's attention and informs them all of the crooked government, causing Frazier and Keefer to plot to kill him. Rocky overhears of this plot and murders them to protect his childhood friend.

Rocky is then captured and sentenced to die. Jerry visits him just before his execution and asks him to do him one last favor, to die pretending to be a screaming, snivelling coward, which would end the boys' idolization of him. He refuses, but at the very last moment he changes his mind and has to be dragged to the electric chair. The boys hear about what happened and decide he was a coward. They then go with Jerry to Mass.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Awards and nominations

James Cagney won the 1939 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor for his role. In addition, the film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (James Cagney), Best Director and Best Writing, Original Story.

[edit] References in popular culture

  • Warner Brothers created a 1939 cartoon that spoofed the movie called Thugs with Dirty Mugs.
  • During the 1950's, three Argentinian footballers - Antonio Angelillo, Enrique Sivori and Humberto Maschio - formed a talented inside forward line for their Country. They acquired the nickname "Angels with Dirty Faces" when they all moved to Italy in the latter part of the decade to play for the likes of Juventus. The name was given on account of their typically South American colour and ability. They were also known as ‘The Trio of Death’ because of their clinical finishing.[citation needed]
  • A parody of the film appears in Home Alone as Angels with Filthy Souls. In the parody, Gangster Johnny fires a lengthy machine gun salvo before remarking, "Keep the change, ya filthy animal." In Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, we see scenes from a sequel to that film, Angels with Even Filthier Souls. In the sequel, Johnny fires his Tommy gun before saying "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal. And a Happy New Year.". In the two movies, Kevin uses the movies as an illusion to make others think that they were talking to Johnny, and that he was shooting at them.
  • It's Never Too Late, an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, alludes to Angels by telling the story of the Stromwell brothers, one of whom grows up to be a mob boss, the other a priest.
  • The famous Irish bar "Rocky Sullivan's Pub" in New York City was named after Cagney's character.
  • Several musical artists, including Sugababes and Tricky, have used the title "Angels with Dirty Faces" as the name of their album. Others, including Sum 41, Sham 69 and Los Lobos, have songs entitled "Angels with Dirty Faces", although Sum 41's version is actually a reference to another band's name.

[edit] Memorable lines

Cagney (center) and O'Brien in Angels with Dirty Faces
Cagney (center) and O'Brien in Angels with Dirty Faces
  • Father Jerry: "All right, fellas... let's go say a prayer for a boy that couldn't run as fast as I could."
  • Rocky Sullivan: "Whad-da ya hear! Whadda ya say!"

[edit] DVD Release

January 25, 2005

[edit] External links

 v • d • e The Dead End Kids
Dead End • Crime School • Angels with Dirty Faces • They Made Me a Criminal • Hell's Kitchen • The Angels Wash Their Faces • On Dress Parade
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