Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney in Angels With Dirty Faces (1938-NR)
by George Anastasia, Glen Macnow
Some movies hold up well over time. This one doesn’t.
We wanted to like Angels with Dirty Faces as much as we did the first time we saw it. But it just wasn’t happening. Maybe some movies play better in our memories than they do on DVD.
It is still worth watching, however, mostly due to the acting. As protagonist Rocky Sullivan, James Cagney delivers one of his great tough-guy performances. His classic shoulder roll and “whaddaya hear, whaddaya say” line has probably been mimicked more than any other, and his final scene still resonates.
Pat O’ Brien, as Father Jerry Connolly, does the goodly Catholic priest thing to cinematic perfection. It’s a role that he and Bing Crosby (remember Father O’Malley in Going My Way?) should have had patented. Humphrey Bogart is good as corrupt lawyer Jim Frazier. And Ann Sheridan has her moments as Laury Ferguson, the would-be moll who knows better.
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