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List Price: $19.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 16321
Released: January 25, 2005 |
| Our Price: $6.93 |
| Used Price: $6.75 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Six classic movies focusing on gangsters.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 25-JAN-2005
Media Type: DVD
Description of The Roaring Twenties:
Three doughboys--played by James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and Jeffrey Lynn--meet in a foxhole in Europe just as World War I is ending. When they return to the States, they are forgotten men, and after Eddie (Cagney) tries in vain to get his old job back, his pal Danny (Frank McHugh) lets him drive his cab at night. A fare asks unwitting Eddie to deliver bootleg liquor, but Prohibition is in full swing and Eddie is arrested and thrown in the slammer. Gallant Eddie won't rat out the woman to whom he delivered the hooch, speakeasy owner Panama Smith, (whiskey-voiced Gladys George). She bails him out and carries a torch for him for the rest of the movie, but he only has eyes for sweet little Jean (Priscilla Lane). Panama introduces Eddie to a life of crime, staking him in the bootleg business. Eddie's grit and bluster suit him perfectly for this existence, and he's soon a success, so he hires Army buddy Lloyd (Lynn) as consigliere, then teams up with George (Bogart), a liquor smuggler who plays a much dirtier game. Racketeering and murder are his methods, and he drags Eddie down with him. When Prohibition ends and the stock market crashes, Eddie loses everything and takes to the bottle himself.
The film is a bit schematic. The three stars are archetypes: Cagney the good boy gone bad, Bogart the bad boy who stays bad, and Lynn the good boy who stays good. Still, it packs quite an emotional wallop--Cagney shows extraordinary range, going from green boy to swaggering gangster to broken man, and Bogart has rarely seemed more purely evil than he does here. He kills for the sheer pleasure of it; it's truly frightening to see. The final scene is a stunning shootout between Cagney and Bogart. With lesser actors this film could be pure hokum. With Cagney and Bogart, it attains catharsis. Laura Mirsky
The Roaring Twenties Reviews:
Pure class from Cagney! 
2008-11-18 - This movie shows Cagney getting pulled into a life of crime, and we see how he goes from a regular, likeable Joe into a ruthless gangster. It's a great story and Bogart gives a great turn as Cagney's partner in crime. This is a brilliant gangster movie and pure entertainment. Great stuff!
A roaring success 
2008-08-16 - Finding that his old job has been given away, returning World War I vet Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney) takes work as a taxi driver to make ends meet, and soon rises from delivering bootleg liquor to leading his own criminal empire in the days of Prohibition. The corruption of his good nature and the alienation of his war buddies, the slimy George Hally (Humphrey Bogart, still playing heavies at this point) and the stalwart Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn), pave the way to his eventual downfall. This thrilling crime picture from the heyday of Warner Bros. gangster films is thoroughly entertaining and features a great Cagney death scene.
Still a Big Shot:
2008-04-08 - Who is there today to match these personalities ? No modern actor comes even close to Cagney and Bogart, and those girls aren't far behind. Sparkling, crackling dialogue, compelling script: a wonderful mix of toughness and sentimentality. Straight, unrelenting direction. None of this fancy "ain't I being clever" from masterly Raoul Walsh. He just moves it along, and nails you to your seat. These films stand up, and will stand for many decades to come. Cagney didn't used to be: he still is.
The Roaring Twenties
2007-06-21 - A breakthrough for director Walsh, this classic boasts electric performances from both Cagney and Bogie. Consistent with most Bogart portrayals from the thirties, his George Hally is a low double-crosser who puts the screws to honorable (in his way) Eddie. Consistent with most Cagney roles, Eddie gets his revenge. "Twenties" is a worthy swan song to the glory days of the gangster picture--and just wait for that immortal closing line of dialogue.
Ain't no lull in this joint
2007-03-14 - Saw this for the first time and it's a crackerjack. Right from Cagney's opening line in the fox hole--"whaddya want me to do, knock?"--the movie blasts along. Nearly every scene with Cagney and Bogart is a gem, with the two quintessential screen tough guys sizing each other up and down and sideways. Bogie's great as the bad apple--gets to speak some brilliant lines which he delivers with that trademark malicious twinkle of his. Cagney is great in a different way--everything about Eddie Bartlett is interesting, from the way he walks and talks to the frequent glimpses you get of something a little more heartfelt. Gladys George is magnificent too as Panama Smith and her mostly unspoken allegiance to Cagney hits an astonishing range of notes. And what about the stunning Paul Kelly as Nick Brown? There's a hefty role filled out to hoodlum perfection. I've seen a bunch of Cagneys now and this is hands-down my favourite. Looks, sounds and feels like the real deal to me--a Goodfellas from 1939. Boy that Raoul Walsh made good movies!
