Crazy times as we all know, so let’s have some levity with this fun series created by Wandering Through The Shelves. This week the theme is bad boys and there can be so many variations to this theme but I went with 3 iconic bad boys who were not all bad in the 3 films I chose. So let’s get on with the show...
1. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES-1938
This stars James Cagney as Rocky, a hoodlum who grew up in a rough part of the city(just like Cagney did in New York City-Hell’s Kitchen)and was best friends with Jerry. After stealing, Jerry is safe but Rocky gets caught and is sent to reform school. He ends up on the wrong side of the tracks while his friend ends up a priest..of course. Rocky winds up with a jerk named James, played by Humphrey Bogart, and they steal but Rocky takes the rap after being convinced by Mr. Jerk that he will get his part of the loot. 3 years later, he’s out and goes to meet up with his money but also meets up with his old friend, Mr. Priest and meets the young kids that idolize him. James Cagney really creates a well rounded character because he is not an evil bad boy but actually a redeemable person and likeable. A very good film worth seeing.
2. HIGH SIERRA-1941
This is the first film to bring Humphrey Bogart to the public as more than just a crooked jerk ready to be killed by Cagney or Robinson. Bogie still plays a crook but one with more depth who has genuine feelings. This film is very loosely based on John Dillinger...loosely, with Bogie on the run from the cops. He meets one girl who brings out the soft side and another who captures his heart. He’s a bad boy but you can’t help but like him and wish he could get away and start new. The dog in this film is actually Bogie’s own dog. Another fun bad boy film.
3. LARCENY, INC-1942
I have not seen this film since I was a kid and really need to re-watch this because I remember loving it. This stars Edward G. Robinson who gets out of jail determined to go straight but keeps getting a bum steer so he finally decides to bump off the bank that refused him a loan(don’t we all have daydreams) with the help of a couple of pals. They buy a luggage store next door with the intent of digging through to the bank. What they don’t count on is being successful with this store and enjoying it. They all decide to just go straight but they don’t count on the a-hole in prison who blackmails them to carry out the bank heist. This is a good film that I need to see to find out if I still love it as much as I remember. Edward G. Robinson, known for tough guy roles, was actually very meek, a lover of art and one who would close his eyes when he first had to shoot a gun.
Which 3 would you choose
I've seen the first one but not the other two.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of movies with bad boys. Since it's early and my brain isn't working, I'll go with the first thing that came to mind - Ocean's 11 with George Clooney.
That's a great pick. there are so many to choose from
DeleteI haven't seen these but I've heard of them and they look really good.
ReplyDeleteMy bad boy film would be Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
They are good and you picked a great one and one of my favourites
DeleteHi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteIs it true that women prefer bad boys? :) I tend to think so.
In 2007 I binge watched hundreds of films produced in the early and mid 20th century, most of them black & white, to educate myself and catch up on some I had missed. However gangster crime dramas are not my favorite genre and therefore I regret that I skipped some of the classics including the three in this post. I grew up listening to comic impressionists doing Jimmy Cagney and snarling, "You dirty rat. You killed my brother." It is one of the most misquoted lines in film history. Cagney never said "You dirty rat" in Taxi! (1932). His actual line was “Come out and take it, you dirty, yellow-bellied rat, or I’ll give it to you through the door!” As a kid I watched many films featuring the Dead End Kids also know as the Little Tough Guys, the East Side Kids and the Bowery Boys.
In the trailer for Larceny, Inc, how about that reference to the $64 Question? 64 silver dollars was the top prize on Take It or Leave It, the CBS radio quiz show of the 1940s. Imagine what it would have been like to have known and befriended Cagney, Bogie and Edward G. Robinson back then, and had a chance to chat with them over dinner or a beer. I wonder if any of those great actors who specialized in playing bad boys had a gentle nature. I don't have time to look it up, so maybe you can tell me what you know.
Enjoy the rest of your week, dear friend BB!
Those Dead End Kids were in many films and ended up having their own series, sort of speak. James Cagney is often misquoted with this line. James Cagney was a decent guy to work with but he was tough and didn't take any guff. he was part of the "Irish Mafia" which include Pat O'Brien and Frank McHugh where they just drank an awful lot. When making Angels, The boys were known to be hard to deal with. Huntz Hall ad-libbed a scene with James Cagney who promptly smack him in the nose with the palm of his hand so hard Hall went up against the bricks behind him. After that, the kids behaved. Bogie was known to drink a ton and was snarly and often sarcastic and could be a goof when he wanted to be. Edward G. Robinson was a very sweet man who hated handling guns, loved to read, listen to classical music and collected art. he was black-listed in the 1950's and sold most of his art work to keep going.
Delete:) Thanks, BB. I had heard that Robinson was a man of refined taste.
DeleteI'm 0 for 3 on your picks this week. I do like Humphrey Bogart though.
ReplyDeleteI think you would like that Bogie film
DeleteOH I LOVE your choices!!!!
ReplyDeleteAngels is the birthplace of the Bowery Boys (Dead End Kids, East Side Boys what have you as they moved from studio to studio) and they add a lot to the film but its Cagney, O'Brien, Bogart and my beloved Ann Sheridan who really add the zest.
High Sierra is such a sleekly made film that served as one of the bridges between 30's gangster films and the uncoming noir movement. Bogie digs deep into Roy Earle and fills him out beautifully matched every step of the way by another of my faves Ida Lupino. They seem so well matched as such kindred performers it's too bad they didn't work together more but apparently they didn't get on too well during the filming and she refused to be paired with him again.
Larceny, Inc. is such a joy what with EGR turning his blustery, tough guy persona ever so slightly and making it comic. It helps that he's surrounded by a packed supporting cast of some of the best players of the time. Jane Wyman in her early kittenish stage is a doll and any movie with Jack Carson is okay by me. The premise is a durable one and held up very well when Woody Allen remade it as Small Time Crooks again with an outstanding cast.
There for a minute I thought you were doing a mini Bogart theme within the theme with Angels and then High Sierra but nope. However I decided to use the theme's subject title as my mini-theme this week.
Bad Boy (1935)-Pool shark Eddie Nolan (James Dunn) would like nothing better than to spend his time shaking down suckers and shooting the breeze with the other sharks. But he loves Sally Larkin (Dorothy Wilson) whose parents think him a bad boy wastrel and refuse until he has a reputable job. Eddie tries the straight and narrow but is unable to find a place. Driven to despair he contemplates whether he has anything to live for. Fast paced programmer, under an hour, definitely foreshadows Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
Bad Boy (1949)-Bad boy delinquent Danny (Audie Murphy) has a raft of charges against him but the judge decides to give him one more chance and sends to the reform school Variety Ranch run by caring Marshall & Maud Brown (Lloyd Nolan & Jane Wyatt) to see if he is capable of redemption. With an enormous chip on his shoulder tough nut Danny may prove to be more than even the Browns can handle.
Bad Boys (1983)-Bad boy delinquent Mick O'Brien (Sean Penn) is sent to juvenile hall after accidentally killing rival gang leader, Paco Moreno’s (Esai Morales) young brother when a con he’s running goes wrong. In the brutal prison Mick finds himself instant adversaries with the vicious Viking (Clancy Brown) and Tweety (Robert Lee Rush). While Mick fights for survival inside Paco plans to take revenge on those close to Mick, including his girlfriend J.C. (Ally Sheedy).
I'm glad you love my picks and I knew I had to go with these 3 actors who were so much part of the gangster films of the 1930s. poor Ida Lupino had no hair by this time and had to wear wigs ever after but that didn't stop her from becoming a director. I haven't seen any of your picks but would like to as always. Can you imagine if we got together for a film weekend?! I didn't know Audie Murphy started that early but I truly haven't seen hardly any of his films. He is one person I respect regardless that he became an alcoholic, what he went through during the war demands respect.
DeleteI haven't seen any of your picks this week either 😅
ReplyDeleteyeah-oldies but goodies
DeleteGreat choices, Birgit! I don't think I've seen Larceny but would like to. Enjoyed the first two. My theme is films from one specific actor.
ReplyDeleteYes I have to watch the other 2 trailers...love your theme
DeleteI love that Boggie's dog was in the movie. I did not know that.
ReplyDeleteYOU take special care.
I know and I love that! I am doing all I can...you too and wishing your family all the best
DeleteHi Birgit, I've only seen the first one, and so long ago I can't quite remember it. I hate when Boggie plays a baddie, as I just love him. I do wish the powers that be would show these wonderful classic films on the TV now, there is so much rubbish shown now, keep safe, Kate x
ReplyDeleteThere is a ton of rubbish and i don't care to see Star wars or the Godfather series over and over and over again.
DeleteHi Birgit...3 films and I have seen them all...goodness...at the moment we need lots of films on the tv to keep us from going mad with the dreadful situation....I am doing lots of crafting and gardening .....take care xxxx
ReplyDeleteGlad you saw all three and it is the time to watch films, enjoy walking somewhere in the woods and crafting!!
DeleteHi Birgit - I haven't seen any of them ... but guess some might appear now and then I can watch ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteBIRGIT ~
ReplyDeleteI've never seen 'Larceny, Inc.', and that sounds like my kind of movie. I'll need to check that one out.
So, right off the top of my mind, my first choice for a cinematic "Bad Boy" would be Jesus. He was so Good that the powers that be called Him bad and crucified Him. Unfortunately, I've not yet found a really great movie about Jesus. Therefore, I'll go with these:
JAMES DEAN in... 'EAST OF EDEN'. Yeah, I know that 'Rebel Without A Cause' would appear to be a more likely choice, but I much prefer the story in '...Eden', and Dean's performance as Cal Trask was the best of his very brief but amazing career!
MICHAEL DOUGLAS as 'Bill Foster' in 'FALLING DOWN'. That's another one of my Top 25 favorite movies and one that I can watch at any time!
JACK NICHOLSON as 'R.P. McMurphy' in 'ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST'. A Top 10 movie for me and... what can I say about it that hasn't been said many times before? It's simply one of the very greatest stories and contains some of the very greatest characters that have ever appeared on the silver screen! A true cinematic masterpiece.
There are many more I could name and put on the same level as the above - such as WILLIAM HOLDEN as 'Pike Bishop' in 'THE WILD BUNCH' (the greatest Western ever made, in my opinion). But a person has got to stop somewhere, right?
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS
I haven't seen these.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen these, but I've heard of all three.
ReplyDeleteLots of films can fit into this theme. You picked some good ones with actors who all fall under the "bad boy" image. My mind's a blank for now, but if I thought hard on it I probably could think of a bunch more. Right now though, after having been working on my taxes, my brain is fried. Think I need to go to bed. Or maybe just go down and vegetate in front of the TV.
ReplyDeleteArlee Bird
Tossing It Out
I know High Sierra. I guess one is better than none. I hope you are staying healthy! Hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteWhat? Daydream about ripping off a bank? Me? No. Never. Not once. lol
ReplyDeleteI've seen the last one but not the other two. Does you know, Bad Boys count?
Hope you are feeling ok at the moment - strange times!
ReplyDeleteThey look like good ones though I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of them.
ReplyDeleteRobinson is always intense.
YOU have a safe, healthy weekend.
ReplyDeleteEdward G. Robinson and I share the same day of birth. We look similar, don't you think? lol I probably saw all three movies when I was a kid. They all sound familiar. Didn't Pat O'Brien play the priest to Cagney's tough guy? I wonder if there's a movie with Cagney and Kate Hepburn. Google, here I come.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to get just under the wire with my three bad boys. I see you are angling towards the traditional "old-school" bad boys even though I have not seen any of the films you highlight. My picks are a bit more contemporary and I have to start with a truly despicable character played by Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West. Most memorable since Fonda rarely ever played a bad guy but he portrays "Frank" with a heightened level of steely indifference. My second choice is Willem Dafoe playing Bobby Peru in Wild at Heart. He is thoroughly deplorable. And my third is Brad Pitt in Kalifornia who brings the "bad boy" to a profoundly awful new low. I guess my three are "ugly" bad boys as opposed to the more traditional alluring bad boy.
ReplyDelete