Gangster Movies and the Legacy of Warner Bros. | Film 101

[@JCZano]

If only I could still access TCM…please do your own streaming!!

[@jesustovar2549]

HBO Max contains most classic movies from TCM, I recommend it, I pay it to watch mostly classic movies, it is a great detox from today's Hollywood.

[@TheWhip55]

James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart were the epitome of the gangster genre. If their films are on TCM, no matter how many times I have watched them, I watch them again. Some great acting and fantastic storytelling. TCM is the station that I watch the most because they have movies with actual dialogue instead of one special effect after another.

[@jesustovar2549]

James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart were like the Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino from their period, I emphasize that Cagney and De Niro played gangster more than once but also were versatile and acted in other movie genres. And I agree with you, it's interesting to watch gangster movies in the golden age of these which was very close, with Al Capone, the Italian-American, Irish, jewish mafia and all the stuff.

[@InTecknicolour]

bogart was less gangster movie and more detective/noir movies.

[@magicknight13]

@@InTecknicolouragreed

[@magicknight13]

@@InTecknicolouragreed

[@randycunningham7318]

What films other than Little Ceasar did Edward G. Robinson play a gangster in? I love him as Rico.

[@greatpoochini1]

Interesting summary. I realise the theme highlights Warner Bros.' gangster movies of the 30s, a mention should be made of Josef von Sternberg's 1927 film 'Underworld', which introduced the gangster archetypes picked up by the Warner Bros. 1930s movies.

[@desmondpowell3205]

I've always had a fascination with the Gangster genre!! The Godfather is my favorite film. Seeing that Warner Bros basically created the genre is incredible, they get so little credit nowadays for the amazing impact the studio has had on films and art!

[@jmgonzales7701]

whats the hype about it? i dont get it?

[@desmondpowell3205]

@@jmgonzales7701 Well the gangster genre kinda died out. But I'm a huge fan of it, so many incredible films. Godfather 1&2, Goodfellas, Casino, Untouchables, and many more!

[@jmgonzales7701]

@@desmondpowell3205 whats special on the gangster film

[@susanrike7476]

My dad turned me onto gangster movies when I was young. He loved Bogart, Cagney, and Robinson. For me, it was John Garfield. He was more a criminal from the gritty city streets. As a New Yorker, I liked him because he was scrappy and had sex appeal. He was my first crush. Naturally, I loved him in "The Postman Always Rings Twice," a film noir where he sizzled with Lana Turner. My favorite modern day gangster films are "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas." They're both different sides of the same coin. "The Godfather" is lush, grand, and glamorizes the mafia life. "Goodfellas" is raw, gritty, and shows the horrors of that world. TCM is my go-to channel because I'm still dazzled by Hollywood films from the past.

[@MissWishes]

⭐️🏆⭐️ I’ve learned so much from TCM. The movie industry changed the world.

[@Celluloidwatcher]

Thank you for the above video. I have always been a huge fan of the WB gangster films of the 1930's, with Little Caesar and Public Enemy as my favorites. There will never be another studio with the reputation of Warners and its large following to its gangster repertoire.

[@francined7531]

Gangster movies are fascinating. I think it’s the amazement we get from the power being wielded by the characters, and the created sense of justifiable retaliation and retribution that keeps us engaged.

[@JoseMorales-lw5nt]

I remember buying the early 2000's Box Set WB Gangster Classics DVDs with titles like LITTLE CAESAR, THE ROARING 20'S, and PUBLIC ENEMY! Man, there's just something about seeing men uninhibited by the law and just tearing each other apart for a small piece of respect. I get that this doesn't represent the real world or even the Gangster life in general. But I'll be damned if it isn't mesmerizing to watch...

[@Miadaskate]

Warner put out a Classic Gangster set on Blu-Ray about 10 years ago with Little Caesar, White Heat, Public Enemy, and The Petrified Forest. It’s a great set!

[@azohundred1353]

An Underrated Classic Gangster film that I love is City Streets (1931), starring the Legendary Gary Cooper and Sylvia Sydney with Paul Lukas in a villainous role. It's based on a story by Dashiell Hammett(who wrote The Maltese Falcon & The Thin Man), in which Gary Cooper plays a Shooting Gallery Showman with Old West Gunslinging abilities that gets tied up with organized crime with Sylvia Sydney and eventually comes into conflict with a gang led by Paul Lukas. I recommend seeing it if you haven't, It's well worth your time. It was mentioned in this video quickly alongside other great ones like Beast Of The City (1932), which is like Dirty Harry or The French Connection but made 40 years earlier and with the great Walter Huston in the lead and with a good performance by Jean Harlow as well. It has one of the most violent ending shootouts of any movie, comparable to The Wild Bunch even. I highly recommend these two great movies, they'd make a great double feature. They're probably the two most underrated 1930s Gangster Films there is, and they're fantastic. Thanks for the Film 101, TCM! I love these video essays shining a light on these classics.

[@randyacuna5643]

Scarface 1932 was not from Warner Brothers but arguably could be called the greatest gangster film ever made. Muni's performance is Oscar worthy. This film had everything a gangster film should have.

[@lawrencelewis2592]

It's not a gangster film, but watch Muni in "The Life of Emile Zola." I think it's his greatest performance.

[@randyacuna5643]

@Lawrence Lewis muni was great in almost all his films which I have see most of them , only 7 faces 1929 I believe is lost. Incredibly he only made about 23 films and had 5 best actor nominations. That is remarkable especially in what is called the golden age of movies because there were so many great actors at the time.

[@lawrencelewis2592]

@@randyacuna5643 Didn't he win the Oscar for one of them, The Life of Louis Pasteur, I think.

[@randyacuna5643]

@@lawrencelewis2592 sir, you are correct.

[@randyacuna5643]

@@lawrencelewis2592 muni is one of a very few actors who received nominations in his first and last films.

[@briansmith2163]

Paul Muni in Scarface !

[@OriginalRocketJock]

Excellent movie, Brian!

[@magicknight13]

Excellent! Love gangster movies and this movie is a great addition to the Film 101 series 😄😄😄

[@rjmcallister1888]

It made immortals out of great actors who wouldn't ever be considered leading men at MGM or Paramount: Edward G Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, George Raft, Paul Muni, Jimmy Cagney (well, maybe Cagney). "Wild Bill" Wellman always knew how to make a movie, and the Warner/First National studios knew how to make films, and fast.

[@shamammap8054]

Great Film 101! My favorite subject is film/Hollywood history please keep these videos coming 😎

[@Christine-926]

George Raft. How can you leave him out?

[@randycunningham7318]

He is cool as hell.

[@djmexicanodetx2195]

Made it ma! Top of the world.

[@curiousworld7912]

While the gangster films of the '30s are great -- particularly given the performances of Cagney and Robinson - as are the more modern crime/mob films, the film noir of the '40s will always be my favorites. :)

[@ghezalA]

Loved this video essay!

[@pamparker4047]

Excellent work ❤❤❤❤

[@aitch3]

Fabulous.

[@lawrencelewis2592]

Film noir grew out of World War 2, maybe these early Warner films grew out of the first war? I recall that a few of the gangsters were WW1 veterans as Cagney was in The Roaring Twenties. In any event, they are all superb films and thanks so much for this video.

[@jmgonzales7701]

whats special about noir?

[@lawrencelewis2592]

@@jmgonzales7701 Watch some post-WW2 movies and see.

[@greatpoochini1]

@@jmgonzales7701 Is that question coming from having watched examples of Film Noir, or from not having watched any examples of Film Noir?

[@jmgonzales7701]

@@greatpoochini1 not

[@hamiltonfixedrider]

Excellent as always TCM 👍👍

[@sandradawson4390]

HEY YOU MAKIN fun of my BAHSTON ACCENT LOL

[@loge10]

I'm enjoying this series very much. However, I disagree that Warner's created the gangster genre It goes back at least to DW Griffith's The Musketeers of Pig Alley in 1912. And how about Joseph von Sternberg's Underworld in 1927? I'm sure there are many others. Warner's didn't invent the gangster film in a vacuum...

[@axxellein]

TRES Cool/Heavy=Goodfellas!

[@matthewh.9544]

Sky took TCM down as did free view in the UK. Absolutely disgraceful

[@elijahrose2144]

How would think I play a gangster and in movie that made me tall snd I put stand on my toes and the camera was looking up at me😊 I was brilliant man

[@jamesturner8080]

Getto

[@chriswright4677]

Great stuff. A word to the wise though. Keep Toy Story 2 out ya God damn mouth!!

[@lemmykilmister873]

🙂👍🏻

[@gitchermotrrunnin]

TCM seems the repository for the film universe. Glad for the work they do to preserve films. As far as the "new Hollywood era of the 60s and 70s". I don't see the Godfather as a representation of American "anxiety". It was a masterpiece of film making but the attempt to include traditional family values into Cosa Nostra life was a reach. The wise old Godfather, a source of strength and impeccable taste, belies what the actual mob life was. Don Corleone would have used far more foul language and would have had a couple of "goumadas". It is kind of a slap in the face to use Italian family norms as gangster norms. The Godfather made his money not by sitting in his study entertaining guests but by beating the crap out of those who feel behind in payments. The Black Hand was a parasite on Italian immigrants, nothing to be celebrated. Henry Hill chose that life and ended up taking down the ones who helped him into that life. The best scene imo is when the Joe Pesci character is killed thinking he was going to be made. The family he wronged could have killed him anytime but chose the perfect way to message the rest. Real Sicilian vendetta stuff.

[@carlfrano6384]

Nope.

[@chriswright4677]

Great stuff. A word to the wise though. Keep Toy Story 2 out ya God damn mouth!!