The Roaring Twenties (1939)
The Roaring Twenties Photos
Movie Info
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Cast
as Eddie Bartlett
as Jean Sherman
as George Hally
as Panama Smith
as Lloyd Hart
as Danny Green
as Mrs. Sherman
as Nick Brown
as Mrs. Sherman
as Pete Henderson
as Sgt. Pete Jones
as Lefty
as Luigi, Proprietor
as Bramfield, Broker
as Bobby Hart
as Orderly
as Lefty
as Mrs. Gray
as 1st Mechanic
as 2nd Mechanic
as Fletcher, Foreman
as Bootlegger
as 1st Officer
as 2nd Officer
as Judge
as Jailer
as Jailer
as Proprietor of still
as Cabdriver
as Ex-con
as Ex-Con
as Ex-Con
as Order Taker
as Order Taker
as Policeman
as Mike
as Captain
as Waiter
as Masters
as Piano player
as Saleswoman
as Drunk
as Captain
as Henchman
as Doorman
as Couple
as Couple
as Taxi Driver
as Customer
as Charlie the Clerk
as Ex-con
as Man in Club
as Commentator
as Soldier
as Lieutenant
as Man for Turkish Bath
as Policeman
as Bailiff
as Cabdriver
as Couple
Critic Reviews for The Roaring Twenties
All Critics (14) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (14) | Rotten (0) | DVD (1)
Walsh unfolds the practical details of bootleggers' nocturnal maneuvers with quiet comedic flair alongside harrowing violence.
Mr. Cagney, of the bull-calf brow... is as always a superb and a witty actor.
If Raoul Walsh didn't invent the Warners style, then he certainly brought it to its electric apex
A powerful story of wartime bonds and their staying power through the most adverse of circumstances.
Dynamic, quintessential gangster film, wonderfully stylized by director Raoul Walsh,
It has a good cast and the production values were first-class, allowing it to rise slightly above its hackneyed script.
Audience Reviews for The Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties charts the rise and fall of prohibition racketeer James Cagney from the trenches of the great war to the stock market crash of 1929. It's amazing that only 8 short years separate The Roaring Twenties and the simplistic moralizing and two dimensional characterisation of The Public Enemy. It is probably the blueprint for the modern gangster movie and is the equivalent of the likes of The Godfather or Goodfellas for its time. Cagney is at his very best as the morally "grey" but inherently decent mobster who finds himself caught up in the booze hungry fervor of the prohibiton years after returning from fighting for his country as part of a forgotten generation, unable to find any other way to earn a living. Things take a sinister turn when he makes an uneasy partnership with a brilliant Humphrey Bogart who makes such a fantastic asshole you end up wishing he played the bad guy a bit more often. A rather bland Priscilla Lane aside the cast are all spot on, and with the addition of some energetic shoot outs and a brilliant climax when Cagney finally has it out with a sneering Bogie, all set in historical context of the America at the time, you have a timeless crime classic.
Super Reviewer
Not my favorite Cagney, Bogart or Walsh, but still a solid gangster flick.
Worth seeing for the historical narrative montages.
Super Reviewer
This is a good movie about the 1920s, and a good gangster movie, with a good cast. I liked this movie.
Super Reviewer
The Roaring Twenties Quotes
| Eddie Bartlett: | He can't be more than fifteen. |
| George Hally: | He'll never be sixteen. (after shooting a young German soldier) |
| George Hally: | He'll never be sixteen. [after shooting a young German soldier] |
| Policeman: | What did he do? |
| Panama Smith: | He used to be a big shot. |