Photos courtesy of the Denver Art Museum

The untouchables

Denver Art Museum film series revives classic gangster films

By Adam Goldstein • goldstea@mscd.edu

 

   April 11 The Public Enemy (1931)
   With a budget of $151,000 and less than a month of shooting time, director William Wellman (“A Star is Born”) created a film that touted morality even as it glorified the gangland lifestyle.
   Unlike “Scarface,” Wellman’s “The Public Enemy” was not reined by the impositions of Production Code of Ethics. The story of Tom Powers, played with a heavy degree of strut and seduction by James Cagney, reveled in the cruelty, the inhumanity and the violence of the gangster lifestyle. Indeed, it was the impact of this film that spurred the enactment of ethical codes for films.
   “ Enemy” established many stylistic and contextual standards following films, including Hawks’ “Scarface,” would ape. The story centers on the seedy side of pre-prohibition Chicago; Tom Powers falls in with the wrong crowd and becomes mired in a lifestyle of violence and crime.
   The most notable element in this film is the strength of the lead player, James Cagney. In addition to its role as a model gangster flick, the film provided the springboard for one of the greatest gangster actors of the early 20th century. Indeed, Cagney’s performance as Tom Powers earned him years of typecasting and set a mold that would prove difficult to break.
   Like Paul Muni’s portrayal of Camonte, Cagney infuses his role as a brash and tough-talking with a moral descent that is almost Shakespearean in its intensity. When Tom Powers tires of his girlfriend, played by Mae Clark, and, as a harbinger of the impending breakup, he shoves a grapefruit into her face.    Never has fruit played such a symbolic role in film.
   The purported message of Wellman’s film was cautionary. “The Public Enemy” was meant as a fictional document, a gritty and disturbing tale that could change ugly urban realities. Nevertheless, James Cagney’s landmark performance infuses the film with more glamour and style than many of the moralists may have desired.
   April 18 Little Caesar (1931)
   Director Mervyn LeRoy (“Quo Vadis,” “The Bad Seed”) eschews the shoot ‘em up bombast for a starker and simpler narrative in the seminal “Little Caesar.”
   Although the film bears the structural mark of many of its contemporaries and imitators, it is remarkable for its fast pace and its absence of melodrama.    Along with “The Public Enemy,” this was one of the features to ensure Warner Brothers’ honor as one of the foremost “gangster” film studios. The film features primitive filmmaking techniques, with its limited locations and series of text tableaus. Still, this primacy only adds to the film’s overarching austerity.
   Again, there is a hint of moralism and classic tragedy from the very first frame, which features a biblical quote: “For all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.”
   The words provide a fitting thematic backdrop for the film’s action, which follows the dubious exploits of “Rico” Bandello (Edward G. Robinson) and his partner Joe Massara (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.)
   All of the entries in this series feature some of the most well-known character actors that defined gangster cinema. Edward G. Robinson figures in the top echelons of these veterans, as his wide mouth and beady eyes helped carve a formidable career as the instantly recognizable gangster tough guy. His idiosyncratic tones and leers would become subtler and more refined in later roles, but here his youthful intensity make for an unnerving amount of ruthlessness. Heartthrob Douglas Fairbanks Jr.’s performance pales in comparison, as his lackluster performance further highlights Robinson’s slimy ruthlessness.
   If “The Public Enemy” and “Scarface” were the models for later gangster films, “Little Caesar” provided the raw materials.
   April 25 Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)
   With accomplishments like “Casablanca” and “Robin Hood,” the lesser-known work of the prolific director Michael Curtiz gets lost beneath his commercial cinematic accomplishments.
   “ Angels With Dirty Faces” is one of Curtiz’s bids for the gangster genre, as it relies on much of the social moralism and tragic heroism marking the early forays into the crime drama. Here, the drama is more defined and robust, as the dramatic conventions have had time to develop and mature.
   As William “Rocky” Sullivan, James Cagney reprises the role of the tough-talking criminal, which he played so forcefully in “The Public Enemy,” as the film employs a similar motif of good and evil. Pat O’Brien (“Ragtime”) plays Jerome “Jerry” Connolly, a priest from Rocky’s neighborhood who serves as his moral opposite. When Rocky is released from prison and runs afoul of James Frazer, played by a young Humphrey Bogart, Rocky and James must come to terms with the differences in their lifestyles and see how much their friendship is worth.
   In addition to the stock cast of gangster character actors and the familiar lingo, “Angels” explores the themes of morality, choice and influence. Social quandaries find their place alongside gunfights and street talk. Curtiz infuses fresh twists and questions into a familiar framework, creating a dynamic departure that can still fit in with its predecessor in terms of sheer grit.
   May 2 Key Largo (1948)
   Director John Huston (“The African Queen,” Prizzi’s Honor”) relied on the combined star power of Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore and    Edward G. Robinson to create a gangster film that was simultaneously an epic moral struggle and an unnerving mystery.
   Although Robinson relies on all his honed swagger and brawn as renowned gangster Johnny Rocco, the conflict of the film marks a departure from the other films in the series.
   When war hero Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart), finds himself held hostage by Rocco and his goons, a moral struggle with epic consequences ensues.    Will he act out of sheer self-interest, or save Nora (Bacall) and James (Barrymore)? Set amid a tropical storm in the remotest part of the Florida Keys, Huston draws on elements of film noir and classic mystery to create a tale that is as philosophical as it is suspenseful.
   May 9 White Heat (1949)
   “ White Heat” is a step further into the psychosis of a gangster, an unnerving peek into a twisted mind and a nod to classical tragic heroes.
   Director Raoul Walsh pushes the boundary of the gangster film in this intimate and psychological criminal profile. James Cagney draws upon earlier films to paint his portrait of Arthur Jarret, a violent and mother-obsessed deviant whose neurosis hearkens back to Oedipus.
   Even as the film features the familiar heists and shoot-outs, there is an element of character analysis and depth that distinguishes the film as prophetic.    As James Cagney’s final successful portrayal of the well-worn persona that started with “The Public Enemy,” the enthusiasm and expertise he brings to the role is impossible to ignore.
   Like “Key Largo,” the film incorporates dramatic themes and motifs that distinguish it from the stark and simple antecedents. The gory humor, the psychological intimacy, the multi-dimensional characters and Sid Hickox’s inky cinematography push the film into another realm of gangster movie.
   Nevertheless, there are contextual clues that place “White Heat” squarely in the proud and violent tradition of its predecessors. While Tony Clamonte of    “Scarface” sought “the top of the world,” Jarrett seeks to climb to “the top of world,” by any means necessary.
   May 16 Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
   The signature of the sexual revolution is all over this romanticized telling of two ill-fated lovers and their murderous crime spree.
   Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway shine with all the fervor of youth in their respective roles as Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. All the brutality and violence of their crime spree pales in the framework of the unconventional love story. The film seems to linger in its challenges to the status quo; the sexual innuendo and nudity is tame compared to today’s fare, but as a major release in 1967, it steamed the screen.
   Appearances by Gene Hackman and Gene Wilder further distinguish the film as a recruiting ground for later box office stars, and the sheer intensity of the acting talent is impressive all around.
   Director Arthur Penn (“Alice’s Restaurant,” “Little Big Man”) veers from the traditional gangster film in his intimate treatment of the criminals. Here, the public enemies are humanized and personalized. Here, the top of the world is not the peak of pride, but instead the folly and impulse of young love and its power to bestow the illusion of immortality.
   “ Bonnie and Clyde” leaves behind the ruthless ambition of “Scarface” and “White Heat” in favor of passion and love. Murder and robbery are simply a side element in this tale of two lovers who lost track of the rest of the world.

 

   “Top of the World, Ma”
   The Classic Gangster Film
   All screenings Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at the Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli, 9th St. and Auraria Pkwy., Denver. Box office opens at 4 p.m. Advance series tickets are sold at the Denver Art Museum reception desk, 100 W. 14th Ave. Pkwy. Films screened are 35mm and 16mm.
   Single tickets are $7 for DAM and Denver Film Society members, seniors and students w/ID, $8 general public; series tickets $40 for DAM and DFS members, seniors and students w/ID, $45 general public. For series ticket phone orders, brochures or further information, call 720-913-0105. Website: www.denverartmuseum.org under “Events.” Single tickets may be purchased at the Starz FilmCenter (303-820-3456) the day of the show.