Film of the Day: 31
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Back in the roaring twenties, many had just come back home from the war. Many had tried to get their old jobs back, some tried new prosperities; however a few tried to make some real money and become big shots due to what was called the 'Noble Experiment'.
The Noble Experiment was the prohibition in America, which basically was a national ban on the sale of alcohol with content of over 2.75%, manufacture and transportation of alcohol (1920 - 1933).
Of course since no one could legally buy real alcohol, it became a substance of high demand, and many intended to get paid very well for obtaining it. This was called bootlegging. It led to many street conflicts between gangsters and the law in the 1920s (mainly in Chicago), such as today in 1925, where a gunfight between the cops and the gangsters led to 3 dead and a few injured on the streets of Chicago.
These gangsters were part of a beer running organization in which gangsters were fighting amongst gangsters over control in the city, and Raoul Walsh’s The Roaring Twenties is a perfect account to this.
It stars the almighty Jimmy Cagney as Eddie Bartlet, a man who has come back home from World War I only to find that he is unable to get his old job at the car shop and is left with no job or money. He ends up being sucked in the bootlegging business where he meets an old friend of his from the war named George Hally (played by Humphrey Bogart). However being in the business that it was, your friends are never really your friends and you never stay on top.
The film is a great depiction of the times and shows some pretty gritty scenes as well, and of course, Jimmy Cagney as always delivers a great performance.
Click here for a clip
.
The Noble Experiment was the prohibition in America, which basically was a national ban on the sale of alcohol with content of over 2.75%, manufacture and transportation of alcohol (1920 - 1933).
Of course since no one could legally buy real alcohol, it became a substance of high demand, and many intended to get paid very well for obtaining it. This was called bootlegging. It led to many street conflicts between gangsters and the law in the 1920s (mainly in Chicago), such as today in 1925, where a gunfight between the cops and the gangsters led to 3 dead and a few injured on the streets of Chicago.
These gangsters were part of a beer running organization in which gangsters were fighting amongst gangsters over control in the city, and Raoul Walsh’s The Roaring Twenties is a perfect account to this.
It stars the almighty Jimmy Cagney as Eddie Bartlet, a man who has come back home from World War I only to find that he is unable to get his old job at the car shop and is left with no job or money. He ends up being sucked in the bootlegging business where he meets an old friend of his from the war named George Hally (played by Humphrey Bogart). However being in the business that it was, your friends are never really your friends and you never stay on top.The film is a great depiction of the times and shows some pretty gritty scenes as well, and of course, Jimmy Cagney as always delivers a great performance.
Click here for a clip
.
The 20's & 30's weren't good decades I'm afraid...they were actually what I would call 'Bad America', because it was an era of gangsters, racketeering, illicit bootlegged booze, public enemies, and to round up the 30's, America went to war with it's allies!
ReplyDeleteI liked James Cagney cause he represented both sides of the fence....but sometimes he came on way too strong in the 'bad guy' roles.
Great actor representing his times!
he DID come on way too strong in the 'bad guy' roles... cause he was such a great actor and so convincing. There is no actor that can compete with him in that!
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