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The Roaring Twenties

1939

Raoul Walsh

James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, Gladys George ...

8.0

6,553

Film noir. Thriller After WWI, three war veterans, Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn), Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney), and George Hally (Humphrey Bogart), go back to their lives in the United States but they find themselves struggling to get a good job. So they get involved in criminal activities.

	Author	Review
United States	Frank S. Nugent The New York Times	"An annoying pretentiousness which neither the theme nor its treatment can justify (...) If it also seems to be good entertainment of its kind (...) credit it to James Cagney in another of his assured portrayals of a criminal career man"	NEU
United Kingdom	Kim Newman Empire	"Bogart and Cagney are gloriously dark in this gangster tour-de-force (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Eric Henderson Slant	"Climaxing with a tableau that is as iconic as it is melodramatic, 'The Roaring Twenties' revels in a relativism that keeps its momentum fresh and elusive (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"	POS
United Kingdom	Geoff Andrew Time Out	"Marvellously mixing semi-documentary aspects with traditional genre motifs (...) Most impressive for its frantic pace and its suggestion that in times of Depression almost everyone is corruptible"	POS
United States	Variety	"Story and dialog are good. Raoul Walsh turns in a fine directorial job; the performances are uniformly excellent."	POS
United States	Noel Murray AV Club	"This is an exciting, sweeping vision of American life, which treats crime like the ultimate small business, crushed by the machinations of the truly powerful."	POS
United States	Peter Bogdanovich IndieWire	"Masterful, eloquent, brilliantly directed and acted (...) Tragic, with an epic conception, Walsh’s technique is sharp and tough"	POS
United States	Dave Kehr Chicago Reader	"Walsh's mastery of narrative rhythm keeps the action building steadily, while he draws upon the Bogart-Cagney relationship for superbly developed counterpoint"	POS

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