When the birth of the gangster film is discussed, Little Caesar, The Public Enemy and Scarface are listed as seminal works. Often overlooked in the discussion of key early entries in the genre is Raoul Walsh’s The Roaring Twenties, a 1939 feature that featured James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart as well as a roster of familiar faces from the roster of Warner Brothers’ contract players.
Cagney and Bogart are Eddie Bartlett and George Hally respectively, two New Yorkers who meet up in a foxhole during World War I. They part ways after this brief prologue but not before revealing their true characters. Bartlett is a sympathetic realist who takes fellow solider Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn) under his wing. Hally is a psychopathic sadist whose found his milieu, taking pleasure in the killing he’s allowed to do in the name of liberty and freedom.
Improbably, the trio reunite after the war, Bartlett and Haley, having found jobs hard to come by, are in the bootlegging racket while Hart has become a lawyer. As the heyday of the titular era comes to an abrupt end due to the Great Depression, the fortunes of all three radically change, leading to a confrontation that will result in betrayal, death, and one of the great final scenes in the gangster drama.
As you would expect, the period details are spot on while the antagonistic sparks between Cagney and Bogart are great fun and a delight to behold. (An earlier 1939 feature, The Oklahoma Kid found the bar at odds as well, only this time with cowboy hats and horses instead of fedoras and sedans.) The energy each brings to the screen is palpable, while Gladys George as Panama Smith, who pines for Bartlett, and Priscilla Lane as Jean Sherman, who rebuffs his advances, shine as well.
Walsh’s first film at Warner Brothers, where he would go on to be one of their most reliable workhorses, moves at a brisk pace, never pausing to allow us to catch our breath and question any of the logic, or lack thereof, employed here. This is a prime example of the production produced by the studio system during Hollywood’s golden age, its purpose being to inform and entertain in equal measures, its grit a Warner Brothers’ trademark.
In the latest edition from the Criterion Collection, the vital, boutique home video company takes a major step towards preserving this classic with a 4K restoration as well as key pieces of commentary from critic Gary Giddins who, in an interview, cites the film’s overlooked status, as well as an essay from Mark Asch that provides perspective at to the significance of the film in the gangster genre. A brief excerpt from an interview with Raoul Walsh done in 1973 as well as an audio commentary from film historian Lincoln Hurst to round out the package. Par for the course, Criterion has delivered yet another package necessary for inclusion to any home video library.
