The Roaring Twenties (1939)

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Director: Raoul Walsh

Writers: Jerry Wald & Richard Macauley and Robert Rossen, from an original story by Mark Hellinger

Stars: James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Jeffrey Lynn, Priscilla Lane, Gladys George, Frank McHugh



Finding that his old job has been given away, returning World War I vet Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney) takes work as a taxi driver to make ends meet, and soon rises from delivering bootleg liquor to leading his own criminal empire in the days of Prohibition. 



The corruption of his good nature and the alienation of his war buddies, the slimy George Hally (Humphrey Bogart, still playing heavies at this point), and the stalwart Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn), pave the way to his eventual downfall. 



This thrilling crime picture from the heyday of Warner Bros. gangster films is thoroughly entertaining and features a great Cagney death scene.

























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