Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson in WB’s Gangsters Vol. 3
© Warner Home Video

Mania Grade: B+
DVD: Warner Gangsters Collection, Volume 3
Rating: Not Rated
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Ralph Bellamy
Written By: Earl Baldwin, Ben Markson, Lillie Hayward, Edward Chodorov, Kubec Glasmon, Abem Finkel
Directed By: Archie L. Mayo, Alfred E. Green, Lloyd Bacon, Roy Del Reuth
Distributor: Warner Home Video
Original Year of Release: 2008
Extras: Film Historian Commentary, Warner Brothers Night at the Movies option featuring: Shorts, Cartoon Shorts, Trailers, Vintage News Reel

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Warner Gangsters Collection, Volume 3

Box sets tend to be a mixed bag of films. More often than not there are a few duds thrown in with a classic which capitalize on a big name star showcasing films that no one has ever heard of. When studios break them up into volumes I tend to be weary of anything past volume 1. However, Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 3 was nothing but surprises and a delight for someone who had never ventured into the gangster genre outside of films like The Maltese Falcon, Angels with Dirty Faces, The Public Enemy and Little Caesar. The previous are forever classics and will be perpetually viewed on such channels as Turner Classic Movies and American Movie Classics. Smart Money, Picture Snatcher, Black Legion and The Mayor of Hell are the lesser known films of the genre. Nonetheless I found myself memorized by the likes of Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson all over again as if it were the first time.

Black Legion (1936) starring Humphrey Bogart as a mill worker named Frank Taylor who loses his foreman job to an immigrant worker. Bogart then joins a secret organization called the Black Legion which promises to give back America to the “real Americans”.

To see Bogart as the dim witted bigoted worker was refreshing. He was seedy and disheartened and lacked any confidence in his actions. Not the Bogart I was used to seeing in the likes of the African Queen or Casablanca. This is the only film in the box set that featured him as the lead. It was also the darkest film in the set. It was a brutal realistic portrayal of America before World War II with hard lessons and no Hollywood glitz. Film Rating: A-

Smart Money (1931) starring Edward G. Robinson as a lucky barber who ventures to the big city for the big score co-starred James Cagney. Edward G. Robinson’s Nick the Barber was a likeable guy who always remembered his friends. He falls into the trappings of the big city and gets taken for every cent he has got. He re-establishes himself as a barber in the big city and starts winning back everything all the crooked gamblers took from him. This film was uneven at times portraying Nick as a likable good guy who helps out those in need but the law reveals all the shady dealings he has going behind the audience’s back. It left a lot of unanswered questions and the resolution was almost tongue in cheek.

Cagney and Robinson are a delight to watch. Their best scene takes place while Cagney is describing a woman to Robinson using nothing but his hands. There is a “blink and you’ll miss him moment” and that is for Frankenstein’s creature himself, Boris Karloff as Sport Williams. It is a strange scene that reveals much about Robinson’s weakness for blondes but nonetheless a treat to see Karloff pop up out of no where in a film that was released five months before he would become a star. Film Rating: B-

The Mayor of Hell (1933) stars James Cagney. He plays Patsy, a gangster, paid off by political officials with a cushy job as deputy director of a reform school. Once there Patsy falls for the school nurse Dorothy (Madge Evans). She helps him see the light and he in turn helps the boys see the same. The beginning of the film runs rampant with racial stereotypes but in the end has an incredible message about forgiveness and understanding. Film Rating: B+

Picture Snatcher (1933) starring James Cagney as Danny, a mobster turned news photographer, was the gem in the set. Danny gives up the life and turns legit but learns that all of his actions have repercussions. Danny learns that a picture may not only win him the job and the purse but may ruin one or two lives as well. Eventually his actions affect his own life and Danny learns that he must make amends. Ralph Bellamy plays Cagney’s editor and fellow reporter who gives Danny his shot at a legitimate life. The two work well together as the tough guy and the drunk both looking to make more out of life than what their crummy little newspaper affords them. The best moment in the film comes from Cagney’s first assignment where he gets the photograph every newspaper in town is looking for but does it without a camera. Only James Cagney could pull that off. 

The “blink and you’ll miss him moment” in the Picture Snatcher comes when Sterling Holloway walks in as a college student visiting the news paper. Sterling Holloway is best remembered as the voice of Winnie the Pooh. This is only film in the box set that showed some skin. By today’s standards it is tame but for the day it would have been considered taboo. Film Rating: A+

Lady Killer (1933) starring James Cagney seemed as if it were three different movies in one. Cagney goes from movie usher to gambler to mob boss in about twenty minutes. He then goes on the run after a messy robbery hiding out in Hollywood where he becomes a big movie star. You will have to suspend your disbelief for this one but with its quick and easy story it probably made a great second feature on a James Cagney double bill. Film Rating: C-

Brother Orchid (1940) starring Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart was the last in the set and the most surprising. Robinson plays Little John Sarto, a gangster who fails at going legit and returns to his gang to find that his former right hand man, Bogart, is now in charge. Little John goes for “a ride” and narrowly escapes, though he is wounded. Waking up in a monastery Little John finds the legitimacy and happiness he has always looked for. The film had a few comedic moments with Ralph Bellamy as cowboy and would be suitor of Little John’s ex-girlfriend. The film ends in a totally unexpected place and turns the gangster genre on its ear. Refreshing and surprising Brother Orchid is the other gem of this box set. Film Rating: A

Special Features:

Each film is supplied with a Warner Night at the movies option entailing a news reel, musical short, cartoon and trailer that provide a window into the Hollywood of yesterday. There are several disclaimers for the racial stereotypes portrayed in the shorts however it was refreshing that Warner Brothers left them in. There are nonetheless a true depiction of American life and culture from the 1930’s and one that we should remember so it never happens again. 

Also available:

Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 1

Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 2