"He used to be a big shot"

"They don't make 'em like they used to" is an axiom that is appropriately applied to any of the classic Warner Brothers gangster flicks the studio churned out in the 1930s, many of which starred James Cagney. The only thing that could top a Cagney picture was one in which he was paired with Humphrey Bogart, as was the case with "The Roaring Twenties" (1939). CineVerse took a trip back to the bootlegger era and watched this picture last night; not a single attendee gave a thumbs down. Here are our reflections on the movie:

WHAT DID YOU FIND INTERESTING, UNIQUE OR UNEXPECTED ABOUT THIS FILM?

• The interplay and dynamics between James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart is notable. 
• It can be strange to see Bogart playing a supporting character in a gangster movie; truth is, he had not quite yet become a top-billed star. 
• This was actually the third and final movie that the two would appear in together, the others being Angels With Dirty Faces and The Oklahoma Kid. 
• The movie has, a somewhat “pseudo-documentary feel,” according to Genevieve McGillicuddy with Turner Classic Movies. Evidence of this is that it incorporates “newsreel clips and popular music from the period, and a voiceover by an omniscient reporter who assures the audience that what they are about to see is based on true events.” 
• Be mindful that the gangster and his moll are based on real-life figures Larry Fay and Texas Guinan. 
• It’s also imbued with an epic feel and scope, considering that it traces the rise and fall of a man from World War I through the Great Depression. 

WHAT THEMES OR SYMBOLS STAND OUT IN THIS MOVIE?

• Karma, cosmic destiny, hubris, and the sense of a life squandered: Bartlett is due for a comeuppance by the end of the film and gets it. 
• Exploiting the American dream: Bartlett capitalizes on America as the land of opportunity by being an opportunist whose lawlessness eventually catches up with him. 
• Life in the fast lane, and the fleeting nature of time: this story covers many years in the life of a man, but passes at a quick pace. Quotes from Bartlett in this film include “I didn’t have time to think about them,” and “I’m in too much of a hurry to worry about somebody getting sore at me.” It helps that Cagney has a quick, energetic nature to him in his physical movements and speech. Consider, as well, the fast-moving camera work, relatively short shots and scenes, and brisk pace of the story being told. 
• The end of an era, sentimentality, finality and romanticizing the past. This story and this movie seem to be wistful for a bygone time, warts and all; it also plays as an elegy for and concluding statement on the gangster picture cycle, which dominated the 1930s but arguably came to an end here. 
• Panama Smith’s line, “He used to be a bigshot,” resonate as a final statement that draws the cycle to a close. 
• Martin Scorsese said of the movie: “The Roaring Twenties shows a gritty reality that romanticizes the dark side of human nature.” 
• Circles: from the plate of spaghetti and the portholes on the boat to the spinning globe and nightclub stools, this film is replete with spherical shapes and circular patterns. 

OTHER MOVIES OR WORKS OF LITERATURE THAT THE ROARING TWENTIES REMIND US OF:

• The Great Gatsby 
• Gangster pictures of the 1930s by Warner Brothers and other studios, including: Little Caesar, The Public Enemy, Scarface, Lady Killer, G Men, and Angels With Dirty Faces 

OTHER FILMS DIRECTED BY RAOUL WALSH:

• White Heat 
• High Sierra 
• The Big Trail 
• They Died With Their Boots On 
• The original The Thief of Baghdad 
• They Drive By Night