Midweek Mention... Angels With Dirty Faces

Angels With Dirty Faces

Dan: What do you say? What do you know?

Sidey: This is a movie you've mentioned a few times in top fives and whatnot down the years. Yeah. Angels with Dirty Faces, see.

Dan: Angels with Dirty Faces. Jimmy Cagney, see?

Sidey: Yeah, Jimmy Cagney. It's got, Bogie Bogie in there as well as the main guys. Yeah. I'm trying to think of another O'Brien. The one from Star Trek Next Gen, his great, great, great, great grandson. Great grandson. And I don't know if I'd recognize it, but Amy Ann Sheridan. Yeah. She's a babe. She is a babe. She's a total babe. Yeah. We start in the... This is old, right? It's an oldie, right? 1938.

Dan: 1938.

Sidey: Were you at the premiere? Old gags, were we? Yeah. It's directed by a guy called Michael Curtiz with a Z. Yeah. Who then did Casablanca with Bogie as well. Yeah. So they must have struck up a bit of a thing. So yeah, it's an, it's an oldie, and they talk old-timey. Yeah. We get a sort of shot of the, the town where they live, don't they?

Dan: it pa- it pans down- Yeah into what is a, a typical bustling street, I

Sidey: I was trying to work out from the film- The New York ... where, when it was set. So this is kind of- Chicago,

Dan: I think it is

Sidey: so is this during... It's during Prohibition, isn't it? Yeah. And the Depression and all that sort of stuff. 'Cause we see the kids... We start off by seeing Rocky Sullivan and his mate, Jerry They're on a kind of fire escape sort of balcony, and there's three girls walking towards him, aren't they? That's right. And they, they're giving him some chat, and then they- "

Dan: Don't look up. Don't look up." And, and he he says, "Keep going along, pigtails."

Sidey: Yeah, he pulls, he pulls her hat down over her "

Dan: How dare you speak to me like that?" And yeah, he pulls her hat

Sidey: speak to me like that?" And yeah, he pulled her hat- But they're dead dirty, aren't they? They're, they're all scruffy. I think he's got just a length of rope just as like a belt to keep his trousers up and stuff. Yeah. So you can tell that there's this, like, pretty impoverished-

Dan: The wrong side of the- Yeah ... the track kind of kids and up to no good,

Sidey: they're getting into high jinks, but then they c- they go down to the, the railyard, don't they? And this, this is where all the all the freight that comes in, and they're peering through cracks in different containers, and they find one that they can get into, and it's just got fountain pens, I think. Yeah, it's got loads of fountain pens. Just something they can nick, and they-

Dan: can nick, and they- And he, he said, "Oh, it's a pity they're not full of coal," because, you know- Yeah you can nick coal to keep you warm. And he's saying, "Well, you can take that and you can sell that, see. And you can do it, see. Don't be a sucker, see."

Sidey: Rocky's certain... His, his name's William Sullivan, but he's, he's... They name him Rocky, and he's, he's definitely the sort of the ringleader of the, the two, but it's not like grand larceny yet. But they, they basically... But they're able to, I think, break the lock or just- They find a lock ... very easy, very easily get into the, the cart. and almost- Almost immediately there's a guard, just like a security guard just traipsing around, and he hears the commotion, and he looks in and starts blowing his whistle to attract the local gendarmerie, and they say, "Right," you know, "We're..." They, they are literally, like, stuck in there. So the only thing they can do is make a break for it. So they bolt out of there as quick as they can, kind of push everyone over, and leg it as quick as they can. And as they-

Dan: are falling out their pockets

Sidey: They drop all their stolen goods. But as Jerry gets... They get round the corner, Jerry gets to this sort of, Train tracks, isn't it? this small kind of... Well, he falls. Yeah, he falls on the train tracks like, "Oh, God." And

Dan: cuts his, his face, and we see that scar then through the film- Yeah ... as he grows up.

Sidey: Rocky helps him up, and they get

Dan: back, picks him up, and they run off. And another, and the train just goes past them, and you think- Yeah ... oh, if it's a long train, they're getting away. But it's not a long train. No, it's a short- It's just a short one. And they

Sidey: vault over a f- And the

Dan: him up.

Sidey: vault over a fence- Yeah ... a small-

Dan: Gerry does. He gets over. Gerry gets there first, and

Sidey: gets there first, and he gets over. And as Rocky's trying to get over, the police catch up with him, and they, they take him in. And then we get, like, a real quick montage of... Like, it's really quick, of his sort of charge sheet, petty larceny, straight into grand larceny,

Dan: well, he, I think, goes petty larsen- larceny, and then he gets done for assault inside. Assault, yeah. And so he gets in, he gets two years for

Sidey: larceny- Another four, I think

Dan: And he gets another three or four for that. And i- in the end, it's, it's been a long stretch he's done

Sidey: But it's the first one, 'cause he's a, he's a teenager, so the first one he goes to reform school, doesn't he? And it doesn't do anything for him. So he ends up doing, well, three- Four times ... three stretches that we know about, and he's just become a complete- gangster. He's just like- Yeah ... he's done Is it now that he's di- he's th- there's something that, that's gone on that he's owed 100 grand for Well, a

Dan: little as you say- He's a bit of a scrapper part of this mon- montage, and actually we see that he, he gets off with a couple of- Yeah ...

Sidey: bribed juries, I think bribed

Dan: juries, and he's got off with a couple of big scores, and one of them was manslaughter. Rocky goes free

Sidey: up a, we blow up a building, don't they? Chuck some bombs out of a car

Dan: also see like showgirls and champagne and- Yeah and betting and everything, and he's had a bit of this. And, and then it goes to him doing another stretch, and he's sat opposite then Humphrey Bogart-

Sidey: Fraser ... a-

Dan: a- and Fraser, his lawyer, and he's saying, "Look, we should, you know, share this." And he goes, "No, no, it doesn't take two of us, Rocky. You do the stretch. I'll keep the 100 grand safe, and we'll be partners through it all." Yeah,

Sidey: we'll be partners through it all." Yeah, you keep quiet. When you get out, you'll be looked after. All

Dan: right. I'll, I'll do that." So- And, and so then we come back three years

Sidey: Yeah. He's come, comes back to town. Is it straight away where he's looking for a place to

Dan: Yeah, he's going back to the old neighborhood

Sidey: And he doesn't realize it, but when he goes into this, these digs there's some young lad there and he says, "Oh, the woman across there will, will show you up to the room, you know, show you where you can stay." And it's the pigtails from earlier, but he doesn't- He doesn't ... quite twig straight away.

Dan: she's grown into this beautiful young

Sidey: beautiful young thing and- She's a babe. She's an absolute babe. And she kinda knows who he is 'cause-

Dan: been in all the

Sidey: been in the papers and constantly, yeah, reporting about him. And the place where he's staying is a total dump. I mean- Yeah ... it is absolutely minging.

Dan: Well, that's it. It's just rooms, isn't it? He go- he goes up there and the, ... As she shows him the room, she pulls down the hat, slaps him in the face and said, "I've been waiting 15 years to do that." And he sits down on the bed, which kind of collapses. Yeah,

Sidey: She sort of storms out the room, but he has a little chuckle about it. Yeah. He's no hard feelings.

Dan: And he's yeah, he's like a, a cheeky chappy gangster. And he starts looking around the old town and the old his old haunt where he grew up on Dock Street. And there's another load of young kids there, isn't there? Yeah. The, the Dead End Kids, I think they're, they're called. And- Wait,

Sidey: Wait, I've got all their names 'cause they're 'cause they're fucking- Yeah. So there's about six or seven of them, and they're all what he used to be, him and Jerry. You know, they're in that same kind of hideout that he used to hide out with Jerry. And they're up to no good. They're, you know, s- stealing fruit and veg and chocolates from vendors.

Dan: He, they're, they're just winding up the police throwing tomatoes and things and pretending everything's all innocent and turning their heads.

Sidey: Soapy, Swing, Bim, Pasty, Crab and Hunky are the Dead End Um- ...I forget which one is the sort of de facto ringleader of them, but he, he, he, he does have a, a load of... 'Cause when she says, "Oh, it's five bucks for the room," or something like that, he just pulls out an enormous fucking wad of cash, and she doesn't actually clock it. She doesn't see it really. No. And he's just like, "There you go." And they, they nick some money off him, don't they?

Dan: Well, yeah, they nick his wallet. They see him as a mark, and they come up to him and they- Yeah ... a bit of jostling just outside his house. Yeah. And he kinda just laughs to himself, and he goes down to the- He laughs it down, yeah ... he goes down to where he knows they are, and this hideout where

Sidey: an old boiler room or

Dan: Yeah.

Sidey: Yeah. as

Dan: they're dividing up the money he kind of pretends to get a gun in his pocket.

Sidey: Yeah.

Dan: And he's, he's threatening them and frightening them, and they're saying, "You can't do that." "Oh, please, mister, don't, don't." And in the end he, he just ends up giving them a few tips on how not to get caught next time, and tells them, "Yeah, I'm Rocky." And they're like, "What?"

Sidey: it. They think he's a celeb. You know, it's like meeting a hero. He's, It's like Messi for them. Yeah. They're absolutely fucking made up. They can't believe, "How, can, can you believe it? We're with Rocky." They see him as a way out- Yeah ... of, of this life 'cause they're all just like he was when he was young. They're dirty. They're, you know, street kids that don't see any sort of way out of, legit way of getting out of this. Well, they mention more than once in the, in the film how it would take them, like my old man or

Dan: He's like- He's a hero ... It's like Messi for them ... They can't believe it. How... Can, can you believe that we tried to get- They see him as a way out- Yeah ... of Well, they mention more than once in the, in the film how it would take them, like my old man or my, my mum- Yeah ... it would take them a week or a month to earn this money that they've got so easy just from- Yeah And he says, "I'll tell you what. Go and get some beers, go and get some beans, and we'll go up to have a proper feast up in my room." And that's when

Sidey: I think they nick it all, though, don't they? Yeah. 'Cause William's, William's got it all under his shirt, but it's a comedy amount of stuff. Yeah,

Dan: That's right. Yeah. He goes, "Oh, this is just, just a..." You know, they can't help themselves. No. He has been in, I think at this stage, to go and see his old pal Jerry already.

Sidey: He's, he's... Yeah, 'cause Gerry's become the local priest.

Dan: Yeah.

Sidey: And he does go and see him, and then Gerry comes to visit comes to see him again where the lads are all round at his room and they're having dinner.

Dan: he can see how they idolize him. Yeah. And they listen to him, and Jerry hasn't had that much success with them. He's done all the work he can to try and keep them- He's- ... on the right side of the tracks "Yeah,"

Sidey: He's got, like, community kind of sport, and he's trying to get them into basketball to get a bit of stuff about, like- Brutal game of basketball ... following rules and, you know, having a bit of team sport and, and looking out for each other in that sort of sense. And they're just not interested at all. But because Rocky's kinda into it, he says, "Yeah, you know, we'll go down,

Dan: "Oh, you couldn't beat them anyway. I bet you a-

Sidey: makes him a

Dan: bet you a dollar to a nickel- Yeah you'll get every... You know, you'll have a... You'll get beat." And they're, "Oh, we wouldn't, we wouldn't get beat. Well, let's do a bit of practice first though." So they're all running down to, to practice, and Gerry the priest is just like, "You know, those boys idolize you. You've done a good thing. Come down. Why don't you come down and, and see how they get on?" Yeah. And they have this game against another load of kids.

Sidey: so wild

Dan: and i- absolutely just running with the ball, punching people in the face- Yeah ...

Sidey: people- Tripping them up, pushing them over ... with a

Dan: Tripping them up. No kind of rules. And they end up getting beat. Actually Rocky takes the, the whistle, and he starts

Sidey: starts beating them up

Dan: He's sort of beating them up beating them up, but, Yeah ... because their discipline's so bad, he's saying, "You can't do that," and, well, "And I want the money afterwards. Give me those nickels." And they, one of them tries to pay him with a slug, doesn't he? And he's like- ... a little bit of lead instead of a coin, and he goes, "Go on," and they, they finally got a little bit of enthusiasm for the game, and somebody's noticed them that they actually care for and go, "Yeah, let's do this." So there seems to be hope for, for them. They all really just love him

Sidey: Yeah, so it's, it, it becomes clear to Rocky when he gets what he's come back for is his 100 grand. Yeah. And,

Dan: you imagine 100 grand in 1938? Yeah, it's

Sidey: it's a serious wedge, especially in the, in, in that economy. Yeah. He, it- they rather than pay him, you know, Bogart, it's weird to see Bogart as a villain, that he, Yeah ... they're gonna have him killed. Yeah.

Dan: Yeah,

Sidey: there was never a thing of, "You go to prison and keep quiet and we'll give you." It was just, "No, you go tell them the time

Dan: the- ... or we'll kill you ... business is absolutely booming. He, he sees that Bogart has got a partner, another partner who's got part of the business. Yeah. And it's, it's drinking, it's dancing, it's gambling. And Rocky's thinking, "Yeah, this is good. I'll tell you what. I'll, I'll take my 100 grand." And he seems to be okay with that, but he wants to go then, and a cut in the business. And he goes, "Well, you know, I want half of your side of the business." And he goes, "Well, I'm not the boss. The other guy's the boss." And he

Sidey: isn't it? Yeah

Dan: the boss. And he goes, "Huh, I don't want Max. I want half of yours. That's what we agreed on." And he goes, "I just, like, did three years in prison for you. You were investing our 100 grand in this business. You've become a, a, you know, successful. I want just what's mine." And they go, "Sure, sure." But you're right, as soon as he's out the door, they don't see it that way, and they try and have him bumped off.

Sidey: Yeah. Which, and he smells a rat, so in, in retaliation, he actually kidnaps Fraser. Yeah. Frazier.

Dan: What are you saying? What do you know?

Sidey: They've also got, a bit like Untouchables, there's a, a ledger with everything detailed in there. Mm-hmm. So he swipes that, and now he can,

Dan: now he understands. He's got 280 grand in here. He's got 65 grand in there. Yeah. He's got another 150 in this one. "Right, yeah. You've done okay. I'm, I'm taking half of

Sidey: Yeah. So to let him, so to let him go they pay him, but they also tip off the feds.

Dan: Yeah. And he knows- He's,

Sidey: he's quick enough, though, to stuff that in an envelope, give it to Soapy- Soapy, yeah ... or one of the, one of the lads. One of

Dan: One of the

Sidey: fucking hide... Don't look at... He said, "Don't open that, but hide it in the boiler house. And I'll see you after." So then he's he's reading a detective comics book or something. Yeah. When, or a magazine, when when the police c- it's so, so fast. I mean, one of the, the kid he gives it to is actually on the stairs when they walk past him. Yeah. And then he's just- Just puts it in his jacket ... he's just so, like, nonchalant when they come in, and he's just like, "Oh, I'm reading your life story." See? And,

Dan: He's just thrown the, the gun Yeah. They turn the place upside down. I mean, even the bin is turned up. Yeah. All the drawers emptied out on the floor, but they can't find anything, so there's no case, so they've got no, no way of proving.

Sidey: And,

Dan: of proving. And that's right, and they, they take him down, and he's, he's kinda let off, and it makes the papers again, and it's almost like, well, we all knew he was guilty, but the police have had to let him go. And he's also got off with the Fraser kidnapping because they've had to say

Sidey: "Oh, it was a mistake. We,

Dan: it's a mistake. And they're all ... The police are all in the pockets of the gangsters- Yeah

Sidey: Yeah ...

Dan: who are hoping the police were gonna do the dirty work for him. Because he's got these ledgers then they know that he can bring down the names- Mm um, and the people and all the money of the whole corrupt city.

Sidey: So he goes to see the the Dead End boys.

Dan: the wall

Sidey: They've buried the, the letter in a, like a hole in the wall and covered it with r- with rubble, and they get it, they give it to him, and he gives them a load of cash. He, he... I think he empties his wallet out and gives them- Yeah the spit of that. And,

Dan: like $50 each. It must be

Sidey: they all get 50 apart from Melido who gets- Get a ton, yeah ... gets a ton. And then Jerry gets wind, then the priest, that they're down the local pool hall just getting fucking pissed

Dan: getting absolutely

Sidey: new... All of them have got a new suit on- Yeah with like the old hats and all the rest of it, and they're playing. Cigars, prices. They're buying, they're buying drinks for everyone. They're absolutely living large, and that's when they say, "Oh, this is like a year's wage for my old man," and stuff. "

Dan: Why, aren't you down, you know, why aren't you playing basketball and,

Sidey: banging your joint

Dan: in the gym?" And he goes- He's got

Sidey: in my pocket?

Dan: I don't want." And,

Sidey: don't wanna, you know. Yeah, it's too

Dan: He ends up actually lamping one of the the guys in the bar. Not the young lads,

Sidey: just it's one of the gamblers that the like Turf account or something because they even... And even one of the kids says, "You know, every gambler dies broke," so they're just gonna live fast while they can. Yeah. And now it's, Well,

Dan: Well, the, the, the the net is closing in on Rocky basically because he's he's up to, like, you know, his, his eyeballs really- No,

Sidey: it... No, what is it's Jerry that turns, isn't it? Jerry's after he's- He

Dan: it? Gerry's, He's had enough

Sidey: after he's seen the lads like this, and he knows where they got their money from, and he knows how corrupt it all is. So he, he effectively starts poorly named in, in this day and age, the Reform Party. And he's gonna go up against them, and he's making all these public statements outing people as being- Yeah ... the enemy, as being- Goes to the

Dan: the newspapers- He's

Sidey: He's doing- They run him out eventually ... he's doing, you know... They, they drive... It's this sort of era where they drive around in cars with loudspeakers just s- you know, just churning out the messages. And so Frazier and Mac say to Rocky that, "This guy's gotta fucking go. Like, we can't have this guy going around just shouting all our business out." And Rocky's like, "Listen, I'll get him to stop." And they say, "No." They explicitly... Frazier's like, "No, we gotta kill this guy." And he's like, "No way." So he's still loyal to his mate- Yeah ... from back in the day. He's like, "Let me try. There's gotta be another way. One thing for sure, though, is you're not fucking killing this

Dan: you're not killing him.

Sidey: And they're like, "Yeah, okay." You know, Frazier's like, "Yeah, there's that. There's definitely another way. You fuck off for a bit, and we'll sort it out." And he tricks him by... They kind of look the other way, and he opens the front door, but he kinda nicks into the bathroom- Bathroom, yeah ... which is right next to it, and they think he's left, and they just blurt out, "Yeah, we'll kill him like this, and we'll do that." And he's just listening. And he just wa- he just kills him. He just- Yeah ... when he, when he walks out of the bathroom, and they see him there, they're all surprised. Mac pulls the gun, and he-

Dan: he- He's quicker

Sidey: just shoots him straight away. And then you don't see... I don't think you, that you actually saw on screen that he killed both. You see him cowering Frazier.

Dan: Bo- Bogart sort of runs a little bit around- Yeah ... doesn't he? And he runs into the next bar- Yeah ... and he s- kinda shoots him

Sidey: the door. He kills people through the wall- Yeah ... like in the bar 'cause it's, it's like a mirror, and it's yeah, like you say, it's into the bar. And he's just... The way he shoots is so erratic. He's, like- ... throwing his hand around. Absolutely. And but, yeah, a few people get caught in the crossfire and killed. carnage all through this. And you think, "Well, you're fucked now, Rocky," 'cause you'd stolen some stuff before, and now there's at least three people dead.

Dan: Yeah. And, and more to come- Yeah

Sidey: There's straightaway people are on the wire. The police are like, "Shootout at the blah blah club." They're straight down there, and he's trapped now. He's, He just sort of has to try and escape through the fire escapes up onto the roofs. He's just shooting fucking anything. He picks up a load of bullets and, well, fills his pockets, and he's just fucking shooting

Dan: Yeah, he kills a couple of police. He'll be

Sidey: madness. Think he kills a couple of police. Yeah, couple of police. You're a fuck now. You're

Dan: absolutely fucked now. And he's ... Yeah, he's just shooting anything that moves. They're shooting back at him. And he won't give up until Jerry comes out. He realizes-

Sidey: have your classic kind of hostage

Dan: got yeah, they've got smoke-

Sidey: The tear gas, yeah

Dan: gas in there ... tear gas in there. And Jerry says, "Look, I'll go and get him out." And they let him go in the police. he says, "Come on, they're gonna shoot you, shoot holes in you. Come out with me." And he, he waves the white flag, and he says, "You're coming down with me."

Sidey: He is hit, isn't he, Rocky? Yeah.

Dan: And he ... Well, he gets hit because he, he wanders off with him and he goes, "Sorry I had to do this, but now you're my hostage." And then he, he kinda takes him to outside and pushes him down, and runs off down an alley, and there he gets shot in the leg. Yeah. And eventually they catch up with him, and he's still just wise cracking and saying, spitting and punching and- Yeah ... and all the rest of it. He's, he's anything but intimidated or scared, and he's just going down in a, a blaze of glory. And then it just kinda goes through a montage of the police,

Sidey: this is not gonna be a couple of years now. This is, you killed police.

Dan: You've killed

Sidey: death sentence. But

Dan: a death sentence. But he, he ... They talk about how he's obviously, Jerry's been into him and said, "Look, help me take down this whole racket here. Like, you know, it's not just you. Take down the ..." And so the corruption starts getting- Yeah

Sidey: Yeah

Dan: Brought to the surface. And through the trial, a load of other people are gonna get brought to justice as well. But he's looking at the chair.

Sidey: Yeah, he's gonna, he'd get sentenced to death. And

Dan: you say, he shot a load of people, and it wasn't just other gangsters. It was the police

Sidey: the police ... On- once you start taking out police, you're really struggling. So Gerry has something big to ask

Dan: And this is it. It's, it's 20 minutes to go. It's, it reminded me of that Johnny Cash song, you know, "Five Minutes To Go" Yeah. It's like- He's,

Sidey: he's clocked that these lads, and by extension all the young people and everyone that idolizes this kind of lifestyle, this sort of gangster life-

Dan: Thousands if not millions of people across the country, you know? This is- This is a case that's caught the, the nation. He's like the Bonnie and Clyde the you know, the Robin Hood who robs from the- Yeah ... the rich to give to

Sidey: So what he's asking Rocky is if you can show-

Dan: Turn yella

Sidey: show that you're scared, sh- you know, beg for whatever

Dan: Well, he asks him, doesn't he? He goes, "Are you scared?" And he goes, "I ain't scared. I ain't scared. I'll, I'll go and ask him and say... I'm gonna sit down in that chair and say, 'Short back and sides, please.'" Like,

Sidey: you know- Ray Parlour style

Dan: I'm just gonna be out there. And he's going, "No, I don't want you to do that. I want you to

Sidey: The kids need to see that you're scared and that you don't want it- Well- ... and that you're not a tough

Dan: "They're gonna follow you." Yeah. "They're gonna... But if they can see that you're... It's the bravest thing you'll ever do because it'll only be me, you, and God that will know." And he's like, "Mm, I'm not gonna "Please." And he, "No, I'm not gonna do that." And he goes, "Right, will you walk me down there?" And he goes, "Yeah." And he goes, "I just don't wanna hear you saying a prayer for

Sidey: Say a prayer for a boy who couldn't run as fast as I could. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's the, it's the sliding doors moment for him. Yeah. But when it comes to it for all his bluster and bravado, he does fucking-

Dan: Yeah, he puts it on. He puts on the,

Sidey: put it on or is it legit?

Dan: Oh, no, he, it's... He puts it on.

Sidey: reckon? Yeah,

Dan: Do you reckon? Yeah, 100%. 100% he puts it on. This isn't... He, he-

Sidey: To know

Dan: he's gone all the way. He's so cool up until there. He's- he's, he's, he's, done it for the mate- Yeah ... and for the boys. He knows. Yeah, no, that's the whole kind of part of the film for me, and I think that's why this film is remembered as... Otherwise, it's, it's a good film. It's otherwise, you know, got some, some great parts and and obviously big stars in it and things. But it's the ending that I think everybody recognizes is something very... That twist where he, the, the bravest kinda gangster who gives zero fucks for any of it he puts on being a coward so that those other kids won't follow him. Because he knows deep down inside-

Sidey: actually- He dies. He dies, but also his, the mythology of his gangster life dies with

Dan: Dies

Sidey: And so they can hopefully see that and not take the same path.

Dan: Yeah, no, I think without Jerry going down and asking him, he's- he's not even- it's not even in his mind. But as he takes that walk, he thinks, "This is the one last thing I can do to square myself with the guy upstairs." Yeah. And, and also with my mate here which he's always been looking out for- Yeah ... 'cause they generally, you know- Yeah

Sidey: Yeah

Dan: like each other. And he always has hope, doesn't he? That he's- he's got a good bone in his body and he can be turned into good. I mean, he, he, he does have a bit of a courtship with,

Sidey: yeah, there was a bit of romance there- Yeah ... but she never- He

Dan: her up with and he goes, "I'll get you in here." And she's already had a gangster type of husband who's died. Yeah.

Sidey: That's really good. It's really good. I hadn't seen it before, so- It, it- first time for me. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah. I could see even, my missus was doing something on the computer and I could see she'd got drawn into watching it as well, so she was, she was really enjoying it. No, strong, really strong. It got three Oscar nominations as well. Yeah. 10 years into the Oscars at this point. Best actor nod for James Cagney, best director, and best story as it was back then. But d- he didn't win win, but still- Well, certainly James Cagney didn't

Dan: win ... n- noms were... but I like James Cagney. I mean- Yeah ... he was one of those actors my dad liked, and he would always say, "Oh, James Cagney," you know. And he did White Heat as well- Yeah ... which is another... "Look at me, Ma, top of the world." You know, he's got a great line in in Great Lines. And he did Cock-a-Doodle Dandy as well, I think it was. Okay. It was like a musical. Multi-talented, you know, these... He was a, he was a song and dance man really. Oh, yeah. So it was, it wasn't just these gangster films. He was absolutely like Gene Kelly-like. He was... He, he had all the moves.

Sidey: And you know what? This obviously famously inspired Angels with Filthy Souls.

Dan: Why? Okay. What-

Sidey: It's the fake movie based on this, which is what Macaulay Culkin uses in Home

Dan: Oh, right. Yeah, okay.

Sidey: watching the gangster film, it's this- Yeah ... but,

Dan: like- But that kind... Ah, you know what you're gonna do, right? Yeah.

Sidey: What you're gonna do, right? Yeah, yeah. That's how they talk in this, yeah.

Dan: Yeah, for that that old-timey speech as well, I think it was a real classic example of that. So I think it's the first James Cagney one we've done on the pod. Yeah.

Sidey: Might be the first time... Oh, no, we did the Multivoc

Dan: the Maltese Falcon, so We've

Sidey: but this was pre, like, superstar Bogart.

Dan: superstar Bogart. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. I mean, he was second billing here- Yeah ... rather than all his other films where he'd gone out on the, on the top. But yeah, it was a v- th- I mean, occasionally they'll show it on Prime and everything. And and BBC iPlayer. I got it on Prime. You can- For a- ... get it off there

Sidey: was surprised- Still, yeah ... 'cause I was act- for some reason, I don't know why I was thinking about Citizen Kane for some reason, 'cause it had loads of first, like with the camera moving. And this is 1938, and the first shot you see of the town, of the s- the sort of streets where they grew up, the camera's right up top- Yeah ... and it kinda swoop, it kinda

Dan: right down, yes ... I was

Sidey: this is, like, quite advanced for-" then. Yeah ... for back, for the '30s. 'Cause I was, you know, if you think of, I suppose y- the '20s, thir- you know,

Dan: The

Sidey: were what? '27 ... '20s, '27, '28. But you would basically just film static, almost like filming a fucking theatrical production, you know. But this was the camera was moving around a lot and it was a lot of different scenes, a lot of different locations. So I was quite surprised by how how well it looked. It's- Yeah ... held up really well. The, the, the language that they use obviously places it appropriately where it's set. And it just sort of made me chuckle at first whether they're, you know... Is that almost like sort of stereotype

Dan: like- What are you saying? What are you

Sidey: Why don't you say But yeah,

Dan: Yeah.

Sidey: This was strong. A really s- really strong recommend from me.

Dan: Excellent. Go out and watch it