"Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" Demon-speed direction by Raoul Walsh makes this one of the most electrifying crime thrillers ever made. Mama's boy Cody Jarrett is the quintessential James Cagney performance, an invigorating example of a star's titanic personality merging with the fiction to create an unforgettable character. Even when Cagney’s portrayal is seen in the wake of Al Pacino’s Tony Montana in SCARFACE, it remains perhaps the most chillingly convincing profile of an outlaw sociopath ever to come out of Hollywood. The stellar supporting cast includes Virginia Mayo as Cody’s two-timing moll, Edmond O'Brien as undercover G-man Fallon, Steve Cochran as Cody’s dapper rival within the gang and Margaret Wycherly as Ma. If you've never seen the explosive climax on the big screen, here's your chance!

Raoul Walsh burst onto the screen in his first Warner Bros. directorial outing with this sensational gangster tale starring James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart as World War I vets who return to an unwelcoming American society and head straight for the criminal life in a world of bootlegging and shady nightclubs. With a script from crackerjack Warner Bros. writing team Jerry Wald and Richard Macauley, and produced by the incorrigible erstwhile journalist Mark Hellinger, this picture bristles with suspense, smart-aleck humor and Walsh's great comic and dramatic timing. The triple threat of Cagney, Bogey and Walsh make for nonstop action and fun. A terrific round-up and look-back at the great Warner Bros. gangster yarns of the 1930s, this film says it all about how the studio kept in touch with the hard-knock life of the times. Also starring the inimitable Gladys George as Cagney's saloon-owning friend and Pricilla Lane as the woman who just can't love Cagney the way he wants. A blast of energy that is pure Walsh!

While not as famous as Jimmy Cagney’s huge hit WHITE HEAT (made the previous year), this brutal, hard-as-nails adaptation of Horace McCoy’s superb novel is one of the best crime films of the noir era. A handful of battered survivors recount in court the violent saga of criminal Ralph Cotter, from his prison breakout to his fateful double-dealings with women (Barbara Payton and Helena Carter, both terrific). Tremendously tough direction by Gordon Douglas, featuring an amazing crew of noir tough guys. “The whole blistering story of the crimson-stained career of Ralph Cotter, thug with a heart… of ice!” Not on DVD!