Gangsters 101: an essential list
Best and most representative films from a historic hollywood genre turned into a broad thematic.
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- DirectorJosef von SternbergArthur RossonStarsGeorge BancroftClive BrookEvelyn BrentBoisterous gangster kingpin Bull Weed rehabilitates his former lawyer from his alcoholic haze, but complications arise when he falls for Weed's girlfriend.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsEdward G. RobinsonDouglas Fairbanks Jr.Glenda FarrellA small-time criminal moves to a big city to seek bigger fortune.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsJames CagneyJean HarlowEdward WoodsAn Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsGary CooperSylvia SidneyPaul LukasMan joins a gang to free his girlfriend from prison.
- DirectorHoward HawksRichard RossonStarsPaul MuniAnn DvorakKaren MorleyAn ambitious and nearly insane violent gangster climbs the ladder of success in the mob, but his weaknesses prove to be his downfall.
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsJames CagneyMargaret LindsayAnn DvorakJames Cagney helped jump-start the gangster genre as The Public Enemy. Outcries against movies that glorified underworld criminals put Cagney on the side of the law in 'G' Men.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyHumphrey BogartPriscilla LaneThree men attempt to make a living in Prohibitionist America after returning home from fighting together in World War I.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsIda LupinoHumphrey BogartAlan CurtisAfter being released from prison, notorious thief Roy Earle is hired by his old boss to help a group of inexperienced criminals plan and carry out the robbery of a California resort.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsRobert TaylorLana TurnerEdward ArnoldThe step-daughter of a district attorney falls in love with a gangster on parole who her father originally imprisoned.
- DirectorMax NosseckStarsLawrence TierneyEdmund LoweAnne JeffreysJohn Dillinger begins his life of crime as a petty thief, meets his future gang in prison and eventually masterminds a series of daring robberies.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsHumphrey BogartLizabeth ScottMorris CarnovskyA soldier runs away rather than receive the Medal of Honor, so his buddy gets permission to investigate, and love and death soon follow.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartEdward G. RobinsonLauren BacallA man visits his war buddy's family hotel and finds a gangster running things. As a hurricane approaches, the two end up confronting each other.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyVirginia MayoEdmond O'BrienA psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist.
- DirectorSidney SalkowStarsBrian KeithBeverly GarlandDick ForanIn Chicago, a crime syndicate tries to take over a labor union by killing its whistle blower treasurer and framing the honest union boss for the murder.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsRobert TaylorCyd CharisseLee J. CobbLawyer Tommy Farrell is a defender of crooks. Vicki Gaye encourages him to go straight, but mob king Rico Angelo insists otherwise.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsRobert StackKeenan WynnBarbara NicholsStory of how a group of incorruptible federal lawmen helped put 1920s' Chicago gangster Al Capone in prison.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsRay DantonKaren SteeleElaine StewartNeo-noir about a small-time New York City criminal whose ambition is to become a big-time crime boss during the Prohibition era.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsJason RobardsGeorge SegalRalph MeekerAl Capone's Valentine's Day surprise for the rival Bugs Moran gang in 1929 Chicago.
- DirectorMike HodgesStarsMichael CaineIan HendryBritt EklandWhen his brother dies under mysterious circumstances in a car accident, London gangster Jack Carter travels to Newcastle to investigate.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsAnthony QuinnFrederic ForrestRobert ForsterAfter his mistress is savagely beaten up a Mafia leader goes after the killer with a bloody vengeance. Soon after the hunt begins, a gang war ensues.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroRobert DuvallThe early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsJames CagneyElizabeth McGovernHoward E. Rollins Jr.A young black pianist becomes embroiled in the lives of an upper-class white family set among the racial tensions, infidelity, violence and other nostalgic events in early 1900s New York City.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsJames CaanTuesday WeldWillie NelsonAn ace safe cracker wants to do one last big heist for the mob before going straight.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsAl PacinoMichelle PfeifferSteven BauerIn 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.