'G' Men (1935)

It's the early days of the F.B.I. - federal agents working for the Department of Justice. Though they've got limited powers - they don't carry weapons and have to get local police approval ... See full summary »

Director:

William Keighley

Writer:

Seton I. Miller (story)

Stars:

James Cagney, Margaret Lindsay, Ann Dvorak

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
James Cagney	...	'Brick' Davis
Margaret Lindsay	...	Kay McCord
Ann Dvorak	...	Jean Morgan
Robert Armstrong	...	Jeff McCord
Barton MacLane	...	Collins
Lloyd Nolan	...	Hugh Farrell
William Harrigan	...	'Mac' McKay
Russell Hopton	...	Gerard
Edward Pawley	...	Danny Leggett
Noel Madison	...	Durfee
Monte Blue	...	Fingerprint Expert
Regis Toomey	...	Eddie Buchanan
Addison Richards	...	Bruce J. Gregory
Harold Huber	...	Venke
Raymond Hatton	...	Gangsters' Messenger with Warning

Storyline

It's the early days of the F.B.I. - federal agents working for the Department of Justice. Though they've got limited powers - they don't carry weapons and have to get local police approval for arrests - that doesn't stop fresh Law School grad Eddie Buchanan from joining up, and he encourages his former roommate James "Brick" Davis (James Cagney) to do so as well. But Davis wants to be an honest lawyer, not a shyster, despite his ties to mobster boss McKay, and he's intent on doing so, until Buchanan is gunned down trying to arrest career criminal Danny Leggett. Davis soon joins the "G-Men" as they hunt down Leggett (soon-to-be Public Enemy Number One) and his cronies Collins and Durfee, who are engaged in a crime and murder spree from New York to the midwest.

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Plot Keywords:

g man | lawyer | hotel | fbi | murder | 

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Taglines:

Hollywood's Most Famous Bad Man Joins the "G-MEN" and Halts the March of Crime!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der FBI-Agent

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$450,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

An opening scene was added in 1948, 13 years after the film was made, depicting new FBI recruits about to view "G Men". Douglas Kennedy who played "Detective Kennedy" in the Humphrey Bogart classic, "Dark Passage" (1947), plays one of the recruits.

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Goofs

When Robert Armstrong is riding in a car driven by a uniformed policeman towards the end of the movie, a crewman is reflected off the small passenger window. He shows up in three scenes and may be rocking the car to simulate a bumpy road.

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Quotes

Hugh Farrell: No? We'll see.
Danny Leggett: Yeah. We'll see.

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Connections

Referenced in J. Edgar (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Lullaby of Broadway"
(1935) (uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Sung by uncredited blonde singer

User Reviews

One of Cagney's best

I could go on record as saying that G-men is probably my favourite film of all time, but I won't. Though it would certainly have no need to fight for a place in my top 5, as anyone who's seen this movie could see why it would have a well earned place there.

Cagney plays the tough guy again, but this time firmly on the side of Uncle Sam, as a laywer turned Federal Agent to avenge the death of a friend. Cagneys performance is one of his best, and it's not just cagney that shines, Robert Armstrong is brilliant as Cagney's tough talking FBI boss. and Regis Toomey's good but brief appearance as Cagney's doomed friend is equally pleasing.

I love everything about this Movie, the guns, the Cars, the suits, the music. The only thing I don't like, is that every version you find of this great film these days has the annoying and rather pointless prologue added in 1949, showing a group of 'FBI Men' (or actors as I like to call them) having a training session where the instructor tells this fledgling officers that Gangsters are scum and and that law and order will prevail. WHY????????

The 1930's were Warner Bros's glory days, and their gangster films were rightly regarded as the best crime movies ever (until supplanted by the brilliant Godfather movies). However, the new makes way for the old, and Pacino, De Niro, Brando, as good as they are, could NEVER replace the cockiness of Cagney, the ruthlessness of Raft,and the barbarity of Bogie(though sadly neither Bogart or Raft appear in this picture I'm afraid). Maybe that's where the film could have been better with Barton McClanes lacklustre performance as Cagney's gangster nemesis, being replaced by either George Raft or Humphrey Bogart. I'm not going to spoil the plot, as this movies a treat for all fans of B&W gangster films. this is a MUST SEE