'G' Men (1935)

Director:

William Keighley

Writers:

Seton I. Miller (story)
Seton I. Miller (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 May 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

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

Plot:

It's the early days of the F.B.I. - federal agents working for the Department of Justice. Though they've got limited powers...

Plot Keywords:

Lawyer | Murder | Public Enemy Number One | Hotel | FBI

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

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, aka Joseph Lynch
Russell Hopton	...	Gerard
Edward Pawley	...	Danny Leggett
Noel Madison	...	Durfee
Monte Blue	...	Fingerprint Expert
Regis Toomey	...	Edward 'Eddie' Buchanan
Addison Richards	...	Bruce J. Gregory
Harold Huber	...	Venke
Raymond Hatton	...	Gangsters' Messenger with Warning

Also Known As:

G'Men (USA) (alternative spelling)
G-Men (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) | Norway:16 (1936) | USA:Approved (PCA #745)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Initially, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and Attorney General Homer Cummings disapproved the film. Their primary reason was that it portrayed an FBI agent as insubordinate (Davis being a smart ass to McCord) and acting on his own (Davis leaving the hospital to find Collins). But when the movie became a success, Hoover and Cummings realized that the film could be used to promote the image of the FBI and they changed their minds and began openly endorsing it.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: A crashing automobile knocks over a street lamp just before it runs into a building. The lamp falls away from the camera so that its bottom is exposed. Clearly the lamp is a prop with no electrical wiring.

Quotes:

James 'Brick' Davis: I'm leaving tomorrow morning. That puts me on the other side of the fence than you, Mac.
'Mac' McKay, aka Joseph Lynch: That's where you ought to be.
James 'Brick' Davis: Yes, but they're out to get you. You and everybody else in your racket. And if they assign me to go after you, I've got to use everything I know about you.
'Mac' McKay, aka Joseph Lynch: You've got to play ball with them, Brick. Go to it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Agatha Christie: Poirot: The Adventure of the Cheap Flat (#2.7)" (1990)

Soundtrack:

Lullaby of Broadway

Cagney's Film

This is definitely Jimmy Cagney's film all the way. He is superb in it and his acting actually makes the rest of the cast better in support. Cagney was such a great actor he would always help elevate others performances in his films and he does so very much in this one. This film is well done for it's time though it looks a little flawed with age now.

The story is actually based upon a real FBI case in the early 30's. It stretches the truth after a while in order to fit the task. The gun fight sequence towards the end is amazingly violent yet most of the what seems to be thousands of shots fired seem to miss everything.

This is one of many films that established Warner Brothers as :Gangster Films Inc" during the 30's & 40's. It is a strong entry which was well produced for a 1935 (early) film. It treats it's subject pretty well. If you like Cagney, this is a film you must see to understand how far he had already developed his acting skills in 1935.