'G' Men (1935)

Director:

William Keighley

Writers:

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

Release Date:

4 May 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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 | G Man | Hotel | FBI | U.S. Department Of Justice

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
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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marie Astaire	...	Gerard's Moll (uncredited)
Brooks Benedict	...	Man (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone	...	Cop (uncredited)
Ward Bond	...	Gunman at Train Station (uncredited)
David Brian	...	The Chief - 1949 Reissue Scenes (uncredited)
Frank Bull	...	Last Police Broadcaster (uncredited)
Glen Cavender	...	Headwaiter (uncredited)
Nick Copeland	...	G-Man with Farrell (uncredited)
George Daly	...	Machine Gunner (uncredited)
Joe De Stefani	...	J.E. Glattner - the Florist (uncredited)
Don Downen	...	Joe - the Second Fingerprint Clerk (uncredited)
Florence Dudley	...	Durfee's Moll (uncredited)
Eddie Dunn	...	Police Broadcaster (uncredited)
Bill Elliott	...	Bootlegger Who Gives Eddie the Bottle Outside the Club. (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty	...	Cop with Farrell (uncredited)
James Flavin	...	Agent with Jean (uncredited)
Sol Gorss	...	G-Man Guarding Leggett (uncredited)
Eddie Graham	...	Bank Clerk (uncredited)
Jonathan Hale	...	Congressman (uncredited)
Henry Hall	...	Police Driver (uncredited)
Al Hill	...	Hood (uncredited)
John Impolito	...	Tony - a Florist (uncredited)
Perry Ivins	...	Doctor at Store (uncredited)
Edward Keane	...	Bank Teller (uncredited)
Douglas Kennedy	...	Agent - 1949 Reissue Scenes (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Gangster with Durfee (uncredited)
Marc Lawrence	...	Gangster Killed at Lodge (uncredited)
James T. Mack	...	Agent with Jean (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe	...	First Gangster Shot at Lodge (uncredited)
Edwin Maxwell	...	Joseph Kratz (uncredited)
Martha Merrill	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Bruce Mitchell	...	Sergeant with Farrell (uncredited)
Gene Morgan	...	Lounger Outside Lunch Room (uncredited)
Adrian Morris	...	Accomplice (uncredited)
Frances Morris	...	Moll (uncredited)
Wheeler Oakman	...	Gangster at Lodge Wanting to Quit (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	McCord's Aide (uncredited)
Dick Rush	...	Al (uncredited)
Ferdinand Schumann-Heink	...	Congressman (uncredited)
Frank Shannon	...	Police Chief at Lodge (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock	...	First Trainee at Target Practice (uncredited)
Gertrude Short	...	Collins' Moll (uncredited)
Mary Treen	...	Gregory's Secretary (uncredited)
Monte Vandergrift	...	Deputy Sheriff on Train (uncredited)
Dorothy Vernon	...	Wardrobe Woman (uncredited)
Emmett Vogan	...	Bill - the Ballistics Expert (uncredited)
Huey White	...	Gangster Playing Cards (uncredited)
Tom Wilson	...	Agent (uncredited)

Directed by
William Keighley

Writing credits
Seton I. Miller		(story)
Seton I. Miller		(screenplay)
Darryl F. Zanuck		novel "Public Enemy No. 1" (uncredited)

Produced by
Louis F. Edelman	....	supervising producer (uncredited)
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Bernhard Kaun		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Sol Polito		(photography)

Film Editing by
Jack Killifer		(edited by)

Art Direction by
John Hughes

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chuck Hansen	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Arthur Lueker	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
William L. Kuehl	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Stanley Jones	....	sound (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Al Green	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Casting Department
J. Edgar Hoover	....	consultant: casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)
Orry-Kelly	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director

Other crew
Bobby Connolly	....	dance director (uncredited)
Frank Gompert	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. (presents) (as Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.) (A First National Picture)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• Vitaphone Corporation, The (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Warner Bros. (1935) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1935) (France) (theatrical)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2000) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1935) | Norway:16 (1936) | USA:Approved (PCA #745) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Warner Bros.

Trivia:

Initially, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and U.S. Attorney General Homer Cummings disapproved of 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:

Jeff McCord:We're gonna make the word "government" poison to them if it's the last thing we do.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in J. Edgar (2011)

Soundtrack:

I'm Goin' Shoppin' with You

Cagney 's 'Untouchables'

Here's an old-time (about 75 years old!) gangster movie that is fast-moving as all James Cagney crime films tend to be. In here, Cagney is the good guy, a "government man" out to get crooks, one of whom turns out to be his old pal. All the characters in here are pretty interesting, particularly Cagney's boss played by Robert Armstrong.

Watching this film, one discovers an interesting fact: government agents weren't allowed to use guns in the early days. That didn't change until things got totally out of control with too many defenseless lawmen getting killed.

Margaret Lindsay also stars in this movie, and that's a good thing. The more I see of her, the more I like her. It would have been interesting to see what roles she'd play if she was a young actress in today's films.

Finally, the action scenes in this film reminded me of the old television series, "The Untouchables" with the machine guns blazing out of those big, boxy 1930 automobiles.