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The Last Gangster (1937) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.8/10   382 votes
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Down 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Robert Carson (story)
John Lee Mahin (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Last Gangster on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 November 1937 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
The Romance of a Gangster's Life told in GRIPPING DRAMA! more
Plot:
Gangster Joe Krozac is in prison for ten years. Reporter Paul North is fired by his newspaper for writing... more | add synopsis
User Comments:
Unpromising material, but excellent drama more (13 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Edward G. Robinson ... Joe Krozac

James Stewart ... Paul North Sr.
Rose Stradner ... Talya Krozac
Lionel Stander ... Curly
Douglas Scott ... Paul North Jr. / Joe Krozac Jr.
John Carradine ... Caspar
Sidney Blackmer ... San Francisco Editor
Grant Mitchell ... Warden
Edward Brophy ... Fats Garvey (as Edward S. Brody)
Alan Baxter ... Frankie 'Acey' Kile
Frank Conroy ... Sid Gorman
Louise Beavers ... Gloria, Talya's Maid
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernie Alexander ... Reporter (scenes deleted)
William Arnold ... Father (scenes deleted)
Nick Copeland ... Reporter (scenes deleted)
Arthur Howard ... Father (scenes deleted)
Mitchell Ingraham ... Father (scenes deleted)
Cy Kendall ... Editor (scenes deleted)
Frank Marlowe ... Reporter (scenes deleted)
Eddie Marr ... Frankie Kile (scenes deleted)
Walter Miller ... Mike Kile (scenes deleted)
Broderick O'Farrell ... Father (scenes deleted)
Cyril Ring ... Father (scenes deleted)
Paul Sutton ... George Kile (scenes deleted)
Pierre Watkin ... Editor (scenes deleted)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Another Public Enemy (USA) (working title)
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Runtime:
81 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Goofs:
Anachronisms: Joe Krozac is sent to Alcatraz in 1927, but Alcatraz didn't become a federal penitentiary until 1933. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) more

FAQ

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10 out of 10 people found the following comment useful.
Unpromising material, but excellent drama, 29 August 2004
Author: mgmax from Chicago

There are a lot of theoretical strikes against this movie-- Robinson playing a Capone lookalike for the zillionth time (right before he switched mainly to playing them for comedy in things like A Slight Case of Murder and Brother Orchid); post-Code MGM instead of pre- Code Warner Bros., which surely means a softer handling of the gangster theme; a no-name director and female co-star, Jimmy Stewart in a thankless good guy role; and, not least, a sort of gangster Sin of Madelon Claudet plot in which Robinson gets to get weepy about not knowing his son while he's in Alcatraz.

And amazingly, it's all handled remarkably freshly-- and toughly, especially from the point where the movie pulls the rug out from under big shot Robinson with a long and realistically bleak prison train sequence. Almost every opportunity to sink into cliche is rethought to find a fresher angle-- instead of the archetypal Warner Bros. tough-guy prison, with the warden acting like a crime boss himself to keep his charges in line, the movie's Alcatraz is a streamlined, impersonal machine for reducing men to numbers, the striking production design as institutionally cold as the manner of the warden. The classic welcome home from the boys (such lovable gangster lugs as Lionel Stander and Edward Brophy) takes a highly unexpected turn-- and keeps turning. Although the scenes where he finally meets his son again are hampered by unrealistic dialogue for the kid, in all this is a strong and thoughtful adult drama which brings emotional realism back to a genre usually riddled with cliches.

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