IMDb > The Roaring Twenties (1939)
The Roaring Twenties
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The Roaring Twenties (1939) More at IMDbPro »

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The Roaring Twenties (1939) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

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Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   4,156 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Jerry Wald (screenplay) &
Richard Macaulay (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Roaring Twenties on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
23 October 1939 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
The land of the free gone wild! The heyday of the hotcha! The shock-crammed days G-men took ten whole years to lick! more
Plot:
After the WWI Armistice Lloyd Hart goes back to practice law, former saloon keeper George Hally turns to bootlegging... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
NewsDesk:
User Comments:
My favorite thirties Gangster Film more (55 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

James Cagney ... Eddie Bartlett
Priscilla Lane ... Jean Sherman

Humphrey Bogart ... George Hally
Gladys George ... Panama Smith
Jeffrey Lynn ... Lloyd Hart
Frank McHugh ... Danny Green
Paul Kelly ... Nick Brown
Elisabeth Risdon ... Mrs. Sherman (as Elizabeth Risdon)
Edward Keane ... Henderson (as Ed Keane)
Joe Sawyer ... The Sergeant
Joseph Crehan ... Michaels
George Meeker ... Masters
John Hamilton ... Judge
Robert Elliott ... First Detective
Eddy Chandler ... Second Detective (as Eddie Chandler)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
The World Moves On (USA) (working title)
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Runtime:
104 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Australia:PG (TV rating) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #5576) | Australia:G

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Critics unanimously praised this film. James Francis Crow of the Hollywood Citizen-News opened his review with "This is not just another Warner Brothers gang war drama ..." Sidney Skolsky wrote: "A great hunk of entertainment ..." The Hollywood Reporter said: "The pace is furious ..." Boxoffice wrote: "It will roar its way across showmen's ledgers leaving a trail of black figures and satisfied customers." more
Goofs:
Continuity: Orientation of the actors during the audition scene. more
Quotes:
George Halley: [Yet another soldier has dived into the shell hole for cover] There's ten thousand shell holes around here and everybody's gotta' come divin' into this one. more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Swanee more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful.
My favorite thirties Gangster Film, 3 March 1999
Author: otter from otter



Most of the famous gangster films were made in the early part of the decade, before the infamous Production Code took all the sex and violence out of the movies, and before they figured out how to make decent movies with sound. The landmark films of the genre like "Little Caesar" and "Public Enemy" are actually kind of poorly made, by modern standards.

Not so this entertaining film, it's full of life and energy and great fun to watch. James Cagney gives a wonderful performance as a dynamic and ambitious man who goes from a barely-eating taxi driver to a gang lord, and back again. Humphrey Bogart gives one of his best pre-Casablanca villain performances, and even generic leading lady Priscilla Land is fresh and likeable.

The only quibble I have with this film is it lacks the immediacy of the earlier "ripped from the headlines" films. It's made about days that had since gone by, and owes more to earlier films than the reality of the day (post-modernism in the thirties?). Still, it's great fun, do see it.

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Message Boards

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Where did the doll come from? mack-29
My James Cagney Tribute Website Crusadia
Bogie's death myavalon
Full of great lines dirtyvisage
Classic Gangster Movie Kensith
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