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The Roaring Twenties

Play trailer Poster for The Roaring Twenties Released Oct 23, 1939 1h 44m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
After World War I, friends Eddie (James Cagney), George (Humphrey Bogart) and Lloyd (Jeffrey Lynn) return to America with ambitions for the future. Lloyd becomes a lawyer, but Eddie can only find work as a cab driver and eventually falls into the bootlegging business. Eddie and George become partners in crime, but the stock market crash destroys their operation and turns the old friends against each other, while Eddie falls in love with Lloyd's girlfriend, Jean (Priscilla Lane).
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The Roaring Twenties

Critics Reviews

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Kevin Maher Times (UK) The performances are fabulously hard-boiled, while the script features one of the standout last lines in movie history... Rated: 5/5 Mar 8, 2024 Full Review Richard Brody New Yorker Walsh unfolds the practical details of bootleggers' nocturnal maneuvers with quiet comedic flair alongside harrowing violence. Sep 12, 2016 Full Review Eric Henderson Slant Magazine An epochal rise-and-fall epic of the gangster cycle. Rated: 3.5/4 Feb 3, 2005 Full Review Roger Moore Movie Nation The sound-staginess of it all, with even World War I battlefields recreated indoors, and the sprint-through-the-era nature of the narrative seriously date the picture, dulling some of the impact of the tight performances and crackling dialogue. Rated: 3/4 Apr 19, 2024 Full Review James Kendrick Q Network Film Desk the most ambitious and successful of the late 1930s gangster films Rated: 3.5/4 Mar 27, 2024 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Yet one more exemplary gangster flick produced by Warner Bros. during the 1930s, this one closed the decade in style. Rated: 3.5/4 Mar 2, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Leaburn O This was the last of the great 1940s films capturing 1920s prohibition gangsterism and to my mind it’s the best of the lot. The characters are believable and excellently acted. Cagney at his best here. Watched on DVD. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/05/24 Full Review David F This tale of WWI veterans examines the gangster life, particularly through the character played by James Cagney who can’t get his old mechanic job back after the war and ends up embroiled in the gangster lifestyle as a result. This is a canonical Warner Bros. gangster film, not one of the best, but one of them nonetheless. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/05/24 Full Review Angelo C Cagney and Humphrey at their best. The only problem is the ending…..sorry Cagney! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/13/24 Full Review Steve D The problem with these films is that you have no reason to care about any of the characters. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/16/24 Full Review Harry N A sweeping panorama of the lives of three WWI vets. It has two key observations which are largely ignored but I think bear significance. One is when Cagney spends a night in jail with an accused robber. The robber tells Cagney his only wish is for a gun. To either commit another crime or kill himself. Cagney asks him if he was a WWI vet. and he replies yes. Cagney counsels him not to do anything rash. Such scene examines what we call PTSD now. A later scene reunites Cagney with his younger attorney friend. The friend offers to help Cagney and indicates Cagney can work his way up and be back on his feet after some effort and time. Cagney declines indicating "I always took a short cut to the top." Again a very perceptive scene which demonstrates the criminal mindset of those who reject societies values. The writers understood their material. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/28/23 Full Review merick h Must see classic tragedy. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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The Roaring Twenties

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Movie Info

Synopsis After World War I, friends Eddie (James Cagney), George (Humphrey Bogart) and Lloyd (Jeffrey Lynn) return to America with ambitions for the future. Lloyd becomes a lawyer, but Eddie can only find work as a cab driver and eventually falls into the bootlegging business. Eddie and George become partners in crime, but the stock market crash destroys their operation and turns the old friends against each other, while Eddie falls in love with Lloyd's girlfriend, Jean (Priscilla Lane).
Director
Raoul Walsh
Screenwriter
Mark Hellinger, Jerry Wald, Richard Macaulay, Robert Rossen
Distributor
MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Warner Bros.
Production Co
Warner Brothers
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 23, 1939, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2009
Runtime
1h 44m
Sound Mix
Mono
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