roaring20s

James Cagney’s gangster roles are memorable because in each film he plays a distinctly different
criminal. On the surface, they seem to be the same roles, but by the end of each film the
differences are obvious, and with each of those characters came new challenges for Cagney as a
performer. My personal favorite out of all the gangsters Cagney played was his role as Eddie
Bartlett in “The Roaring Twenties.”

Eddie and his pals, Lloyd and George, return from the trenches of World War I and find that life in
the postwar America is not friendly to them at all. Eddie’s old boss won’t rehire him and soon he
turns to a life of crime to pay the bills. Soon, he and George, played by Humphrey Bogart, are big
time bootleggers. George suffers from anger management issues, to say the least. Eddie starts
running a speakeasy and falls in love with the singer, played by Priscilla Lane, but she’s in love with
Lloyd, played by Jeffrey Lynn.

Lloyd leaves the gang to become a legitimate lawyer. When Prohibition is repealed and the stock
market crashes, Eddie finds himself out of a job and driving a taxi to make ends meet, but he’s
never been the same since his girl left him for Lloyd. Then Eddie finds out that Lloyd is going after
George’s crime ring and George has plans to kill him and his family. What will he do?

Cagney’s work in “The Roaring Twenties” is nothing short of perfection. Eddie is not a gleeful killer
and he doesn’t even drink. Cagney constructs a tragic figure in Eddie as we watch him fall from
wealth into poverty, alcoholism and depression, but still a man of nobility at heart. For example, the
scene in which he confronts Lloyd about his girl shows the true mettle of Eddie’s character. He is
no thug like George.

It’s almost immaterial to discuss the work of Lane, Bogart and Lynn in this picture. Even Gladys
George’s work, which is stellar, is empty without Cagney’s dramatic well at the heart of the movie.
This character and this story aren’t as cut and dry like those Cagney played in “The Public Enemy”
and to a lesser degree, “Angels With Dirty Faces.” Cagney achieves pure pathos in this film in an
unforgettable performance.

Laced with some humor and a great story, “The Roaring Twenties” is arguably the last great
gangster picture and it’s fitting. This is one of the few gangster flicks to document the postwar
years of criminal America and its effects on society during the dry decade while incorporating the
plight of the war veterans and what some were forced into.

Cagney left his mark on cinema with this movie, and what an excellent mark it is.