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(More customer reviews)Warner Brother's Gangsters Collection, Vol. 3 is a really nice set filled with classic movies starring some of biggest movie legends of all time. While none of these movies have the reputation of a Public Enemy or The Roaring Twenties they are still quite good and very entertaining movies all the same. One of these films is a welcome surprise, even if it really isn't a "Gangster" movie; Black Legion.
Black Legion was an early starring role for Humphrey Bogart, one that showed that he could play someone other than a gangster, and play the part well. It might be another 3 or 4 years before Bogart shook off the reputation as a supporting player in Gangster movies, but this movie helped get him there. It is well written, well directed, and well acted by all involved. (And it features one of my favorite actresses of the 30's and 40's - Ann Sheridan!)
Now, maybe Kid Galahad would have been more appropriate for a "Gangsters" Box Set, but Black Legion is a fantastic movie, and I'm very glad to see that it will finally be released on DVD. (And maybe Kid Galahad will see the light of day as a DVD in the next Gangsters set.)
As for the other movies in the set, since there are other reviews with synopses and opinions I won't repeat that information, but I will note that they are all worthy of inclusion (well, we could debate Brother Orchid, but with Robinson AND Bogart it's easy to understand why it was included), and despite most of these films not being particularly well known they are all good to nearly great!
Warner Brothers does as good of a job as anyone (better than most) when it comes to cleaing up and releasing good looking prints of their classic movie catalog on DVD, so you can rest assured that this set will look and sound great (for movies of that era).
This set is well worth buying for anyone with any interest in classic movies - especially classic Gangster movies! (At this price you can't go wrong!)
(And hopefully next time we'll see Kid Galahad in the set...)
Click Here to see more reviews about: Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 3 (Smart Money / Picture Snatcher / The Mayor of Hell / Lady Killer / Black Legion / Brother Orchid)
PICTURE SNATCHER (1933): An admirably tough B-picture enlivened by an energetic James Cagney performance, Picture Snatcher stars Cagney as Danny Kean, a former gangster who has decided to go straight after a stretch in the big house. Danny has fallen for Patricia (Patricia Ellis), the daughter of the cop who put him away (Robert Emmett O'Connor). Dad isn't convinced that Danny has left his life of crime behind him, and he isn't too impressed with his new career taking pictures for a sleazy tabloid newspaper. Between getting a lurid photo of a fireman in front of a burning building (where his wife and her lover met their fate) and a daring shot of a woman being executed (based an actual incident when a New York Daily News photographer got a photo of Ruth Snyder in the electric chair), Danny's work is selling papers but hardly making Officer O'Connor think his daughter is in good hands (especially since he was in charge of press security for the execution). Short, sweet and sassy, Picture Snatcher is the sort of gutsy fare Warner Bros. did best in the 1930's; Ralph Bellamy turns in a great supporting performance as Danny's boozy editor LADY KILLER (1933): Based on the novel by Carson McCullers, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter stars Alan Arkin as John Singer, who is deaf. Singer moves from a small town in order to be close to his institutionalized deaf and mentally impaired friend Antonapoulos (Chuck McCann). Singer rents a room with a family whose father, Mr. Kelly (Biff McGuire), is unable to earn a living due to a serious injury. His teen-aged daughter Mick (Sondra Locke, in her film debut) is at first resentful of Singer's presence, but he ingratiates himself by introducing her to classical music (which he can "feel," if not hear). Singer likewise tries to brighten the lives of such unfortunates as alcoholic Blount (Stacy Keach Jr., also making his first film appearance), dying black doctor Copeland (Percy Rodriguez), and Copeland's poverty-stricken daughter (Cicely Tyson). SMART MONEY (1931):Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney were teamed for the only time in their careers in Smart Money. Robinson has the larger part as a small-town barber who fancies himself a big-time gambler. He travels to the Big City in the company of his younger brother Cagney, who wants to make sure that Robinson isn't fleeced by the high-rollers. Unfortunately Robinson has a weakness for beautiful blondes, most of whom take him for all his money or betray him in some other manner. The cops aren't keen on Robinson's gambling activities, but they can pin nothing on him until he accidentally kills Cagney in a fight. The incident results in a jail term for manslaughter, and a more sober-sided outlook on life for the formerly flamboyant Robinson. Watch closely in the first reel of Smart Money for an unbilled appearance by Boris Karloffas a dope pusher. BLACK LEGION (1937): Factory worker Frank Taylor believes that he has missed out on a deserved promotion when it is instead given to a Polish immigrant. Angry and looking for a scapegoat, he is an ideal mark for the Black Legion, an underground group who want to get rid of immigrants and racial minorities through violent means. Frank joins the Legion, and with his new friends, he dons black robes and drives the Polish family from their home. His aim achieved, Frank gets his job, but soon the Legion begins to take up more of his time and money, and turns his character darker and darker. He leaves his wife, begins to drink heavily, and soon is on a downward spiral. MAYOR OF HELL (1933): Five members of a teen-age gang, including leader Jimmy Smith, are sent to the State Reformatory, presided over by the melodramatically callous Thompson. Soon, Patsy Gargan, a former gangster appointed Deputy Commissioner as a political favor, arrives complete with hip flask and blonde. Gargan falls for activist nurse Dorothy and, inspired by her, takes over the administration to run the place on radical principles.
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