When Jerry hears Rocky start to beg for his life and realizes that his old pal is coming through for him, and then looks up at Heaven, that's what really makes this scene.
@SJKPJR007
3 жыл бұрын
When they say "They don't make 'em like that anymore" this is exactly what they're talking about. Brilliant movie - brilliant Cagney!
@drewski1535
9 ай бұрын
Very true
@Shireanna
5 ай бұрын
Amen.
@dafneecastillo7581
7 жыл бұрын
I honestly think that Rocky did it for the kids and for his old friend Jerry. I guess they only reason he said no to Jerry was because he was too proud and tough do actually say yes to him face to face. But think about it everything that Rocky has done was for Jerry. he killed his two business partners who threaten to kill Jerry to save his life and even at the beginning of the movie he took the blame all for himself and even throughout the movie you can tell that despite after Jerry's declaration to take down the mob boss including Rocky, he nonetheless remained loyal to Jerry despite being two complete opposites. You can tell by Ricky's face expression before he goes to the chair that he was acting in my point of view I think that Rocky knew that he's gonna die either way that he already was gonna lose everything even his legacy so therefore there was no point of holding on to it anymore further more cause he also saw a better future for the dead end kids and still respect his friend Jerry he though the last good and noble thing he could do to redeem himself was by dying yellow and put down the curtains of his already dead end legacy. He couldn't help Jerry's cause as a gangster but he could help him as an old friend. RIP Rocky Suvillian in the end he really was an angel with a dirty face like the title says
@keithdean9149
7 жыл бұрын
In the radio version, when he sees the chair, Rocky turns to Father Jerry and says, "ok." Maybe he did really care about the kids and did not want them to end up like him. I also love the symbolism of the final scene with Father Jerry leading the Dead End kids up into the light.
@michaelpalmieri7335
6 жыл бұрын
Rʏᴜ Uᴄʜɪʜᴀ• Nɪɢʜᴛᴡɪɴɢ I noticed that twelve seconds (0:57-1:09) elapsed between the close-up of Rocky's hands being pried loose from the radiator by the guards and the moment the executioner pulls the switch that activates the electric chair. That would suggest that it took the guards around twelve seconds to get Rocky in the chair, strap him in, and attach the electrodes to him. Frankly, that doesn't make sense. I should think that it would take at least a few minutes to prepare a condemned person for the shock that will end his life, certainly not twelve seconds. Well, what do you expect? The people who write the scripts for the movies don't always think when they try to work out the plots. Look at "Citizen Kane" for example. Everybody in the film knows about the last word spoken by Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) before he died: "Rosebud." But, as the opening scene shows, Kane is all alone in his room (he is in bed at the time) when he says it, so how could anyone else know what his final word was? Of course, since a nurse comes into the room after Kane passes away, some fans of the movie have suggested that she heard him speaking the word as she was passing by his bedroom door, but we don't know that for sure. Getting back to "Angels With Dirty Faces," I personally don't think that Rocky should have received the death penalty for killing his former partners in crime, since they were planning on killing Rocky's friend, Father Connelly (Pat O'Brien), to stop his campaign against crime and political graft in the city. In other words, those crooks basically got what was coming to them. Therefore, Rocky could have pleaded justifiable homicide (despite his lengthy criminal record), or at least, gotten off with manslaughter. But, I guess he ruined any chance of mercy when, in the final shootout, he killed that policeman. Nobody likes cop-killers, you know.
@ernestinemaloy6752
5 жыл бұрын
What a PUSSY ...
@mackb909
5 жыл бұрын
Cagney said in a number of interviews in the ensuing years (he lived 48 years past the film's release) that Rocky's "cowardice" is ambiguous, and that this was for the best. I happen to lean toward the putting-on-an-act theory. His begging and pleading seem to be exaggerated so that there can be no doubt- at least in the newspaper reporters' minds- that he's "turned yellow." But it is not in keeping with his character.
@alvexok5523
4 жыл бұрын
@@mackb909, I'm not sure if Rocky actually put on an act of turning yellow. I think that in spite of what he and the reverend previously discussed, I think that he really broke down that last minute before he died when they put him in the chair. Even the toughest guy in the world will freak out like that when knowing that imminent death is one minute away and that there's nothing he can do about it. That doesn't make you a coward.
@mrcinemajunky
6 жыл бұрын
"Alright fellas, let's go and say a prayer for a boy who couldn't run as fast as I could..." 😭😭😭
@ryaninvestigativegroup4944
4 жыл бұрын
The greatest ending line of any movie ever!
@jeffmoran6774
3 жыл бұрын
One of the greatest lines in movie history ❤️
@stephenpowell5912
Жыл бұрын
🥺😭😢
@JimStoversongs
5 жыл бұрын
One of my favorite movies as a kid and still is. Cagney, O'Brien, Bogart, Sheridan, The Dead End Kids...now that's a cast man.
@MickeyT54
6 жыл бұрын
The true humanity of Rocky surfaces at the chair. He knew his life was wasted. He also knew if there was a way to save his soul it was to help those many street kids that looked up to him. Street toughness was your identification card. Without it, you were a victim, and or a coward. Rocky gave them his greatest gift as he was pleading and sobbing at the chair...his EGO..
@alvexok5523
4 жыл бұрын
You mean that he gave up his ego, not gave them his ego, don't you? The reverend didn't want Rocky to give the dead end kids the ego that he'd been carrying around, because they would've then become just like him, and that's what the reverend didn't want. By acting the coward, Rocky would've shown the kids how his ego didn't pay off in the end. I think though that it's debatable on wether Rocky decided last minute to change his mind and save the kids from a life of crime, or that he really broke down last minute because it hit him how his inevitable death was less than a minute away. The latter is a possibility because Rocky was so adamant about not acting the coward, and he then last minute lost control of everything because he knew his imminent death was inevitable. It may have been that rather than him suddenly changing his mind last second.
@susanb2015
4 жыл бұрын
@@alvexok5523 People online are all saying he definitely did it for the kids like it was a fact. How would you be if you didn't want to die and people were about to electrocute you? Cagney himself said it's up to the audience to decide. I've seen this movie since I was a kid long ago and I'm still not positive he wasn't really afraid.
@alvexok5523
4 жыл бұрын
@@susanb2015, well, then the question is, how many people in history going to the chair have freaked out last second like Cagney supposedly pretended to? And how many have kept a quiet brave stance every second til they pulled the switch? I don't think that too many people could ever do the latter.
@alvexok5523
4 жыл бұрын
@@susanb2015, he had a good reason to do it, even if he did fake his terror, it was to teach kids of the future not to admire a criminal no matter how tough he was.
@susanb2015
4 жыл бұрын
@@alvexok5523 It's just that when I saw this on TV as a teen in the 80s you made your own judgement. On this thing everyone is saying he did it for the kids. That is most logical but we don't really know do we?
@Mike-iq1cn
3 жыл бұрын
No greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. -John 15:13
@thecanberean
3 ай бұрын
Well said.
@gwandao
6 жыл бұрын
Cagney is brilliant
@peterbstrong
4 жыл бұрын
BTW, true fact: The scene in Cagney's cell when O'Brien visits him and tries to talk him into the heroics he eventually does, was shot in ONE TAKE. That's right one continuous almost 7 minute take. No "Take 2", nothing. When you're in the zone...
@RammatRamzi
4 жыл бұрын
He swallowed his pride and died a hero by acting like a coward to help free the boys from looking up to gangsters. In other words, he sacrificed himself for the greater good. That's pretty cool.
@perceblue3976
6 жыл бұрын
I have watched this film too many times to count. Absolutely amazing acting. Not only do you watch the film, you also get to feel it. Cagney was an outstanding actor, I have never seen him in a bad movie. No ways could any actors compete with this today, there was a magic that sadly has been lost in the modern era. Loved you James Cagney, departed but never forgotten.
@leroykevin
4 жыл бұрын
Did he or didn't he really turn yellow?
@susanb2015
4 жыл бұрын
@@leroykevin You are supposed to decide that for yourself. Although most people online say he did it for the kids we really don't know for sure do we?
@basilmarasco1975
3 жыл бұрын
@@susanb2015 When asked that question over the course of time, Cagney always said, *You* decide."
@susanb2015
3 жыл бұрын
@@basilmarasco1975 Yes. I know. I saw the movie on antenna TV as a teenager in the 80s thanks to my dad and heard Cagney say that.
@maralinekozial9131
11 ай бұрын
As good as this film is The Public Enemy is his best film , White Heat is 2nd , this is 3rd , Man Of A Thousand Faces is 4th & Each Dawn I Die is 5th
@kbuselmeier69
5 ай бұрын
This movie is pushing 90 years old and still one of the greatest endings ever. Brilliant!!!
@NaturalMeAmerica
2 ай бұрын
Most definitely!!
@MrLifeEclipse
3 жыл бұрын
Rocky sacrifices his ego and reputation to save the children Extremely powerful scene I couldn’t imagine what this was like in the movies back in the ol’ days
@nuyoricanbrooklyn4231
Жыл бұрын
@ Jules You didn’t know if he really turned yellow or not at the end. They left it for you to decide. Per James Cagney
@zatoichiichi4098
Жыл бұрын
@@nuyoricanbrooklyn4231 Rockie Sullivan turn yellow l don't think so.The priest he were child hood friends that grew up together. and he loved him.. As a matter of fact he went to reform school for getting Court for a petty theft while trying to saving the priest life. And as for the dead end kids he loved them too and there wasn't anything that he wouldn't do for them or Peg.
@nuyoricanbrooklyn4231
Жыл бұрын
@ Zatoichi Ichi I was referring to a interview I saw a while back were they asked James Cagney if rocky really turned yellow at the end, and he said it was intentionally left up to us to decide if he did or he didn’t turn yellow. James Cagney in real life didn’t like making just gangster movies, for instance, towards the end of public enemy he says “I aint so tough”
@zatoichiichi4098
Жыл бұрын
@@nuyoricanbrooklyn4231 l know all this the production Studios fell in love with his interpretation as a gangster character. Beside the fact that no one could played one better than him except for Humphrey Bogart.The production Studios tried to type casting him. But James Cagney was to talented to be Typecasted on top of the fact that he didn't like just doing gangster movie.
@davelynch3064
4 жыл бұрын
Rocky lived like a Sinner, but died as a Saint....
@Cryshalo
2 жыл бұрын
Such an amazing final line. The work they do with just light and shadow as well is beautiful.
@robertvelez9557
6 жыл бұрын
It is actually 80 years after this scene was released and still people remember and talk about it! I know Boys Town won the Oscar in 1938 as best film but in my opinion, Angels With Dirty Faces was the far better film!
@peterbstrong
4 жыл бұрын
No question!
@josephvitielo1693
2 жыл бұрын
TRACY WON BEST actor should of been Cagney
@73reider
6 жыл бұрын
I am watching this in 2018 and Cagney`s agonised screams for clemency resound with power, The effect in Cinemas in 1938 must have been ten fold...
@czwarty7878
2 жыл бұрын
Same. Watching old films it's usually slightly jarring at first that their performances are more theatrical, much different from more natural acting by method actors of modern era (1960+). But Cagney's agonising screams really hit like a freight train, it's really scary and sounds very realistic. Back in 1938 this must have had incredible effect on watchers.
@alcd6333
6 жыл бұрын
Freeze at 0:24. Image of Cagney looking directly at the camera is priceless.
@causticwit
2 жыл бұрын
I got Malcolm McDowell vibes from him there!
@starbuono3333
8 жыл бұрын
Oh this last scene always makes me cry :( Such a great movie thanks for posting !
@ralphpussilano
8 жыл бұрын
Star U R right on!!
@Carterofmars
7 жыл бұрын
Me too.
@cdoncicci9406
3 жыл бұрын
It makes me cry too. One of the most intensely felt agonizing scenes I've ever seen.
@thebaddog4104
6 жыл бұрын
He did what any true gangster would do and did it for the kids
@theplebe6342
2 жыл бұрын
When he looks away for a split second at 2:39 because he wants to tell them what really happened...chills.
@thehunter5311
7 жыл бұрын
It's obvious that he did it for his ol' pal jerry, it doesn't even need a debate.
@Lee-Darin
3 жыл бұрын
In the radio drama that also had James Cagney and Pat O'brien, Rocky finally agrees to do it.
@Urfllofsht
3 жыл бұрын
I can debate it...I know what urnsaying but there was more to it...if its a totally act hes a monster. He had to repent deep down to not be a monster. Deep deep scene man...rip Cagney..So it was both...
@KD_Smoove
3 жыл бұрын
Its left ambiguous on purpose, its really whatever the viewer thinks, we wont know 100% even the directors and actors said in interviews that its left to be decided by each viewer, but I always thought he just “turned yellow” tbh but i can see how it could be the other one too
@Urfllofsht
3 жыл бұрын
@@KD_Smoove Agreed. But the scene was so powerful that if you know he was faking it , Rocky would look like a monster because it was done so well and deep down Rocky was good. I mean he was in the chair because he killed the men who wanted to kill his life long friend.
@mikebland4935
Жыл бұрын
No one is better than Cagney and most aren't ever close. He was a gift to us all.
@NaturalMeAmerica
2 ай бұрын
Here ,here, I agree,my favorite of all time
@jadezee6316
4 жыл бұрын
good friends were cagney and Pat O'Brien,......here father jerry is lamenting that because he couldnt run as fast as him...he was caught and put into the system that MADE HIM a criminal...in the end rocky went coward NOT for the kids.....but for his best and only friend father jerry.....he loved him...and he couldnt leave the earth...disappointing him....it was his way of telling his buddy that his life was a lie...and the little boy was still there....something he couldnt do face to face..... Cagney is brilliant here...because he plays the entire movie as a gangster/killer...yet in 30 seconds gets a few of you to question his real motives....maybe Orson Wells was right...that.... Cagney was the greatest actor ever to appear in film!!
@jimmyolsen5897
4 жыл бұрын
One of the greatest movies EVER
@jayrosen6663
6 жыл бұрын
One of his best scenes ever!!
@welles2002
2 жыл бұрын
This film is 84 years and as great as any film made today in 2021
@stephaniehale3379
3 жыл бұрын
I still cry over this scene ... one of the best in film history
@ralphpussilano
3 ай бұрын
Totally agree I cry also Stephanie ❤
@gh9111
4 жыл бұрын
There hasn't been another James Cagney and there won't be.
@nicholaspatti1526
2 жыл бұрын
Did you see the look in his eyes ? . Walking into the chamber ! He had absolutely no fear of death. ! .He did it for father Jerry His life long friend... And the kids ! So they don't grow up like he did !
@szarzyniecszczurzynski1902
2 жыл бұрын
Fear of death and fear of being roasted alive on the electric chair are two significantly different things, I would say...
@michaelspilman5220
2 жыл бұрын
A great and powerfull film. From Michael from Yorkshire and proud of it .
@lawrencelewis8105
8 жыл бұрын
After the movie was out for a while, a kid came up to Cagney and asked, "Did you do it for Father?" Cagney said, "What do you think?" He never revealed whether he was truly yellow or not in that scene.
@bobbyfrancis8957
5 жыл бұрын
Yes, Cagney even said in his autobiography, "You decide."
@alvexok5523
4 жыл бұрын
@@bobbyfrancis8957, I think that Cagney's character Rocky really did break down last minute when it hit him that his imminent death was inevitable. Rocky was just too adamant about not wanting to show anyone out there that he was a coward, and I don't think that he would then change his mind last second. He really broke down, and I think that even the toughest guy will break down when it hits him that he will definitely die in one minute and that there's no way out of it. That doesn't make you a coward. I know that alot of people are debating this though. They're debating it on this KZitem video comment section, and I've read that people debated it back in the 1930s when this movie came out. Like you said, Cagney told everyone "you decide".
@lindashelley3635
4 жыл бұрын
Alvex Ok And how powerful was James Cagneys acting that people are STILL debating this scene 82 years after the film came out?
@nycinstyle
3 жыл бұрын
I think Cagney played it as he really was afraid at the end. He left it open for viewers to decide, that is what what I decide. The real lesson of the movie is don't be a fool and get involved in a life of crime hurting others. It is nothing that should be glamorized. That is IMO an even stronger lesson than Rocky wanting to help the kids. He was a bad person who instead of working at improving himself and educating himself, working at legit jobs in society, decided to hurt others to make money, make things better for himself in his own mind. That is what crime is. Hurting someone. Stealing, assaulting, etc. Movies that glamorize crime make me laugh, anyway. They should show real life mobsters in jail for decades or dead killed in younger years, etc. at the end of those movies. That is reality. Nothing cool about committing crimes. It is choosing to be selfish in life. And lazy. Let's face it. Why should I have to work when I can con those people online, or go take that old guy's wallet or push down that lady and take her car. Then I can have money and lend it to the poor people in my neighborhood and charge them outrageous interest. They will pay. If not I will get my friend to break their legs or face. Then I will have many of the poor people's money in my neighborhood and I will be rich. Crime is not cool. How about we take your car, or your home, etc? This is a great film. I wanted to think Cagney did it for the kids, but the by far stronger and perceptive revelation is that Rocky was a piece of sh__ who chose to better his own life by hurting people. He died yellow. That is far better for the kids, as well. The other guy became a priest living a modest life, likely pretty poor money wise, but living a life helping others. He was happy in life, his greedy, lazy, yellow friend wasn't. That is my take on it. Cagney wanted to reveal that living a life of crime is for those who are weak.
@ralphpussilano
8 жыл бұрын
Greatest scene ever!!
@yammyrob
8 жыл бұрын
i totally agree
@ralphpussilano
8 жыл бұрын
+yammyrob Thanks yammyrob!!
@keithdean9149
7 жыл бұрын
You gotta love the symbolism at the end. Father Jerry leading the kids out of the darkness and up into the light.
@ralphpussilano
6 жыл бұрын
Keith Dean 👍
@Carterofmars
7 жыл бұрын
Alright fellas, let's go and say a prayer for a boy who couldn't run as fast as I could... In other words, there, but for the grace of God, go I.
@lordoshower3478
4 жыл бұрын
Jerry Mungo Yes, let’s drag religion into it. Without that context it wouldn’t work.
@TrenchocraticKampuchea
4 жыл бұрын
@@lordoshower3478 the guy who says it is literally a priest
@dennisjs
3 жыл бұрын
In the scene before Pat OBrien had asked Cagney to die a coward to keep the boys from thinking he was a hero. Cagney said no, he would not do that for anyone
@bx8garageman
6 жыл бұрын
Rest in peace Mr. Cagney, you will be and forever in my thoughts and heart, God speed!
@constancekreese8946
8 жыл бұрын
he did it for the kids
@psouth100
7 жыл бұрын
bullshit. he saw that chair and the fear of death set in.
@thebaddog4104
6 жыл бұрын
Sure he did...or they wouldn't have used the scene where the priest asked him to do it for the kids. Boss Nass must have missed most of a true classic to come to that brain dead coclusion.
@leroykevin
6 жыл бұрын
for Jerry's Kids
@geraldjohnson4013
6 жыл бұрын
+thebaddog410 This scene always got to me. When Father O'Brien spoke to him about showing the kind of bravado only he and him and God knew. He wanted to save the lives and the souls of those boys so he asked Rocky to die yellow. This scene is extremely powerful and shows the masterpiece this film truly is.
@margotcappello3957
5 жыл бұрын
@@psouth100 your an IDIOT!!! WURZO1968😎 ✌
@ralphpussilano
6 жыл бұрын
I really don’t know why anyone would give a thumbs down. This is the best ever endings in movie history still to this day.
@TheTrashStash
3 жыл бұрын
This is such a good movie. I love that last line. They were really the same person pretty much, and just went different paths.
@patgogan7324
7 жыл бұрын
He did it for the kids that's my take anyway
@theguitardude5613
3 жыл бұрын
Maybe the kids walking up the stairs is symbolic of their being put on the right path. To get to heaven.
@stisdale11
2 жыл бұрын
No doubt. Compare the "streaming" stair light to earlier in film.
@waltham99
4 жыл бұрын
I still cry at seeing the end of this film even today. I liked Cagney as a Gangster best but sometimes I do not want to see him loosing. So from law breaking to law inforcing I like G Men when he is on the good side in a Gangster film where he plays an ex lawyer turned FBI agent and private eye.
@dottiebenedict8659
5 жыл бұрын
look at his face he was not scared he did it for the KIDS
@bobbyrazo4149
7 жыл бұрын
beautiful piece of work
@nycinstyle
5 жыл бұрын
To play Rocky, Cagney drew on his memories of growing up in the Yorkville section of Manhattan, New York. His main inspiration was a drug-addicted pimp, who stood on a street corner all day hitching his trousers, twitching his neck, and repeating: "Whadda ya hear! Whadda ya say!" Those mannerisms came back to haunt Cagney, who later wrote in his autobiography: "I did those gestures maybe six times in the picture. That was over thirty years ago - and the impressionists have been doing me doing him ever since."[
@mdteletom1288
4 жыл бұрын
Look up his AFI Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech here on KZitem. Toward the end of the speech he recollects on that character who stood on the corner hitching his pants, twitching his neck and snapping his fingers, as well as some other kids he grew up with, reciting their first and last names after so many years, and thanked them all for that "wee bit of the gutter in me, without which, I most likely wouldn't be standing here tonight".
@basilmarasco1975
4 жыл бұрын
Yorkville is on the East Side in the 70s and 80s, isn't it?
@nycinstyle
4 жыл бұрын
@@basilmarasco1975 Yes, Yorkville is located in Manhattan. It is a section in the upper east side; 79th st to 96th st, from 3rd ave to the east river. 79th and 96th st are called east 79th st and east 96 st because it is part of those streets that are located east of central park (5th ave borders east side of central park)
@basilmarasco1975
4 жыл бұрын
@@nycinstyle And it was once a mostly German neighborhood, so I read.
@nycinstyle
4 жыл бұрын
@@basilmarasco1975 It is actually a very nice area, very high rents, very expensive properties. Has been that way now for many years.
@peterbstrong
7 жыл бұрын
The prior scene in the cell was shot in 1 take!
@basilmarasco1975
4 жыл бұрын
That's what they said on AMC in comments after airing this film.
@peterbstrong
4 жыл бұрын
@@basilmarasco1975 If you look at the time stamp, it was approximately 7 minutes long.
@citizenseventies6738
5 жыл бұрын
Love this film - James Cagney was the real deal and those Dead End Kids had me in stitches. THIS FILM IS TOP DRAWER !!!!!!!
@alvexok5523
4 жыл бұрын
Alot of street kids in the city were really like that in the early 1900s. When looking at that, and how people were in general back then, it makes it seem like people really were tougher back then.
@FabinhoFlapp
2 жыл бұрын
Flawless movie, with a powerful ending. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
@raymondsteen5316
5 жыл бұрын
Surprised that Father Jerry Connelly didn't take a poke at the death row guard who branded Rocky Sullivan as a yellow rat. And if he did, it sure as hell would've served him right. 👊💥😡.....😁☺😀😃😄😅😂🤣😆😉🤘
@michaelpalmieri7335
4 жыл бұрын
I don't think the producers of this film would have allowed a scene like that, because it would mean showing a priest in a negative light, which, I believe, was forbidden by the Hays Movie Code.
@williamfoley3544
4 жыл бұрын
Based solely on Cagney's three-second facial expression while considering whether to turn yellow, I'd say he deserved the Oscar.
@alvexok5523
4 жыл бұрын
That's right, Cagney did deserve an Oscar for his performance of Rocky Sullivan. Do you think that Rocky decided last minute to show the dead end kids that they shouldn't look up to him? Or do you think that Rocky really did break down because it suddenly hit him that his inevitable death was in less than a minute?
@williamfoley3544
4 жыл бұрын
Allen Richards, judging from that look of mischievous rebellion that crosses his face while walking to the chair, definitely he did it for the kids. Cagney even slyly made Rocky so tough, he couldn’t really even convincingly act yellow. In silhouette the only words he said were “I don’t want to die,” “No,” and “Please!” The rest was bizarre otherworldly sounds never heard from a man before or since. It’s an amazing scene.
@alvexok5523
4 жыл бұрын
@@williamfoley3544, they were bizarre otherworldly sounds. That's why I think that maybe he really cracked and broke down, because he couldn't convincingly act yellow. He really did suddenly get hit with fear because until that last minute, he didn't believe that he was really going to die any second. He spent most of his life until that last minute believing that he was invincible and bulletproof, and that he was too tough for anyone or anything to take him down. On the other hand though, maybe it was an act to teach the kids not to admire a criminal. I'm not 100% sure.
@michaelpalmieri7335
4 жыл бұрын
@@williamfoley3544 I think I also heard him say "Oh, please don't make me burn now," "Oh, please let go of me," and "Please, don't kill me!"
@Lee-Darin
3 жыл бұрын
Cagney should've gotten the Oscar for this.
@peterbstrong
4 жыл бұрын
The irony is unbelievable. James Cagney, without doubt perhaps the finest gangster in film history, was also it's most reluctant. He was a patriot who loved his country; a song n' dance man to the max. He thought Clark Cable was the ultimate American symbol of Masculinity and Duke Wayne its cowboy heart. In 1938 for "Angels with Dirty Faces" and 1949 for "White Heat", Cagney was essentially penalized because Hollywood could NOT allow an Oscar to be given to a truly hardcore criminal. Spencer Tracy, a close friend, and Edmund O'Brien both benefited from this bias. Virginia Mayo said it best about the Oscar going to O'Brien for "DOA": Who was better really? There's no way that anyone beat Jimmy's performance as Cody Jarrett...NO WAY. No one deserved it more.
@jamesrafferty9048
7 жыл бұрын
Well of course Rocky did it as his one last gesture for his buddy Jerry...and for the humanity he NEVER abandoned
@kevinkilduff2064
2 жыл бұрын
One of the best endings and best scenes in movie history. Cagney is among the greatest of all time but Pat O'Brien was as fine a supporting actor as there was during the 30s and 40s.
@BrotherNkosi
8 жыл бұрын
I am not going to give this a Thumbs down as I never understand how people can be so critical of the efforts of others; especially when they contribute nothing. So I add the comment as a friendly criticism. To show this scene without the preceding scene totally takes the actions without proper context. Dare I say it's almost pointless. Even the "Alright fellas, let's go and say a prayer for a boy who couldn't run as fast as I could" Will not be understood unless one watch's what happens to them as kids. I have seen this movie countless times. I always cry when Cagney goes to the chair; not so much for Cagney, but for all the kids I grew up with, that maybe could not run as fast as I could. See the full movie you will understand.
@stolenrelic13
7 жыл бұрын
Brother Nkosi True, although the ending is marvelous and emotion jerking it's not the same without seeing and understanding all the rest.
@BrotherNkosi
7 жыл бұрын
Yes You understand perfectly Jessica.
@stevesawyer5117
7 жыл бұрын
Great comment....I have to say I also cry at this scene for the same reason.
@stevesawyer5117
7 жыл бұрын
And you're spot-on about not seeing the preceding scene, at least, where Jerry asks Rocky not to go bravely because he didn't want any of the kids to continue to idolize him and possibly follow his path.
@Tangstr
6 жыл бұрын
we need the jail cell conversation with rocky and fr jerry, followed by the last mile walk to the end of the film or we loose everything this scene was meant to convey to it's audience. wish i knew how to do these clips. frustrating.
@craigyates8641
4 жыл бұрын
The look on cagneys face at 0.25 is iconic, he looks like a proper gangster and his eyes could stare into your soul!
@rebeccaclarke9987
6 жыл бұрын
What do you hear what do you say
@keithmyers7309
3 жыл бұрын
What a film ending gets me. everytime
@nycinstyle
5 жыл бұрын
0:32 I think at the end of his life and knowing he will die, he was afraid as we see and hear him pleading for his life. I actually think that is how Cagney envisioned the character, as well. Nothing glamorous or desirable for children to idolize in the life of a felon with a long criminal past. That is the true way this film ends, IMO.
@toomuchinformation
4 жыл бұрын
I heard that Cagney suggested that he goes to the chair pleading for his life; I don't think it was written that way in the script.
@jorgerobles9484
3 жыл бұрын
Cagney deserved the best actor Oscar that year (1938). Tracy only won because he portrayed a priest, and the Academy preferred to give the Oscar to a priest instead of a gangster
@NelsonMontana1234
2 жыл бұрын
Now that's an ending. It's funny how people speculate what Rocky's real motive was. IT'S A MOVIE! It's meant to be ambiguous. That's what makes it art. I can't think of another example in film or literature what the act of redemption is left with a question mark. That's what makes it so brilliant.
@christopherjames375
4 жыл бұрын
Rocky would a gone 2 the chair like a man .just like me .he had the last laugh .those cozy screws thought he was really doing ITV. Plus he lumped that screw under the chin .
@dapdaddydog
8 жыл бұрын
A real true home, he didn't let Jerry down knowing the Bowery boys wouldn't respect that he went out yellow, so he care for the boys also awesome flick classic!
@dapdaddydog
8 жыл бұрын
meant to say a real true homie! Actually I did right it but auto correct change it!
@aamanpour3630
4 жыл бұрын
Any GH fans here? I sense that Maurice Benard who plays gangster Sonny Corinthos borrowed a great deal from James Cagney, that little shoulder shrug was SO Sonny.
@michaelpalmieri7335
6 ай бұрын
What's GH?
@aamanpour3630
6 ай бұрын
@@michaelpalmieri7335 General Hospital
@pidoug9
8 жыл бұрын
A great movie!
@justabaker5609
2 жыл бұрын
Till this day people don't know for sure if it was an act or not. Just shows the brilliance of Cagney. Top five movie of all time.
@genebigs1749
3 жыл бұрын
What a great movie! Cagney was brilliant, and was there ever anyone in cinematic history who could play a priest better than Pat O'Brien? I don't think so. His face when Rocky starts sobbing is movie magic. The tear coming down his cheek is one of cinema's greatest moments.
@josephvitielo1693
2 жыл бұрын
Maybe Tracy?
@romanticandperky
Жыл бұрын
My grandfather worked for the Warner Bros. studio, and was there when this movie was made. During the 70s, my late brother had a rock n roll band, the name of which was The Dirty Angels, which they got from the title of this movie. They recorded two albums, and they played a very famous rock club located on the Bowery, NYC: CBGBs. I was there for that, and I even sang a number with the band (Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock"). When my brother died, about 4 years ago, he tried to keep me away from his deathbed because he knew I was going to read from the Bible to him. He didn't want to hear me pray for him. The day after Elvis died (August 17th., 1977), my brother and I (and a couple of other people) were in a place called Studio 914. This was where Bruce Springsteen recorded the song-'Born To Run'.
@louislacey2383
3 жыл бұрын
Now the real question is, did he he really feel that way or was he play acting?
@TheTrashStash
3 жыл бұрын
Probably a little of both. When you first see him in the jail cell he is twitching the cigarette very nervously, but when father jerry comes to talk to him he is very calm and collected. I think he could of died as tough as he wanted, but decided to let his guard down as his last good deed.
@Lee-Darin
3 жыл бұрын
Cagney said"That's for the audience to decide."
@louislacey2383
3 жыл бұрын
@@Lee-Darin ok, either you were there or you googled this.🤔
@MarioDoodles
8 ай бұрын
Look at you now hollywood.....how did we go from this to nowdays crap ?
@gotham23us
4 жыл бұрын
Rocky still died a gangster and a murderer. The point is that Jerry had so much humanity that he was able to reach him.
@williamfoley3544
4 жыл бұрын
Top of the world, Ma!
@menamajors7295
4 жыл бұрын
William Foley, "White Heat". Another great performance from Cagney.
@Ianthompsonuk
Жыл бұрын
Here is my honest version. The character Rocky had been close to death most of his life by living a life of gun crime, so being killed wasn’t a deterrent for him, he simply accepted it as a possibility that may come his way through being a Gangster. Going to the chair at the end would have been sad for him, and he would have also been fearful about the unknown, was he about to meet his maker? Or was he about to simply never see the light of day again? Either way, I think his stubborn pride and ego was enough to get him through the execution in a dignified and tough guy way. However, deep down he did have a conscience and he probably thought that playing the coward was the right thing to do before he may meet his maker. When faced with death, he really had nothing to lose, only his silly pride which let’s face it, who cares what imperfect people think of you anyway, they’re simply not worth your worry, only your creator deserves that.
@juancuelch1295
Жыл бұрын
This movie had me in tears as a youth at 7yrs,the sacrifices you take to influence not to walk in his footsteps as a GANGSTER,I remember this scene like it was yesterday.
@fredwaller3234
Жыл бұрын
All that to save the kids
@dpetrano
2 жыл бұрын
Obviously a false flag on Rocky's part as pretext to set a good example to his "Dead End Kids"at the behest of his buddy the priest. This movie tells us its good to lie for the greater good.
@roberthaworth9097
6 жыл бұрын
The movie had to end this way. The Hays Code (1932) included among its many provisions the one that says gangsters and other criminals cannot be shown as heroes, to profit from their crimes, or do anything noble (since the latter might suggest that in some ways, they are just like you and me). Directors were held to a pledge to "ruin" the criminal by the end of the film -- usually delivering some sappy message over top it that "crime doesn't pay." The gangster films made before the Code took hold (1934) are much more realistic.
@smoothjazzandmore
3 жыл бұрын
One movie that was ruined by the Hays Code was the 1956 film "The Bad Seed". In the theatrical play, the girl, played by Patty McCormick in both the versions, actually got away with it. But in film version, they created a completely different ending, which ruined the story.
@tonychuter4830
6 жыл бұрын
All time great they don't make them like this anymore shame I guess times change people want different things in a movie...rocky went out like he came in fighting but at the end for the right reasons just a great film here to you rocky...
@jonathancruz5932
Жыл бұрын
For I thought Rocky is not afraid to face his doom, now he’s begging for mercy the way he acted 0:34
@vincentdefeo5917
3 жыл бұрын
You could see at the end of the movie.when their walking rocky down to his death on the electric chair that he wasn't afraid,when they took a closeup of rocky his face shows the audience that he wasnt scared the expression on his face says it ALL,he did it for the kids and his best friend jerry,if you remember what he told jerry when jerry asked him if he was afraid?and rocky answered him and said ,,i think in order to be afraid you got to have a heart,iand i had that taken out of me a long time ago!!!rocky had a bad life as a child and choose to go one way,lige of crime.while jerry also had a bad child hood but he choose to follow our Lord Christ!!!but i believe that rocky made up for his sins when he choose to die a coward,he will be excepted in heaven for that,......remember the storey in the bible when jesus was being crucified and the thief on his right excepted him as the savior,he told the thief.today you say be with me in paradise,whlle the other thief on jesus left just wanted jesus to set him free,he didnt want to repent for his sin,You can led a sinful life but if you except jesus as your personal savior at the minute of your death.he will forgive you,OUR LORD IS SO GOOD,HE LIVED A LIFE WITHOUT SIN,ALL HE WANTS FROM US TO DO OUR BEST AND BE SORRY WHEN WE FALL, BLESS YOU ALL REMEMBER ITS NEVER TOO LATE
@Lee-Darin
3 жыл бұрын
Question is, Did Rocky truly repent and put his faith in Christ to save him? He could've did what he did to help those boys, but if he didn't put his trust in Christ alone to save him, he would still be lost.
@mikemogie
8 жыл бұрын
What a movie...
@ralphpussilano
8 жыл бұрын
Mike U R so right!!
@bobt7056
2 жыл бұрын
Turned me against the death penalty forever. Powerful movie, great cast.
@Sixfoot8m
2 жыл бұрын
I have to admit first time I saw this it tore me up 😥
@davidriggs1470
2 жыл бұрын
Cagney probably the greatest film star.
@stuffandthings1155
3 жыл бұрын
That's a great final line. The only reason Fr. Jerry didn't fry in that chair is because he was fast. Other than that, he was just like Rocky and he's only a priest and not a crook due to a trivial matter. It helps you see the best in Rocky and the humility of Fr. Jerry.
@michaelpalmieri7335
5 ай бұрын
I'm not sure I agree with your assessment. We don't know for sure that Father Jerry became a priest simply because, unlike his friend, Rocky, he managed to escape being caught by the police after he and Rocky (both young boys at the time) tried to steal pens from a railroad freight car. If Jerry was caught and sent to reform school with Rocky, who's to say that he wouldn't have met a priest and/or a nun who would read the Bible to him and implant the word of God within him? Suppose Jerry decided to except God, but Rocky rejected Him? The results would be the same, Rocky would become a criminal and Jerry would become a priest. I once had a book about how the movies portray historical events, or how they deal with real-life situations, like crime, for example. (I don't remember the title of the book.) In the chapter on crime films, there was a subchapter about "Angels With Dirty Faces." In it, the author rejected the suggestion that if Rocky had escaped from the cops with Jerry, he could have been saved from a life of crime as well. The author said he didn't "buy it," because basically, Rocky "had the gallows mark on him" from the day he was born. In other words, Rocky was such a rotten kid, that it really didn't matter whether or not he was arrested for that petty offense, he would've became a big-shot gangster and racketeer anyhow.
@gardengnome3249
5 жыл бұрын
What a totally moving clip. I steamed up my glasses with tears. Oh how I love these old movies. I have to thank my mother in law for that. She introduced me to Edward G many years before you tube. I am so sorry she missed this fine medium.
@alvexok5523
4 жыл бұрын
I really liked Edward G. Robinson's 1931 film "Smart money". Cagney had more of a secondary role in that film, but I think that part of that is because that film was made before "Public enemy" which was basically the first film where Cagney really pulled a major role and came out onto his own. Both Robinson and Cagney were great actors. Robinson in "Smart money" played a pretty cool and confident, yet streetsmart guy. He wasn't as temperamental as most of Cagney's characters but was just as tough.
@CaminoAir
7 жыл бұрын
I suppose at the time (1939) it would have been impossible to even consider a Cagney character would really be terrified in this scene. I know the film is set up to have Rocky deliberately fake his terror (because that's the only real pay off for what's gone before in the story), but even the first time I watched this I thought it was possible Rocky wasn't faking. For one thing, that's James Cagney-actor level acting Rocky is doing. If he was faking it wouldn't he have been less convincing since he's a gangster without any acting experience. Wouldn't Cagney have realised this when he was playing him and intentionally been more awkward about his performance and more limited in his terror?
@Lee-Darin
3 жыл бұрын
I believe that it was "Fake Terror" combined with the real thing. He was faking it to turn the boys on to the straight and narrow, but at the same time, Rocky is realizing the inevitability of his own mortality. So I believe that it was a combination of the two.
@nycinstyle
3 жыл бұрын
After I got older, I always thought Cagney played the character like he really was afraid at the end. It makes the scene, the real message in the movie. Crime does not pay. It is for lazy people who dont want to work like others, cowards. People who hurt others to benefit themselves. My friend became a priest working to help others. Don't look up to me in this movie. We want to believe he did it for the kids, but Cagney realized his character is really a bum. Took the easy way out living a life of crime taking from others, hurting others, as long as he could to get things he wanted. Kids have no reason to look up to him. He is such a magnetic personality people like him even when he is a criminal in movies, but he ultimately did not want people to respect and like the character he played. He purposefully died yellow, IMO. And that is how he played it. At age 11, when I first saw it, I thought he did it for the kids. Not now over 40 years later. Cagney would not want that character to be glorified in any way. It was great the way he and the director/screenwriter did this ending. Open to individual interpretation.
@banditrider613
3 жыл бұрын
One of the greatest actors to ever of delivered a performance, I must have watched this movie 20 times over the years and this closing scene always brings a lump to my throat and tear to my eye. The look of defiance in his eyes as he walks to the chair tells everything, but he knows his was a wasted life and the kids will follow him in to the same end if he doesn't do this one last thing , but as JC said , you have to decide yourself . Watch the Parkinson BBC interview of JC and POB when they were old men, , its so good.
@richhall3412
4 жыл бұрын
i hate the ending of this movie.......good movie tho
@Michael-y8l
2 ай бұрын
Why? What was wrong with it?
@manueltubens7347
4 жыл бұрын
Great 🎥. Great cast. The scene where Rocky was led to the electric chair was priceless. The awards won was well worth it.
@adrianselbst6777
Күн бұрын
The image of them literally ascending the staircase.... beautiful
@michaelfonseca7848
3 жыл бұрын
No other actor ever like this guy
@barrycatchpole8974
2 жыл бұрын
Absolute tear jerker one ov the best actors you will ever see dont make em like James cagney anymore
@michaelpalmieri7335
Жыл бұрын
*of
@Urfllofsht
3 жыл бұрын
Im a huge Fan of Cagney and this movie. Everyone wants to know did Rocky turn yellow. My Answer is its way more complicated then that. In order to do it for his friend he had to repent and mean it. If it was a total act he would be a total monster. Thats why Pat was crying Because he knew his friend and he knew he did it for him, but also ,truly repented. Awesome Scene man. R.i.p. Mr.Cagney.
@edgardocastro9856
2 жыл бұрын
One of the best scenes in movie 🎬 history it takes a real man to die like he did remorseful cagney cared and loved those boys at the end he didn't die like a coward he died with humbleness that's what God wanted to hear him say when cagney cried out don't let me burn in hell which was so powerful his evilness left him so God can take his soul classic scene R I P mr.cagney we all love and miss you dearly.
@michaelpalmieri7335
Жыл бұрын
Actually, what he said was "Oh, please don't make me burn NOW!"
@ciaran5588
Жыл бұрын
An absolute classic. The ending always makes me cry.....I'm a 53 year old man!
@goback3spaces
3 жыл бұрын
Bad matching shot, 1:18 to 1:21: Jerry looking ahead to Jerry looking up.
@colindorrans9495
3 жыл бұрын
Powerful stuff.
@stephenpowell5912
Жыл бұрын
Sure don't make classics like this anymore but 84 years later ,Still a poignant scene to watch ,James Cagney to Pat O'Brien & The rest of the classic cast was & were brilliant in this 1938 classic,Still a powerful scene in today's world to when it originally came out in 1938 ,Still shed tears watching this scene 🥺😥It's Hollywood Gold 🪙 at its most brilliant 🪙
@rickallen9167
3 жыл бұрын
The question here is how far are you willing to go to achieve a desire? A Catholic priest wants a man to behave like a coward in his final moments in order to fulfil his desire to dissuade young boys from a life of crime. In order to maintain this deception the priest informs the boys he witnessed the "cowardly" behaviour first hand. So, first, a Catholic priest wants a man to deceive others, which he does, then the priest deceives others himself. All rather noble and emotional and meant to be uplifting etc. Only one problem here, called the "Ninth Commandment". So many ways of hypocrisy pointing out that could be shown, Only not so much as that which walks hand in hand with any religion.
@Lee-Darin
3 жыл бұрын
The 9th Commandment about not lying?
@rickallen9167
3 жыл бұрын
@@Lee-Darin yes, my mistake..the ninth commandment about not bearing false witness/lying..(edited)
@Michael-y8l
2 ай бұрын
I don't think there was any real hypocrisy here. Father Connelly did try to persuade Rocky to pretend to be a coward when facing the electric chair, but if I remember correctly, Rocky at first flatly rejected his friend's suggestion ("Nothing doing," he shouted, "that's asking too much!"), and kept refusing while walking the "last mile." ("Rocky, please." begs the Father. "No!" Rocky snaps back) It's only when Rocky is within a few inches from the "hot seat" that he suddenly breaks down and starts begging for mercy, and continues to do so right to the moment the switch is pulled, silencing him forever. Thus, we don't know if Rocky really did turn "yellow" or if he was acting. Father Connelly did, in fact, see everything that happened, as this clip clearly shows, so he wasn't actually "lying" when he told the " 'Dead End' Kids" that Rocky "died like they said" (Like a "yellow rat."), especially since he doesn't know if his late friend was acting or not.
@fhebuidon2810
3 жыл бұрын
ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES (NES) MONOCHROME FOR NES 00:34 TV BLACK AND WHITE (NO COLOR!)
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