MovieChat Forums > Lights of New York (1928) Discussion > The Roaring Twenties (Forties)

The Roaring Twenties (Forties)

posted 18 years ago by efffee
7 replies | jump to latest

Towards the end of film, the lead character is urged to stay away from tthe "Roaring Forties".It is obviously a high crime area at the time, bootleging etc.In other films refering to esrlier time periods, "Roaring Forties" is used to describe New York's Tin Pan Alley at the turn of the century,as in the film "Tin Pan Alley" (1940))It is obvious from this 1928 film, where the decade was not over,that a term meant to describe a "hot" area was later used to describe an entire decade highlighted by bootleging and entertainment.Thanks for reading this.

[–] jgbook2007 17 years ago

...Was it the part of New York that was once called " the Tenderloin " ?????????
How did you see the movie , incidentally ?????????

[–] efffee 17 years ago

Hi I'm sorry to answer you so much later.I never heard the term "The Tenderloin" . I saw this film on TCM approx. 2004. Thanks

[–] jgbook2007 16 years ago

...Well , thank you .

[–] medwardb1976 15 years ago

I agree that the name "Roaring Twenties" came from the 1920's term "Roaring Forties" referring to the things the above writer mentioned. I believe that referring to the decade as "The Roaring Twenties" came from the 1939 movie by that title starring James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, which was about bootlegging crime in 1920's New York. Previous to this, that decade was always referred to as "The Jazz Age."

[–] efffee 14 years ago

Sorry to respond so late. "The Roaring Twenties" was my favorite movie on TV growing up.The first showing was Sunday night at 10:30 PM when I couldn't stay up to watch it. For years the local station cut the entire first half out, for commercials and a shorter broadcast time. Anyway thanks for the information, I guess that's the influence of the movies at that time, during the depression

[–] medwardb1976 15 years ago

[–] nammage 9 years ago

The reference was to 42nd street.

-Nam