Great cast, solid film!

Of course this is a Cagney film, and he's terrific, but the real stars of the film are the boys at the reform school. All the boys are wonderful, but Frankie Darro is sensational as the "mayor of hell". How does he manage that fall from the barbed wire fence? Special praise to Raymond Borzage who, at a very young age, pulls off one of the most beautifully shot and most amazing death scenes that I have ever seen. I swear you can see the light fading from the doomed Skinny's eyes. I think I heard Charles Dickens applauding at the conclusion of the scene and smiling his approval. Not everything works, but this film is better than most movies sent out to the theatres today.