More people should see this

From the looks of things, the fact under 200 have seen and voted on this picture and that none of those has voted lower then 4 coupled with the fact there are a lot of reviews and not many message board comments seems to suggest that this film is being watched almost exclusively my film students and hardcore movie buffs and maybe the odd person that remembers it from many years back.

That's a shame because it's a really good film and I reckon anyone that likes Cangeys more famous films or gangster films or heist films in generally will love this. The last Cagney film I saw before this was The Public Enemy, so I had a pretty good contrast from either end of his "gangster" career. Nineteen years since Tom Powers was thrusting grapefruit into his girlfriends face, Ralph Cotter emerges just as mean but a little wiser and perhaps a bit greedier too. Cagney doesn't look like he's picked up much rust, if anything he's at his peak here (and in White Heat of course).

TCM is always playing White Heat and Angels with Dirty Faces. Fantastic films, but maybe they should give this a showing someday too.

On a side note, I noticed one of the reviewers saying Cotter shot his fellow inmate at the start "just for the hell of it". I kinda had the impression it was more likely so that he didn't talk (as he obviously knew details of the escape plan). Still cold blooded, but not quite as psychotic as "just for the hell of it". But anyway, I'm just being picky.

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I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.