Back to trending
Angels with Dirty Faces

Angels with Dirty Faces

Crime · Drama · 1938

Childhood chums Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly grow up on opposite sides of the fence: Rocky matures into a prominent gangster, while Jerry becomes a priest, tending to the needs of his old tenement neighborhood.

Movie details

Angels with Dirty Faces

“The saga of America’s dirty faced kids... and the breaks that life won’t give them!”

1938 Crime · Drama 1h 37m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

Childhood chums Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly grow up on opposite sides of the fence: Rocky matures into a prominent gangster, while Jerry becomes a priest, tending to the needs of his old tenement neighborhood.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Angels with Dirty Faces?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Public Enemy

The Public Enemy

Crime · 1931

Two young Chicago hoodlums, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle, rise up from their poverty-stricken slum life to become petty thieves, bootleggers and cold-blooded killers. But with street notoriety and newfound wealth, the duo feels the heat from the cops and rival gangsters both. Despite his ruthless criminal reputation, Tom tries to remain connected to his family, however, gang warfare and the need for revenge eventually pull him away.

The Man with the Golden Arm

The Man with the Golden Arm

Drama · 1955

When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer and his old drug dealer re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.

Dead End

Dead End

Crime · 1937

The lives of a young man and woman, an infamous gangster and a group of street kids converge one day in a volatile New York City slum.

The Wrong Man

The Wrong Man

Crime · 1956

In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.

Plunder Road

Plunder Road

Crime · 1957

A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.

Deadline - U.S.A.

Deadline - U.S.A.

Crime · 1952

New York City newspaper The Day is in trouble. Even though editor Ed Hutcheson has worked hard running the paper, its circulation has been steadily declining. Now the publisher's widow wants to sell the paper, which will most likely mean its end. Hutcheson's only hope is to finish his exposé on a dangerous gangster before the sale is finalized.

Force of Evil

Force of Evil

Crime · 1950

Lawyer Joe Morse wants to consolidate all the small-time numbers racket operators into one big powerful operation. But his elder brother Leo is one of these small-time operators who wants to stay that way, preferring not to deal with the gangsters who dominate the big-time.

Johnny O'Clock

Johnny O'Clock

Crime · 1947

When an employee at an illegal gambling den dies suspiciously, her sister, Nancy, looks into the situation and falls for Johnny O'Clock, a suave partner in the underground casino. Selfish and non-committal by nature, Johnny slowly begins to return Nancy's affection and decides to run away with her, but conflict within his business threatens their plans. As Johnny tries to distance himself from the casino, his shady past comes back to haunt him.

The Keys of the Kingdom

The Keys of the Kingdom

Drama · 1944

A young priest, Father Chisholm is sent to China to establish a Catholic parish among the non-Christian Chinese. While his boyhood friend, also a priest, flourishes in his calling as a priest in a more Christian area of the world, Father Chisholm struggles. He encounters hostility, isolation, disease, poverty and a variety of set backs which humble him, but make him more determined than ever to succeed.

Nightmare Alley

Nightmare Alley

Drama · 1947

A roustabout joins a traveling carny and schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Michael Curtiz

Written by

Rowland Brown · John Wexley · Warren Duff · Charles MacArthur

James Cagney

James Cagney

Rocky Sullivan

Pat O'Brien

Pat O'Brien

Jerry Connolly

Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey Bogart

James Frazier

Ann Sheridan

Ann Sheridan

Laury Ferguson

George Bancroft

George Bancroft

Mac Keefer

Billy Halop

Billy Halop

Soapy

Bobby Jordan

Bobby Jordan

Swing

Court is in session

Put Angels with Dirty Faces on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.