15 Best Gangster Movies From The '30s & '40s

The popularity of the gangster genre originated in the early 1930s, and countless undisputed crime classics were produced in the following decades. As the period just after the Prohibition era and proliferating crime due to the Wall Street Crash of 1929, it made sense that gangster movies took hold of the popular imagination as real-life crime bosses like Al Capone and John Dillinger were fresh in viewers’ minds. With acclaimed directors like William Keighley, Raoul Walsh, and Howard Hawks making revolutionary crime films, it’s a testament to this era’s appeal that so many remain beloved to this day.

Many of the best gangster movies of all time were released during the 1930s and 1940s, as major movie stars like Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney dominated the genre with powerful portrayals of crooked cops, gun-wielding gangsters, and treacherous thieves. Through a mix of film noir, heist classics, and intense crime-based melodramas, the influence of many gangster movies from this time can still be felt today. Looking back on the best gangster movies from the ‘30s and ‘40s, what’s most striking was how well they held up as iconic Hollywood stars gave some of the all-time great performances.

15 The Glass Key (1942)

Directed by Stuart Heisler

The classic film noir The Glass Key mixed a murder mystery with action, romance, and gangsters and was a revised and updated version of a previous 1935 release of the same name. With political corruption and a brewing romance between Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd’s characters, in many ways, The Glass Key could be seen as a forerunner to themes and ideas better explored in Howard Hawks’ The Big Sleep just four years later. As the story of a corrupt politician accused of murder by a gangster during his election campaign, this complex story melded noir and hard crime drama.

14 Bullets Or Ballots (1936)

Directed by William Keighley

Bullets or Ballots was an early crime thriller in Humphrey Bogart’s career, fresh off his breakout success in The Petrified Forest. With Edward G. Robinson as a crusading crime-buster modeled after true-life cop Johnny Broderick and Bogart as an articulate and calculating killer, Bullets or Ballots saw the detective go undercover and try to infiltrate Bogart’s gang to bring him down. With solid performances, Bullets or Ballots steadily built towards its blazing climatic showdown.

13 Each Dawn I Die (1939)

Directed by William Keighley

James Cagney and George Raft come together for William Keighley’s iconic gangster movie Each Dawn I Die. Telling the story of an investigative journalist who befriends a notorious gangster after being unjustly thrown in jail, this fascinating story based on a novel by Jerome Odlum was packed with twists and turns. Each Dawn I Die worked primarily due to the excellent chemistry between Cagney and Raft, who helped elevate this far-fetched prison story with solid performances.

12 G Men (1935)

Directed by William Keighley

Director William Keighley was responsible for some of the greatest gangster movies of the 1930s, particularly when he was paired with Hollywood icon James Cagney. This was certainly the case for G Men, a movie that consciously tried to go against the idea that movies glorified gangsters as they showcased their lives of freedom, luxury, and power. Rather than feature a revered gangster as the protagonist, G Men shifted its focus to the noble lawmen who tirelessly work to bring them down. With Cagney as a lawyer turned federal agent, G Men showcased him rising through the ranks.

11 Dead End (1937)

Directed by William Wyler

Dead End was a hugely underrated Humphrey Bogart gangster movie that showcased how the lives of men, women, and streets all converge on one volatile day in New York City. Based on the Broadway play by Sidney Kingsley, Dead End was a melodramatic gangster film whose child stars were so impressive that they went on to make over 60 movies, initially under the name ‘Dead End Kids.’ With a complex story told using just one set, the tightly constructed narrative of Dead End could be seen as a forerunner to the single location triumphs of Alfred Hitchcock in later movies like Rope and Rear Window.

10 The Petrified Forest (1936)

Directed by Archie Mayo

As just one of several movies starring Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis, The Petrified Forest was a definitive release for Bogart as the role of the notorious gangster Duke Mantee would encapsulate the kinds of characters he’d play for the rest of his career. As a no-nonsense criminal who takes a group hostage in a diner while fleeing a police pursuit, The Petrified Forest was a tightly constructed Depression-era narrative filled with engaging characters. From the engaging criminality of Bogart to the slow-building love story of Davis and co-star Leslie Howard, The Petrified Forest was a true 1930s classic.

Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis appeared in several movies together:
Bad Sister
(1931),
Three on a Match
(1932),
The Petrified Forest
(1936),
Kid Galahad
(1937),
Marked Woman
(1937),
Dark Victory
(1939), and
Thank Your Lucky Stars
(1943).

9 High Sierra (1941)

Directed by Raoul Walsh

High Sierra was an extraordinary film noir that saw Humphrey Bogart perfecting his hardboiled persona as Roy Earle, a notorious thief helping his boss carry out a major robbery in California. With plenty of action, suspense, and car chases, High Sierra was a gangster movie triumph that paired Bogart with Ida Lupino, one of the few female co-stars who could rival his acclaimed partnership with Lauren Bacall. High Sierra co-writer John Huston would even use the success of this film as leverage to make the jump to director and reunite with Humphrey Bogart for The Maltese Falcon later in 1941.

8 Key Largo (1948)

Directed by John Huston

As the fourth and final pairing between husband-and-wife duo Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Key Largo also featured Bogart’s frequent co-star Edward G. Robinson in a villainous role, taking people hostage in the titular hotel. With a storm brewing outside and a confined location, Key Largo was a fast-paced story of a sinister gangster made all the more compelling by the compelling romance of Bogart and Bacall’s characters. With love, action, and stellar performances, Key Largo has aged incredibly well and is a must-watch for lovers of 1940s gangster pictures.

7 Little Caesar (1931)

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Based on the story of the real-life Mafia boss Salvatore Maranzano, Little Caesar was a thrilling crime story that showcased how a low-level hoodlum rose up the ranks of organized crime to become a big-time gangster. Along with The Public Enemy and Scarface, Little Caesar helped solidify the gangster genre during the early 1930s and was a major influence on everything that came after it. A hit at the box office, Little Caesar was a major release for director Mervyn LeRoyand was a definitive role for its star, Edward G. Robinson, who quickly became associated with playing tough-guy roles.

6 Dillinger (1945)

Directed by Max Nosseck

Dillinger told the story of John Dillinger, one of the most notorious real-life gangsters of the 1920s and 1930s. Showing Dillinger’s beginnings in petty crime to fast becoming the mastermind behind several daring robberies, Dillinger was a fast-paced, influential, and highly engaging gangster movie made when its notorious lead character’s legacy was still part of the audience’s living memory. While Dillinger was one of Lawrence Tierney’s definitive roles, it’s a testament to his legacy that he still excelled playing gangster right up to the 1990s as Joe Cabot in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs.

5 The Roaring Twenties (1939)

Directed by Raoul Walsh

The Roaring Twenties was produced as a homage to classic gangster movies of the early 1930s. With a star-studded cast including James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, and Humphrey Bogart, The Roaring Twenties explored three men’s experiences during major events in the 1920s, including Prohibition and the Wall Street Crash. With an impressive 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, The Roaring Twenties was a forerunner to later acclaimed gangster movie greats by the 1970s New Hollywood Movement directors such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola.

4 Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Starring James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, Humphrey Bogart, and The Dead End Kids, Angels with Dirty Faces was truly a who’s who of 1930s gangster movies. Cagney played a notorious gangster trying to corrupt a gang of street kids, while O’Brien played his childhood friend and local priest trying to halt the degradation of young minds. As a savage melodrama that featured Cagney in one of his best roles, Angels with Dirty Faces was so influential that it even served as the basis for the fake movie Angels With Filthy Souls that Kevin McCallister watches in Home Alone.

3 The Public Enemy (1931)

Directed by William A. Wellman

The Public Enemy was a pre-Code gangster movie classic starring James Cagney as Tom Powers, a young gangster who rose through the ranks of the Prohibition-era criminal underworld. Inspired by Al Capone’s murderous gang rivalries in Chicago, The Public Enemy was a hugely influential film that laid the groundwork for many of the themes and ideas explored in the gangster genre right up to this day. Although The Public Enemy only received mixed reviews when it was released, in retrospect, it’s been hailed as a true classic of the genre.

2 White Heat (1949)

Directed by Raoul Walsh

White Heat has rightfully earned a reputation among the best gangster movies of all time as it anticipated later heist classics of the 1950s while utilizing a semi-documentary style and pushing the psychology of gangsters further than any film before it. As the pinnacle of acclaimed director Raoul Walsh’s career, White Heat saw James Cagney play a tragic and volatile antihero to absolute perfection. As a major influence on the gangster genre itself, White Heat has gained a place among the all-time greats, regardless of the era it was released.

1 Scarface (1932)

Directed by Howard Hawks

Although most viewers will be more familiar with Brian De Palma’s 1983 remake starring Al Pacino, Howard Hawks’ 1930s Scarface revolutionized the gangster genre. As a timeless story about an Italian immigrant’s extraordinary rise to power, Scarface brought together themes of excess, the American Dream, and the destructive consequences of power better than anything else seen during this era of filmmaking. As the quintessential gangster movie of the 1930s and 1940s, Scarface set the visual template for the genre for decades to come and boasts a legacy almost unmatched among Hollywood productions.