G Men

"There's no rule that a G-man can't kiss an old friend goodbye, is there?" - Ann Dvorak is gorgeous and her eye movement and the way she is expressing herself through her eyes is divine. Some good and some bad humour in the film. James Cagney's comedic timing and energy on the screen is amazing, but some of the comedic scenes could've used a little more subtlety. The final sequence had great potential and could've used a longer setup in order to build up palpable tension. Propaganda intro.

Cagney has wicked good burn on pig in this film

Era promotional film for the FBI with Cagney as a Mary Sue who gets the girl and the bad guys. You can practically feel J. Edgar Hoover approving every plot point. It's still a fun mindless movie. I feel bad for cops back then who had few tools against gangsters. Fav scene: Cagney's good chemistry with the reformed gangster who paid for his law school and how that comes back later with Cagney's new boss.

A fun, violent crime picture. Cagney really shone here and showed he could play on either side of the law with equal vigor.

I prefer Cagney as a psycho hood or a taxi-driver fighting for his rights, but he's still can be sassy and cocky as a government man. He shows his dancer's moves here too, in scenes where his character learns boxing and judo, and his grace--played for laughs--is a glory to behold. Margaret Lindsay (forgotten today) is forgettable here, but Ann Dvorak is sweet and sad-eyed as the moll in love with old friend Jimmy. (Tip: skip the dumb prologue tacked on in '49 for the ten year anniversary.)

I don't get the prologue, which is never returned to, but the "film within the film" is a typically exciting WB actioner with James Cagney battling gangsters. The love story, which seems superfluous for most of the movie, ends up working out well.

G Men is a soft-plotted evangelist film about how tough the FBI can be with Cagney to show us.

Somebody realized how charismatic Cagney is and put him on the side of the law, so kids would want to become FBI agents instead of gangsters. Movie is nothing special, except that it is the first movie about FBI. And it wasn't usual for Hollywood movies to portray good guys with attitude. So Cagney in this film is kind of prototype of Dirty Harry. Now, where do I sign-up to join G-men?

I get why the heteros like gangster movies, this is cool af; and those ladies outfits were so risqué, how did they stick those fluffy things to their boobs?

Whats this?! James Cagney on the wrong side of the law?! For him any way. Cagney the FBI agent! It's in gangster films he's at his ace, and this is a Hays code compromise. You still get all the exciting gangster scenes with violent shootings and high body count, but since the hero is on the side of the law the violence is justified by the eyes of the production code. Historically interesting with the FBI connection. And it didn't hurt that it became a damn good gangster film in the process.