Gangsters and G-Men on Screen

September 15, 2014
Here's a broad-ranging survey of movies about gangsters and government agents (G-men), starting with the first, D. W. Griffith's The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912), and ending with recent offerings like Public Enemies and Gangster Squad. There are, of course, many well-known movies hereLittle Caesar, the original Scarface, Bonnie and Clyde, The Untouchables, The Godfatherbut the author also introduces us to a lot of films and facts that are likely to be unfamiliar. For example, did you know that the first true talkie wasn't 1927's The Jazz Singer, which only had one scene with audible dialogue, but rather Lights of New York, a 1928 gangster movie? Did you know that one of the most controversial gangster pics of the late 1940s bore the sweetly delicate title of No Orchids for Miss Blandish? Whether you're a longtime fan of gangster films or relatively new to the genre, this comprehensive and very enjoyable book has something for you.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)