This foundational gangster film, directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, Mildred Pierce), shaped the genre and the many crime films that came after. It stars the frequently paired James Cagney as Rocky Sullivan and Pat O’Brien as Jerry Connolly, two childhood friends whose paths diverge when Rocky is caught for a crime they were both committing, and Jerry gets away. In adulthood, Rocky is a criminal with his own strict moral code while O’Brien is a clergyman trying to help Rocky get on the straight and narrow. With memorable turns by Ann Sheridan and Humphrey Bogart, this engrossing film asks us to consider whether people are a product of circumstance or their own decisions. — Lisa Elliott

Rated: NR