Gangster Movies: The Portrayal of Criminals in Hollywood From the Early 1930s
The worst economic meltdown during the Great Depression of the 1930s created a new film genre…
The gangster movies in Hollywood has become a subgenre of crime films coming during the greatest economic depression from the stock market crash in 1929. After the evolution of cinematic experience in the silent era, gangster movie was an exception in the crowd of fairy tales and hopes. The gangster genre started portraying the societal truth during the societal crisis. The financial depression made many mobs and crime groups in the real world.
The Beginning…
Little Caesar (1931) is happens to be the first film in this genre. The story portrays a small town mobstar, Rico, left his town after robing a gas station with his friend, Joe. The movies showcased the fate of a small town criminal with unexpecdet lives and unprecedented death. It was the first successful attempt by Hollywood in this new film genre and then it followed by the endless number of movies. Hollywood made almost 50 movies after the success of Little Caesar in the same year.
One of the most prominent and violant movies of this genre is Scarface (1932) closely based up on the real life notorious mob star, Al Capone. It is among first few movies in the gangster genre that faced immense pressure from the censor board. The film depicted authentic life events of Al Capone with the 43 murders. The Motion Picture Production Code was against in giving release approval of Scarface. It made the creators of this movie to change the name into Scarface: Shame of a Nation and faced many cuts from both national and local level censor boards.
The Public Enemy (1931) is the third classic movie in this genre after Little Caeser and Scarface. The story of this film is revolved around an ‘aspiring’ mobstar, Tom, who soon become the leader of a bootlegging ring. The life of Tom was similar to Rico, an eventful life that is full of conflicts and achievement of power that finally ends with a tragedy. After the widely acclaimed Little Caseser, The Public Enemy was the reflection of that time, when gangsters were appearing in newspapers everyday. Hence, people could related to these films widely with the raw essence and authenticity of the storyline.
In between 1933 and 1966, only one portrayal made into the gangster genre, White Heat (1949). The movie is based on a muderer, Cody Jarrett, involved in a sexual desirable relationship with his mother. The story unfolds when he heard about the murder of his mother and started killing his inmated to eventually get out of the prison to take revenge. The film considered to be the epitome of gangster movies. The lead character acted by Cagney, who relived the crime environment with his larger than life performance.
From The Godfather Era to the Shadow of Martin Scorsese
The new generation Hollywoord movies continue with the legacy of gangster genre. The famous trolgy, The Godfather (1972), The Godfather II (1974) and The Godfather III (1990) by Francis Ford Cappola hailed from the 1940s gangstar sequence that made its own ‘Godfather’ genre. In 1983, Sacrface was remade with the same name by Brian De Palma with prominent actor Al Pachino in the lead. Later, Martin Scorsese became one of the most major figures in Hollywood gangster genre films with his classics like Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), The Departed (2006) and the recent The Irishman (2019).
From the 1990s, Martin Scorsese has changed the portrayal of crime movies and it become more elegant and violant at the same time. The two-times oscar awar winner Scorsese is heavily influenced by the societal atmosphere during his upbringing in 1940s and 1950s. Scorsese’s intimate experience with gagstar period in America made his criminal drama portrayal more prominent and authentic to the audience. It made him one of the most acclaimed gagstar movie directors of all time in Hollywood.
After Late 1990s and now…
The dramatic exposure and sophisticated work ethics makes the current gangster and crime film genre into more dramatic and less authentic. Psychological thrillers are lately taking up the mainstream crime genre in Hollywood. Scoresese’s Shutter Island (2010), David Fincer’s Se7en (1995), Fight Club (1999) and Zodiac (2007), and Anton Chigurh’s No Country for Old Men (2007) made the list of modern crime movies.
The evolution of gangster genre was another revolution of film in portrayal of societal dilemma and unstable nature of criminal activities from that time. The gangster movies have always been in controversy for its unintentional ‘glorification’ and influential context. Later, from 1980s, the films got into more dramatic picturization and technical. It is the reason behind the transformation of core gangster genre into more mainstream crime and psychological thrillers.
The censorship made a significant role in hiding the raw portrayal of the gangster movies from 1930s to 1950s. Neverthless, the creative approach and skillful crafted crime movies are still intact with its influence and approach to the modern audience.
