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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
According to McCarty, Americans admire the antihero gangster because he's an unbound character who goes where he wants, does what he wants and "takes no bull from anybody." The author conveys the appeal of these reckless outlaws, personified in film by such icons as Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney, through concise analyses of key crime films and well-drawn personal histories of the genre's central stars, directors and writers. McCarty, who's written some 30 books (The Fearmakers; etc.), astutely charts the inextricable link between gangster movies and westerns to a point where one mobster film, High Sierra (1941), was reshaped for cowboy fan consumption via Colorado Territory (1949), then underwent a gangster remake as I Died a Thousand Times (1955). McCarty kicks off with 1915's Regeneration and shoots through White Heat (1949), The Godfather (1972) and Chicago (2002). He credits D.W. Griffith for making the first gangster picture of any importance, The Musketeers of Pig Alley. He applauds Silky Jane Greer for her haunting, indelible portrayal of Kathy Moffat in 1947's Out of the Past and brings Richard Widmark vibrantly alive as the psychopath who pushes wheelchair-bound Mildred Dunnock down a flight of stairs. The book's most telling line powerfully indicates how vital gangster movies have been by citing George Raft—"gangster movies... taught gangsters how to talk"— and concludes that real-life criminals now define themselves by the mob images they've seen in The Godfather, Goodfellas and The Sopranos. Photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Choice January 2005
"McCarty provides an expansive look at the history of the gangster film in Hollywood."
See all Editorial Reviews
According to McCarty, Americans admire the antihero gangster because he's an unbound character who goes where he wants, does what he wants and "takes no bull from anybody." The author conveys the appeal of these reckless outlaws, personified in film by such icons as Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney, through concise analyses of key crime films and well-drawn personal histories of the genre's central stars, directors and writers. McCarty, who's written some 30 books (The Fearmakers; etc.), astutely charts the inextricable link between gangster movies and westerns to a point where one mobster film, High Sierra (1941), was reshaped for cowboy fan consumption via Colorado Territory (1949), then underwent a gangster remake as I Died a Thousand Times (1955). McCarty kicks off with 1915's Regeneration and shoots through White Heat (1949), The Godfather (1972) and Chicago (2002). He credits D.W. Griffith for making the first gangster picture of any importance, The Musketeers of Pig Alley. He applauds Silky Jane Greer for her haunting, indelible portrayal of Kathy Moffat in 1947's Out of the Past and brings Richard Widmark vibrantly alive as the psychopath who pushes wheelchair-bound Mildred Dunnock down a flight of stairs. The book's most telling line powerfully indicates how vital gangster movies have been by citing George Raft—"gangster movies... taught gangsters how to talk"— and concludes that real-life criminals now define themselves by the mob images they've seen in The Godfather, Goodfellas and The Sopranos. Photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Choice January 2005
"McCarty provides an expansive look at the history of the gangster film in Hollywood."
See all Editorial Reviews
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Inside This Book Citations: This book cites 100 books Explore: Citations | Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Key Phrases - SIPs: noir babe, gangster persona, gangster comedies, gangster picture, unholy three (more) Key Phrases - CAPs: New York, Little Caesar, Warner Brothers, James Cagney, The Racket (more) Browse Sample Pages: Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me! |
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Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
BLAME IT ON DAVID WARK GRIFFITH. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
noir babe, gangster persona, gangster comedies, gangster picture, unholy three, talkie era, gangster film, gangster roles, crime films, gangster genre, gangster movies, criminal empire, lost film Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Little Caesar, Warner Brothers, James Cagney, The Racket, The Public Enemy, Raoul Walsh, High Sierra, Humphrey Bogart, United States, Roy Earle, Duke Mantee, Lon Chaney, Rico Bandello, White Heat, Black Handers, World War, Ben Hecht, John Huston, Nick Scarsi,
BLAME IT ON DAVID WARK GRIFFITH. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
noir babe, gangster persona, gangster comedies, gangster picture, unholy three, talkie era, gangster film, gangster roles, crime films, gangster genre, gangster movies, criminal empire, lost film Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Little Caesar, Warner Brothers, James Cagney, The Racket, The Public Enemy, Raoul Walsh, High Sierra, Humphrey Bogart, United States, Roy Earle, Duke Mantee, Lon Chaney, Rico Bandello, White Heat, Black Handers, World War, Ben Hecht, John Huston, Nick Scarsi,