G Men | 
| Directors: George Marshall, Jack King, Lloyd French, William Keighley
Actors: James Cagney, Margaret Lindsay, Ann Dvorak, Robert Armstrong, Barton Maclane
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $7.78
You Save: $12.20 (61%)
New (16) Used (11) Collectible (1) from $6.95
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 32676
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dvd, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 86 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 67950
UPC: 012569679504
EAN: 0012569679504
ASIN: B000FI9OBS
Theatrical Release Date: May 4, 1935
Release Date: July 18, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In 1931 James Cagney helped jump-start the gangster genre as The Public Enemy. In 1935 he waged on-screen war against the nation's public enemies. Outcries against movies that glorified underworld criminals put Cagney on the side of the law in "G" Men. Emphasis may have changed but elements are the same. "G" Men builds to a fury of bold escapes siren-wailing pursuits and frenzied shootouts. "Anything worth newspaper space is worth a movie" Warner Bros. executive Lou Edelman declared. Here a punchy hot-off-the-presses account of the pursuit and capture of John Dillinger provides the story inspiration as tough-guy Cagney gives it to 'em good in a movie that's "fast gutsy as simplistic and powerful as a tabloid headline" (Geoff Andrew Time Out Film Guide).Running Time: 86 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 012569679504 Manufacturer No: 67950
Amazon.com
There comes a time in the career of every gangster star when he has to go straight. Jimmy Cagney did it in "G" Men, a crisp crimefighting drama directed by William Keighley. Its hero is one more Cagney variation on the working-class guy with a smart mouth and a hard right, only this time he's a lawyer whose education was paid for by the avuncular local crimelord. Cagney's on the square, though, and after a law-school pal turned F.B.I. agent is murdered in the line of duty, he joins the Bureau. Made with the blessings of J. Edgar Hoover, the movie pays homage to several spectacular moments in Bureau legend, but it's at its grabbiest when things get personal for Cagney--say, the complications that arise from his onetime sorta-girlfriend, nightclub chanteuse Ann Dvorak, taking up with very bad dude Barton MacLane. Film critic Manny Farber praised Keighley as "the least sentimental director of gangster careers," and he gives the numerous murders and shootouts a jolting ferocity. (Thirteen years later Keighley helmed the excellent F.B.I. case history Street With No Name.) The I-don't-like-you-and-I-don't-trust-you byplay between Cagney and his Bureau boss Robert Armstrong gets old, but there's flavorful thuggery from MacLane, Edward Pawley, Noel Madison, et al. "G" Men's style is briskly no-nonsense, yet so beautifully has the film been restored and digitally remastered, there are moments when Sol Polito's cinematography literally glows. One gripe only: The movie should have been presented as it was in 1935, without the F.B.I.-classroom intro tacked on for 1949 reissue (the sort of thing "Special Features" was made for). --Richard T. Jameson
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 One of Cagney's very best; old-movie fans will love this June 14, 2001
Scott MacGillivray (Massachusetts, USA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
James Cagney stars in this brisk crime melodrama from 1935, directed with verve by William Keighley. When hoodlums dispose of Cagney's pal, Cagney becomes a government agent and goes after the mob. Fans of old movies may lose count of all the familiar faces: Lloyd Nolan, Ann Dvorak, Robert Armstrong, Barton MacLane, Noel Madison, Harold Huber, Addison Richards, and so many more fine character players. The film has unfortunately dated more than some Cagney pictures (the nightclub floor show and the crimefighting technology of 1935 have since become quaint), but for simple cops-and-robbers action with mugs, molls, gunplay, guttersnipe slang, and getaway cars, not to mention a sterling performance by Cagney, "G-Men" is hard to beat. The print is excellent, and so is the video transfer..
GREAT AGAINST-TYPE CAGNEY FLICK. January 29, 2003
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
This is a turnabout film for Cagney, one where he changed his film image, from ruthless gangster to fearless FBI man. Harrigan is a bigshot gangster who genrously puts Cagney through law school. When Toomey, Cagney's pal, becomes an FBI man and is gunned down without a snowman's chance in hell, Cagney joins the force to seek revenge...In the force of mounting criticism of the tendency of making heros out of gansters in their melodramas, Warners pulled a clever switcheroo: by showing the same crimes but by a different angle - that of the law enforcer. After a fairly slow start, the action picks up - and never falters. Strangely enough - because he was cast against-type - begininning with this film, Cagney's career soared into a second wind: each of the films he made within a year's period grossed over 1 millon dollars at the box-office. Obviously, the public liked Cagney. I know I do. As Jean Morgan, Ann Dvorak is excellent, as usual. She was special in an off-beat kind of way. The working title of the film was THE FARRELL CASE: written by Gregory Rogers - the pseudonym of Darryl F. Zanuck (!).
Cagney the crime fighter, tougher than ever! April 20, 2005
Dave (Tennessee United States)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
James Cagney stars as Brick Davis, a young lawyer who can't get his practice off the ground. He was practically raised by a wealthy racketeer, Mr. McKay (William Harrigan), who also put Davis through law school. Realizing that his legal career is going nowhere, Davis joins the FBI and begins a tough training period under the harsh instructor Jeff McCord (Robert Armstrong), who doesn't like him.
When Davis' best friend Eddie Buchanan (Regis Toomey) is murdered by gangsters, he vows to avenge his death. Meanwhile, Davis falls in love with Jeff McCord's sister Kay (Margaret Lindsay) and questions his former girlfriend Jean (Ann Dvorak, whom you might remember from 1932's classic "Scarface") to try and find out the names of the gangsters who killed his friend. Jean is married to a man with mob connections, and because she's still in love with Davis she gets the names that he needs. All that remains next is for Davis to visit the gangsters and get his revenge!
Shot in just six weeks on a budget of $450,000, "G-Men" was a huge box office success, opening to rave critical reviews and standing-room only crowds. Some of the reviews stated that it was Cagney's best film since "The Public Enemy", which had made him a major star. Though Cagney played a crime fighter, he retained the same toughness that had served him well in gangster roles. "G-Men" was directed by William Keighley, one of Warner's top directors of the 1930's, and one of Cagney's favorite co-workers. In 1949, "G-Men" was reissued to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the FBI, and a newly shot prologue was added, in which the film was called the "grand-daddy" of all FBI movies. When viewed today, one can hardly disagree.
G-men reveiw November 6, 1999
Tommy Brown (scarface1i@aol.com) (U.S.)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
This is one of the verry best films I've ever seen. Cagney displays a superb acting job, that is a perfect match for a incredible screenplay.This is indeed one of James Cagney's best jobs ever for sure.
James Cagney other side July 17, 2000
clarence r. chagnon (burlington, vt. United States)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
James Cagney ( Public Enemy) shows his versatility in this film. This is a classic gangster film of the '30's with Cagney on the side of the law. Barton Mclain is classic as the baddy with Robert Armstrong and Lloyd Nolan as the top notch agents. Margeret Lindsay as the love interest and Ann Dorvak as the not so bad "moll" round out the cast of characters and make for an entertaining portrayal of the early F.B.I. Of course, a lot of the cliche's, along with the Psuedo- history is part of it, but that only enhances the film. For film buffs such as myself, this is one excellent film and well worth the effort.
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