History Of Gangster Films

Often Gangster films are the highlights the life of a crime figure or a crime victim(s). They can glorify the rise and fall of a particular criminal, gang, robber, murderer or lawbreakers in power struggles or a conflict with the law, rivals, etcetera.

Rivalry wih other criminals in gangster warfare is often significant plot characteristic. Crime/Gangster plots include questions as how the criminal will be arrested by the police, private investigators, undercover agents and mysteries on who stole a valuable object or killed various characters.

Criminal gang films, as in Once Upon a Time in America and Gangs of New York, are more than likely fatal struggles of generation rivalries and childhood friendships which is familiar in the gangster film Boyz N the Hood and Menace II Society.

Many of the mobstar character plots are the rise to power with a tough facade while showing a ambitious desire for success and recognition but underneath can sometimes come across as sensitive & gentleness.

The characters are money hungry, especially violent and their love for shooting first before asking questions kept audience wanting to see more gangster films. They are mainly materialistic, street smart, immoral and self destructive.

Gangster films are usual set in large crowded cities provide a view of the secret world of a criminal. Dark nightclubs, streets with lurid neon signs, fast cars, cash, sleazy bars, horrible living houses. Exotic bars/nightclubs often add the element of wealth and adventure.

The first ever acknowledged Gangster films were very early on in the 1900's.

- D.W Griffith's The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)
- The Regeneration (1915)

The first sound gangster film and all talking film was The Lights of New York in 1928, as it enhanced urban dramas of its time with dialogue and sound effects as getaways, car tires and gunshots.

However, Josef Von Sternberg's Underworld (1927) With George Raft and Clive Brook was considered the first ever modern gangster film as it was shot from the gangster's point of view. The lead role in these films were glorified until the final scenes were he met his doom. This was due to censor demands in the 1930's.

From the early 20Th century Gangster films evolved. Warner bros has been producing gangster films for years but until the 1930's they had real talent in Edward G Robinson, Paul Muni, George Raft, director, Raoul Walsh, James Cagney and Humphery Bogart - who claimed to fame in The Petrified Forest (1936)

Little Caesar was another hugely inspirational film as it has been said that it imitated early 1930 films. Other inspirations for films since then have been John Dillinger and Al Capone - who liked Scarface (1932) so much that he had his own copy.

In the 1950's and 1960's changes to the Production Code, originally set in the 1930's, meant a new ratings system in 1969 that could allow releasing films appropriate for different audiences.

Then came Bonnie & Clyde (1967) and Godfather (1972).

Godfather gave the audience a spectacle of the American Dream. With its promise to its immigrants that it could provide such a wonderful life. The two films focus on a very close family from Sicily settling in New York and trying to make the American dream. Violent deaths, strong quotes from a family that in the end was destroyed by the faithfulness that the original gangster struggles apprehend.

In a sudden twist of events, American Gangster (2007) saw a totally different side to Gangster films. Based on a true story. Frank Lucas, who creates himself as a heroin importer after seeing his employer and mentor die. The plot and theme of this film is extremely common with most gangster films, such as being a family man, taking control and in the end having to admit defeat for being too money hungry and confident. However, with Frank Lucas - he is African American.

Unlike most gangster films were characters are Italian, Irish or immigrants to Americas, Frank Lucas is very much American and there is hardly a recognition to his African background.

The gangster genre has very much so developed from the 1912’s but that has to be expected. With American Gangster huge popularity, it’s the perfect example that gangster films shouldn’t be so predictable.

www.filmsite.org/crimefilms.html
http://www.crimeculture.com/Contents/Gangster%20Sagas.html
http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/Gangster-Films-A-METAPHOR-FOR-ALL-SEASONS.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765429/