Add your email and we'll match picks to the services you stream at home.

Poster for Angels with Dirty Faces

Angels with Dirty Faces

Seen it?

1938 | 97 min | Crime, Drama

Friday Night Flick

Why it’s a Friday Night Flick

Critics loved it (100% on Rotten Tomatoes), it drew serious awards attention and it's still drawing plenty of interest. Make plans for this one.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for crime-drama fans. If you loved The Public Enemy or Point Blank, start here. Critics rate it higher than audiences do, so it rewards patience more than it chases thrills.
The mood
Dark and gritty.
The pace
Takes its time with its characters, at 1 hr 37 min.
What might put you off
  • Made in 1938: an older pace and style.
  • Audiences were cooler on it than critics.

Childhood chums Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly grow up on opposite sides of the fence: Rocky matures into a prominent gangster, while Jerry becomes a priest, tending to the needs of his old tenement neighborhood.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsVery strong

    100% on Rotten Tomatoes

  • AudiencesSolid

    7.5 out of 10

  • AwardsStrong

    Nominated for 3 Oscars.

  • Box office & staying powerSolid

    $2 million worldwide on a $633K budget; still draws a steady audience long after release

  • Buzz & cultural impactStrong

    About 111K people sought it out in the past year

Trailer

More like this

Want more like this, picked just for you? Get my picks

Cast & crew

Directed by Michael Curtiz

  • James CagneyRocky Sullivan
  • Pat O'BrienJerry Connolly
  • Humphrey BogartJames Frazier
  • Ann SheridanLaury Ferguson
  • George BancroftMac Keefer
  • Billy HalopSoapy
  • Bobby JordanSwing
  • Leo GorceyBim
  • Gabriel DellPasty
  • Huntz HallCrab