Entertaining, Flawed and Memorable due to a young Jimmy Cagney and a Corking Good Ending:
While this very early pre-code gangster film is very entertaining with nice production values, colorfull dialogue and a strong story line it also has a major casting flaw that damages it's overall impact. Baby-faced Lew Ayres barely aged 21 plays Louie Ricardo and is seriously miscast as a tough, street-wise gang-boss that thru steely ruthlessness, intelligence and a talent for organization rules the assorted gangs of Chicago. Fresh from his superb performance in "All Quiet on the Western Front" Ayres had graduated to stardom but his youth and sincerity are not enough to make him a "beliveable" gangster / villain capable of cracking the whip over an assorted collection of hardbitten "pug uglies" and gang bosses. Louie wants to leave the bootlegging racket with his ill-gotten gains and retire to Florida but the assorted gang bosses can't do without his guidance and leadership and pressure him to "stay the course" so like a frustrated Michael Cordeone in "GodFather 111" 50 years...
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