The Doorway to Hell

Louie Ricarno (Lew Ayres) leads a bootlegging gang in Chicago with his right hand man Steve Mileaway (James Cagney). With ruthless charisma, he brings the other gangs under control. It's a time of peace in the crime world. He marries his girlfriend Doris and even supports children's charity. He tries to retire and go straight. Events conspire to pull him back into the muck.

It's James Cagney's second film. If only they knew. Ayres is a pretty boy. He's fine as a leading man but even at this early stage, Cagney has the gangster vibe over many of his fellow actors. If they had a crystal ball, Ayres and Cagney would switch places. This is pre-Code and it has a good amount of violence. It's three years after The Jazz Singer. This early gangster talkie has many elements of the genre's classic tropes. It is one of many early Warner Bros gangster movies which would launch a studio and a genre into the brave new world.