Der Schrei der Masse

Race car driver Joe Greer (James Cagney) deals with personal problems while trying to train his brother to be a driver.

The Crowd Roars is probably only of interest to racing buffs and Jimmy Cagney fans. Being one of the latter, it does feature a very good performance from Cagney as the cocksure driver who laters becomes a disillusioned bum.

Despite being second billed, Joan Blondell is given little to do as the girlfriend of Cagney's brother. Ann Dvorak gets a showy part as Cagney's long-suffering girlfriend, and, being an early 30s Warner Brothers film, Frank McHugh and Guy Kibbee have bit parts. Eric Linden is a tad annoying as Cagney's brothers.

The racing sequences are well staged by Howard Hawks, and there's a particularly nasty sequence where Frank McHugh's character is killed. Overall, it's entertaining, and doesn't overstay it's welcome.