The great James Cagney, top-billed in big letters, doesn't show up till the movie's second third, and probably has less screen time than Dudley Digges, who plays the eee-vill reform-school potentate. But when Jimmy arrives, as a deputy commissioner of something-or-other out to reform reform schools, he slashes the air with his hands and jumps on the balls of his feet and spits out punchy Warners-First National dialogue with all the customary, and expected, panache. The psychology in this crisp antique, one of Warners' many efforts to assert its place as the "socially conscious" studio, doesn't run deep: Digges is bad just because the script requires him to be, and there's the quaint notion that juvenile delinquents will turn into swell kids if they're just given a dash of autonomy. But it's made in that spare, fast style that the studio specialized in, and it never bores. Frankie Darro, who got into all kinds of onscreen trouble during a brief tenure as Warners' favorite Rotten Street Kid, is an ideal JD -- a handsome, charismatic toughie with a pug nose and a hate-filled stare that could wither steel. No kid actor today can touch him.
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marcslope29 April 2002
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"The Mayor Of Hell" has the feel of an early Dead End Kids film, but with a much harder edge and very few light spots, preceding the first appearance of the Dead Enders by four years. James Cagney has a full screen opening credit, even though technically, the 'mayor' of the movie's title is actually portrayed by Frankie Darro, one of several boys sent to reform school during the opening scenes. Darro's character is Jimmy Smith, a young tough who's befriended by 'Patsy' Gargan (Cagney), and is elected to the position when Gargan takes a chance at humanizing conditions at a state reformatory.
Warner Brothers made a lot of these types of films, attempting to provide a conscience of sorts in an era that knew only too well about the effects of crime and poverty. This movie is quite gritty, with no apologies for ethnic stereotyping, as in the submissive posture of a black father in court or the way a Jewish kid gets to run a candy shop in the reform school. The rules at the reformatory are simple enough - work hard and keep your mouth shut; step out of line and you answer personally to Warden Thompson (Dudley Digges).
Cagney's role in the story seems somewhat ambiguous, since even though he makes a serious effort to improve conditions inside the reformatory, on the outside he's still nominally in control of a criminal racket. The film's attempt to juggle this dichotomy falls short in my estimation, the finale attempts to wrap things up in a neat package as Gargan awaits the outcome of a near fatal shooting of one of his henchmen. Not exactly the kind of role modeling one would look for in a film like this.
Warner Brothers would sanitize some of the elements of this story in a 1938 remake titled "Crime School", featuring Humphrey Bogart in the Cagney role, and Billy Halop in the Frankie Darro part. If you're partial to the Dead End Kids you'll probably like the latter film better, since it also offers familiar faces like Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan and Gabriel Dell. However the ending is somewhat muddied in that one too, with Bogart's warden character involved in a cover up of a prison breakout. Both films offer a romantic interest for the lead characters, in 'Mayor', Madge Evans is a reform minded nurse that falls for Cagney's character.
Curiously, a lot of James Cagney's early films aren't commercially available, so you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for a screening on Turner Classics, or source the film from a private collector. Personally, I can't get enough of this kind of stuff, and find intriguing points of interest in the films of all genres from the Thirties and Forties. -
Doylenf9 January 2008JAMES CAGNEY gets top billing in THE MAYOR OF HELL but it's really little tough guy FRANKIE DARRO who has the central role of a boy from the slums who lands in a reform school run by a ruthless warden (DUDLEY DIGGES) interested only in punishing the boys while he cooks the books. Darro makes quite an impression with his hostile looks, locking glances with the warden at every turn with eyes blazing with hatred.
It takes the entrance of Cagney to change things around, an ex- gangster who has been deputized to help run things at the reformatory and who sympathizes with the plights of the boys, especially Darro who reminds him of his own tough days as a street punk. JAMES CAGNEY puts all of his usual energy into the role of the do-gooder who changes things around, along with cooperative Nurse Griffith (MADGE EVANS), and is there when the going gets tough and things revert back to their nasty ways during his brief absence.
The last half-hour of the film gets a little too melodramatic as the kids take matters into their own hands after the warden causes the death of one of their fellow inmates. There's a climactic scene where they put him on trial. When he escapes their clutches by jumping out a window, a chase follows and a barn is burned down forcing him to jump to his death. The plot contrivances that follow are hard to swallow, but for Jimmy and Madge Evans at least there's a happy ending.
ALLEN JENKINS is a welcome presence for comic relief but the tone of the film borders on heavy prison melodrama almost all the way.
DUDLEY DIGGES plays the unsympathetic role of the sadistic warden fairly well, but I still think of him as the befuddled detective who has a hard time pinning down RAFFLES (Ronald Colman) in that Scotland Yard yarn.
For Cagney fans, this is a glimpse of him at his talented best in an early role. Archie Mayo directs the project in his brisk, no nonsense Warner style. -
dougdoepke20 October 2007Before the Dead End Kids, there was Frankie Darro. Forgotten today, he epitomized angry desperate youth during those early depression years. Here he comes across with his usual hot-headed intensity, enough to make up for a nonthreatening small size. In fact, Darro acts a lot like a younger version of Cagney, which is no accident since the story line depends on Cagney seeing a lot of himself among the brutalized boys of the reform school. Without that, his transformation from racketeer to reformer makes little sense.
Some good scenes, such as the regimented mess hall with its robotic commands and synchronized quick-step. Also, the movie really comes alive during the well-staged riot scene. The raging mob, flickering shadows and wildly burning torches create a disturbingly hellish scene befitting the title. Still, unless I missed something, the mob really is responsible for the cruel Dudley Digges death, allowing the boys to get away with murder or at least manslaughter no matter how much Digges deserves it. This may be an example of justice prevailing over the law during those pre-code days.
Showing how closely the school's operation is tied to greedy political patronage provides an interesting touch. Nonetheless, Cagney's conversion from corrupt ward healer to the George Washington of a boy's republic remains something of a stretch. And I'm sure the stereotype of the Jewish kid may have brought some chuckles in that day, but not in this post-holocaust period. Then too, the black kid's dad may be a crude stereotype, but the boy isn't, participating importantly in republic activities. Notice how subtly his role emerges, probably so as not to offend some audiences. Still, it was a nervy move for the time. Notice also, how deglamorized the boys are. With the many shapes and sizes, they look as though they were recruited off the streets-- another nice touch.
As in most Warner Bros. pictures of the time, there's an atmosphere of New Deal reform, embodied here by the understanding judge who's willing to try unorthodox methods to remedy social ills. All in all, the film stands as an entertaining period piece, with a humane message that stands the test of time. -
peterdowling4 November 2017James Cagney demonstrates his versatility as an actor in this charming pre-code classic.
When one thinks of James Cagney, they almost always think of his roles as a gangster, or as a dancer. While the former may, to some degree, describe his role in this picture, the character is not your typical Cagney.
Cagney plays the commissioner of a reform school, who sees an opportunity to improve the lives of the juvenile offenders whom society has turned its back on. He gives a brilliant performance, appearing particularly sensitive for one of his 'tough guy' characters; one feels a genuine sense of caring for the downtrodden youngsters.
The youngsters themselves could be described as the main stars of the picture, particularly Frankie Darro, who delivers a very powerful performance.
Though the plot itself is rather simplistic, particularly in dealing with complex themes regarding criminal reform, the outstanding acting carries the film with flair. Furthermore, the direction, allegedly handled in part by Michael Curtiz, is another highlight; great suspense is created in several scenes, most notably the final climax of the film, making for a particularly memorable viewing experience.
The Mayor of Hell is yet another forgotten pre-code classic waiting to be rediscovered. -
SnoopyStyle28 December 2019Jimmy Smith leads a group of thieving kids. Jimmy and five others are caught in their hideout and sent to reform school run by the heartless superintendent Thompson. Dorothy, the nurse, is concerned about the conditions. Well-connected street gangster Patsy Gargan (James Cagney) had been appointed deputy commissioner as a political payoff. With no particular interest in the political work, he is tasked to write a report on the school. After witnessing Thompson's brutal treatment, he decides to take an interest in the kids.
This is Cagney playing his good guy gangster. It's solid. The kids are solid pre-Dead End Kids. The morality is pretty simple. My only complaint is nurse Dorothy would never quit. She needs to be outright fired and be carried out kicking and screaming. She's basically abandoning the boys. The guard who gives the boy his coat should be replaced with Dorothy. Patsy's call to Thompson should be replaced with a call to Dorothy. That way the story could still end the same way. This is a very simple moral gangster film. -
michaelRokeefe13 December 2008This is not a 'real' James Cagney vehicle since his screen time is unusually slim. Frankie Darro plays tough kid Jimmy Smith, the leader of a gang of street thugs that is sent to reform school with a few of his hoodlum friends. Cagney plays Patsy Gargan, a gang leader himself, who is given a token position as a deputy commissioner. When he finds out first hand of the brutal treatment dished out at the reform school, he is compelled to make some major changes with the help of the reformatory nurse(Madge Evans).
THE MAYOR of HELL is fast paced and is still entertaining after all these years. The cast is well rounded featuring: Dudley Digges, Arthur Bryon, 'Farina' Hoskins, G. Pat Collins and Allen Jenkins. -
bkoganbing27 September 2005James Cagney, racketeer and political ward heeler, get to become a Deputy Commissioner of Corrections and visits a boys reform school. The catch is that Cagney is not in it for the graft, he genuinely wants to make a difference in the lives of the kids there because he comes from a background like their's.
The villain of the piece is Dudley Digges who is a grafting chiseler and a sanctimonious hypocrite to boot. One of the subtexts of the plot of The Mayor of Hell is that these kids are mostly immigrants and those that judge them and are in positions of power are those who are here a few generations. Note in the mess hall scene as Digges offers a prayer of thanks for the food they are about to receive, Digges is eating well, but the kids are getting quality you wouldn't feed to your pet.
Cagney has his own troubles back in the city with some of his henchmen and he has to take it on the lam. That puts Digges back in charge and setting up the film for it's climax.
The Mayor of Hell was a typical product from the working class studio. And because it was pre-Code it gets pretty gruesome at times. A later version of this, Crime School, with Humphrey Bogart and the Dead End Kids, was a more sanitized remake.
Although Cagney is fine in the lead role as is Madge Evans the school nurse, the acting honors go to Dudley Digges. Hard to believe that the same man could portray the drunken, but kindly, one legged ship's surgeon in Mutiny on the Bounty. But Digges is a fine player and a joy to watch in every film he's in.
This film is not shown too often because of the racial and ethnic stereotypes it portrays. A whole lot of minorities would be offended today. Still it's a fine film.
Interestingly enough a few years ago the film Sleepers came out and it touched on some of the same issues. I guess films about reform schools don't change in any time. -
raskimono17 July 2002This one of those social dramas that WB knew how to put together and were guaranteed boxoffice hits in the thirties. This early "dead end kids" are sent to a reform school where they are mistreated. Cagney, a gangster as part of a deal is appointed as the commissioner of the school. He doesn't take it seriously at first but he changes and makes the necessary changes to improve the lives of the boys. The idea is to let the boys rule and administer their community. Whether this is sound social reform is beyond my belief but it's a movie. It's a lot like Boys Town with a slight darker tone. A useless happy ending deluges what impact the scene prior hard but is still good. WB would later make this same movies with Bogart in the Cagney/fatherly role.
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theowinthrop9 January 2008Remember - before there was Sidney, there was Dudley.
Dudley Digges is barely recalled today - because his heyday as a fixture in sound movies was the late 1920s and through the 1930s. Except for one major performance: the ship's good natured, if tipsy doctor in the 1935 MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, most of his films are barely revived. More's the pity because he was a wonderful actor. In 1931 he played Casper Gutman (the original actor to play that villain) opposite Ricardo Cortez's Sam Spade in the first THE MALTESE FALCON. Similarly, about the same time, he played the recording angel in Leslie Howard's version of OUTWARD BOUND - the same role that Sidney Greenstreet tackled in BETWEEN TWO WORLDS a decade later.
Digges could be likable and lovable (that ship's doctor again), or detestable (in CHINA SEAS, as the judgmental First Mate sneering at poor Lewis Stone but then proving he's as big a coward in a moment of crisis). He held his own against Paul Robeson in THE EMPEROR JONES. He is the Chinese freedom fighter working with Gary Cooper in THE GENERAL DIED AT DAWN. Digges could do anything.
Here, he is Mr. Thompson, the hypocritical and thieving warden of a reform school that Frankie Darro and his friends are sent to for committing a robbery and injuring a Greek-American store owner (it is the latest incident for most of them). Digges is as bad here as in CHINA SEAS, but it is a close thing to totally dislike him. He's able to somehow transcend his roles...more later about that.
Darro has a gang of urban delinquents (including a Jewish boy and "Farina" from "OUR GANG"). As pointed out in another review, it is a prototype of the Bowery Boys. We see them shake down car owners to pay them to "watch and protect" their autos. When one guy won't do it, they calmly wreck his car. The snatch and grab robbery at the store of the Greek-American is also rather graphically shown - his skull getting fractured when pushed.
The boys are rounded up and brought before stern but decent judge Arthur Byron, who realizes that he can't leave the kids with their parents: the parents are unable to watch them, or are incompetent. Unfortunately there are three racial stereotypes in this sequence: a Jewish father who is more concerned with his business than with his son, Farina's stereotype "Yassum" father, and the an Italian father whose willingness to cooperate gets his son out of going to the reform school.
Once there the boys find the regime oppressive. Occasionally one of the guards or the nurse (Madge Evans) tries to speak up for them. But Digges has no time for coddling. His is a regime determined to break the boys so they behave themselves. Unfortunately, Digges and his bookkeeper partner are greedy. They have been serving inferior food to the boys and pocketing the profit.
One day a new official comes from the state to look at the reform school. It's Jimmy Cagney, who is a hack ward heeler whose gang got the vote out for Edward Maxwell. As a reward (he could not get the Park Commissioner post) Cagney was made an Assistant school inspector. He is supported by his hanger-on pal and factotum Allan Jenkins (in his first Warner Brother film).
The irony is that if Digges were a bit more careful, Cagney would probably have let him continue running things. But Cagney arrives to see Darro brought to Digges for fighting. The Warden and Darrow have had problems about respect earlier, and Digges now intends to punish Darro who flees - but get seriously injured by Digges' barbed wire fences and his free use of a whip. Cagney stops Digges and lets Evans treat Darro's injuries. And she explains the reality of the situation to Cagney, and her own idea of real reformatory reform of the boys by building up trust in them with responsibility.
The film follows this to the end, showing that Cagney and Evans are on the right path, turning the reformatory as a "republic" for the boys to run properly. This leads to conflict with Digges, whose profiteering is reduced as he is no longer getting supplies. But the scheme is derailed when Cagney himself finds he may be in serious trouble with the law. Digges sees his opportunity and fully takes it. But then he goes too far...far more than he ever bargained for.
The 1930s had many films showing kids taking steps to right wrongs and change things. Darro appeared in such as WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD. Cecil B. De Mille did THIS DAY AND AGE, where the kids teach a lesson to a gangster played by Charles Bickford that scares the hell out of him. So it went in the 1930s. THE MAYOR OF HELL reaches a similar intensity of vengeance and juvenile justice seeking. But that's the one problem of the film. Digges' character is a knave and hypocrite, so we never really cheer for him, yet if he wasn't a thief we might go along with his view (even if it is counter-productive). The scenes at the start of Darro and his gang preying on people actually make the harshness Digges would follow seem fairly understandable (even if his thieving ways are not). Also he has one moment when he's justifiably angry at Cagney - at that point in hiding from his own clash with the law - giving orders over a phone from long distance to a befuddled Digges. When Digges learns what's actually happened he is justifiably furious at Cagney lecturing him about proper behavior. It is the closest thing to making Mr. Thompson sympathetic in this fine movie. -
Years ago, I didn't love and respect the films of Jimmy Cagney nearly as much as I do now. I noticed that many of Cagney's films done with Warner Brothers in the 1930s lacked realism and his acting style was far from subtle. However, the more I watched these films, the more I found I was hooked despite these aspects. In fact, I now kind of like and expect them! Fans of old time Hollywood films probably understand what I am saying--teens and other young whippersnappers don't! Well, when it comes to entertainment, THE MAYOR OF HELL never lets up from start to finish. While the idea of a shady character like Cagney played taking over running a reform school is ridiculous, and while all the changes he made also seemed far-fetched, it all somehow worked out and delivered solid entertainment.
The gang of tough thugs were pre-Dead End Kids and instead of the likes of Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall and Billy Hallop, similar roles are played here by Frankie Darrow and Farina. Yes, I did say "Farina". This Black actor was already famous for his roles in the Our Gang comedies and was, believe it or not, one of the highest paid child actors in Hollywood. All he needed to give up in return was be named an insipid name and act like a nice stereotypical "Negro". Here, he actually was pretty good and the usual Black stereotypes are a bit more subdued than usual. However, some will cringe at the very funny but horribly offensive court scene involving Farina and his dad, Fred 'Snowflake' Toones. With awful names like "Farina" and "Snowflake", don't say I didn't warn you.
Apart from this small complaint and a plot that is tough to believe, the film is exceptional and fun. The kids do a great job, as does Cagney and Dudley Digges in a truly despicable but exciting role as the evil warden. Also, as an added plus, you get to see perennial Warner stock actor Allen Jenkins in his first role for the studio. -
shoolaroon22 January 2011I just saw this movie on Turner (thank God for Turner or there'd be nothing to watch!) and really, surprisingly, enjoyed it. I wasn't expecting much, but it's hard to miss with early Cagney and pre-code Warners Brothers.
This movie is about a gang of slum kids who are sent to a cruelly run reformatory. There are several ethnic stereotypes - the Jewish father more interested in his business than his kid, the Black father who can barely speak coherently, etc., but I think the movie overcomes the stereotypes with its depictions of the kids' lives in the prison school. I especially liked how the black kid, Farina from the Our Gang comedies, is allowed to be a real person who comforts one of the white kids on their first scary night there, and then is allowed to become a lawyer in the all juvenile run courtroom that Cagney allows them to create. There are many touching scenes here about how the boys relate to each other and develop solidarity and understanding, while facing their common enemy in the evil warden.
The movie puts a lot of faith in the socially progressive ideas that Cagney's gangsterish character, and the school's nurse profess. Basically they think that if the kids can recreate an actual society for themselves in the school, complete with all the necessary functions of a political system, police force, court system, store, etc, that they would learn through practical experience how society should function, and be able to learn and apply these lessons directly. I think this idea is actually correct, and it would probably be a good idea in some of our own prisons! Really interesting, enjoyable movie with some excellent performances, notably Frankie Darro as the head delinquent - what a great actor he was, and it's obvious that Cagney saw himself in the kid. Dudley Digges is great as the evil warden, and Cagney...is Cagney, always charming and forceful. Wish they would show this one more often.
Pre-Code Warners Brothers....does it get any better!!! -
AlsExGal15 April 2023Considerable time is spent in the first part to show just how much on the crooked path the kids in this film are. They steal, run a protection racket, and beat people up in search of extra loot. When caught you get a look at their home lives through their parents when they go to court - largely doormat mothers and either brutal or permanently inebriated fathers. The naive judge thinks that sending them to reform school will therefore be helpful. It is not.
The place is run by a crooked administrator, Thompson (Dudley Digges) who is lining his pockets with the money allocated for food for the kids. As a result the kids get inadequate and substandard nourishment considering the labor they put in each day.
And then HE shows up - Patsy (James Cagney). He's a gangster who manages to keep himself semi legit by delivering blocks of voters to political campaigns. So he gets a political appointment as overseer of the reform school as a reward for his performance in the last election. Thus Patsy doesn't really plan to do any real digging or reforming here except for two things - He rather identifies with the boys at the school, and in particular angry ringleader Jimmy (Frankie Darro), and he is attracted to the reform school's nurse (Madge Evans) who has specific ideas about changing the school that involve self government.
I watched this wondering if this was some kind of test case to see how Cagney would do in a production code role - The suits at Warner HAD to see the stiffening of standards coming down the pike - and Cagney had usually played gangsters and con artists, although they were guys the audience could relate to and sympathize with. This would have to change with the changing standards. However there is a scene towards the end that would not have been allowed under the code, and in fact, that scene is gone in the 1938 remake "Crime School" with Bogart in a role similar to Cagney's in this film. -
moonspinner5518 February 2008James Cagney plays Richard Gargan (nicknamed "Patsy"!), a former gangster now overseeing the surly lads as the new superintendent of a state-run reform school. Tepid genre entry wherein Cagney's the whole show; he dominates the picture, but only because there's not much else of interest going on. Jimmy gives just what's expected from his hard-boiled persona, which can be satisfying if you're in for a quick fix. The direction (by Archie Mayo, though Michael Curtiz was said to have helped) is straightforward without being particularly gripping, although the narrative slips in the second-half, grinding the film down to a messy conclusion (with even Cagney's Patsy getting lost in the shuffle). Remade in 1938 as "Crime School" and again in 1939 as "Hell's Kitchen". ** from ****
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Sargebri14 July 2004Five years before the film Dead End hit theaters, this film was produced. This was definitely a film that tried to show what reformatories were really like. In most cases, the kids who were sent there didn't become reformed, they only came out harder and moved on to bigger crimes. James Cagney is great in this early role as Patsy, the racketeer who tries to keep the kids from making some of the same mistakes that he did by making conditions better for the boys in the camp. Dudley Digges played the perfect villain in Thompson, the warden of the school. He pretty much showed how when the odds were against Thompson and his cronies that he was nothing more than a coward. Also Allen Jenkins, who ironically would appear a few years later in the aforementioned Dead End, provided a lot of the humor as Patsy's stooge "Uncle Mike". Too bad this little gem is rarely shown on television anymore or that it is currently not out on DVD.
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whpratt12 May 2003James Cagney (The Yankee Doodle Dandy Boy) was just starting his career and was able to perform as a gangster and also a social worker for a Boys Reform School which is being run by corrupt politicans. The reform school inmates are underpriviledge minors from the streets of New York, like the "East Side Kids" who were poor and uncared for during the great Depression. In the final scenes, there is a trial held by the reform school boys with flaming torches and a barn which is set on fire and a big leap by the corrupt warden. I noticed that they did let the horses out of the barn first. This film is not shown very often and I really can understand WHY!
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AaronCapenBanner3 November 2013Archie Mayo and Michael Curtiz co-directed this effective social drama that stars Jimmy Cagney as reformed juvenile delinquent gangster Patsy Gargan, who, as a result of a political favor, is appointed Deputy Commissioner of the state reformatory for trouble youth, where he discovers that it is run by callous and corrupt Thompson(played by Dudley Diggs). Patsy is determined to initiate reforms to help the kids there(he sympathizes because they remind him of himself) but Thompson fights back, getting Patsy removed from his position, but the inmates refuse to lose the reforms put through, and rebel, forcing Patsy to return to prevent a tragedy... Well-directed and acted film is quite compelling as well, overcoming the melodramatic nature of the plot.
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wes-connors23 January 2011Juvenile delinquent Frankie Darro (as James "Jimmy"' Smith) and his street gang are sent to reform school. There, they are abused by sadistic warden Dudley Digges (as Thompson). Deputy commissioner James Cagney (as Richard "Patsy" Gargan) arrives and takes an interest in the boys, since he grew up in the slums and overcame his life as a hoodlum. Mr. Cagney falls in love with nurturing nurse Madge Evans (as Dorothy Griffith). Cagney clashes with Mr. Digges by allowing self-responsibility at the reformatory, and young Mr. Darro is elected "The Mayor of Hell". Undaunted, Digges gets cocky George Offerman Jr. (as Charles "Charlie" Burns) to tempt Darro with sex and freedom, but Cagney smells a rat...
Eventually, his former criminal ways get in Cagney's way. A blazing confrontations heats up the deadly climax...
This nonsensical, but nonetheless entertaining story became a "Dead End Kids" staple; it was remade as "Crime School" (1938) et al. Cagney's best film of this type is, arguably, "Angels with Dirty Faces" (1938), which seems to receive part of its "Dirty Faces" title herein. The cast above is complimented by Cagney pal and future "Bowery Boys" guest star Allen Jenkins (as "Uncle" Mike). Darro also had several run-ins with various incarnations of the Dead End and East Side Bowery groups. The young toughs are fun, but beware of painful ethnic stereotypes. Strangely, coughing young Raymond Borzage (as Johnny "Skinny" Stone) did not become a star, despite a strong performance here, and his family name.
****** The Mayor of Hell (6/23/33) Archie Mayo ~ James Cagney, Frankie Darro, Dudley Digges, George Offerman Jr. -
Racketeer James Cagney takes over a reform school that's being run like a prison. With help from pretty nurse Madge Evans, he turns the place around and helps the boys get back on the right track. But the scummy guy that used to run the school is determined to destroy all the good work they've done, no matter what harm it does to the kids.
Intense, gritty drama that tackles the issue of juvenile crime and how to deal with it. Strong writing with some good characters. Cagney's excellent in one of his best and probably most underrated films. The kid actors are all terrific and believable. Dudley Digges is a particularly evil villain. Backed up by a typically solid WB stable of supporting actors. Jaw-dropping climax is one of the best finishes to any movie of this decade. Remade as Crime School, with Humphrey Bogart and the Dead End Kids. That one's not bad but it's not nearly as powerful as this one. -
Jimmy Cagney could carry just about any average film and make it his own vehicle into a level higher than most other actors could achieve. By pure force of will, Cagney could lift the rest of the cast with him to perform at levels they might not reach with other actors opposite them in a film. The Mayor of Hell is dated and overblown, but Jimmy Cagney is still Jimmy Cagney.
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This is a typically fast-moving entertaining movie of the early 1930s. When you have James Cagney in the lead, these "pre-Code" films are even better: just fun stuff to watch. Usually, when films are "dated," it's a negative but not so with films from 1930-1934. Yeah, with the slang and the attitudes, dress, hairstyles, etc., they are dated but that's a big part of the fun. These films have an edge to them that almost always are fun to view.
They also have a corniness which is appealing and fascinating. You see people - like the juvenile delinquents pictured in this film and their goofy parents - that you just don't see in any period but this one (early '30s). Early on this movie, the kids go before the judge and you sit and just laugh at these crazy characters that appear in court on behalf of their kids, one after the other. Yes, we get the stereotypical emotional Italian father; the Jewish dad; the Anglo-Saxon mom and a few other moms who all, in dramatic form, plead theirs is "a good boy." Even though things are predictable in some cases, you don't mind because everyone in here is so much fun to watch.
This also teaches you that kids were punks 75 years ago, too, stealing, robbing, mugging, lying - hey, that's the human condition. This movie debunks the theory that "people were nicer back in the old days." No, people have always been rotten or good. The degree was aided by their environment, parents, financial situation and other things. Here, we get a bunch of "Dead End" kids who wind up in Reform School.
The ridiculous and stupidly-liberal storyline has kids acting immediately like angels once they run the show at the reform school; not punished in the slightest for causing a man to fall to his death and setting the institution on fire (the explanation: he was a meanie and deserved it. So much for real justice and reform.); and "Patsy" shooting a guy bit never having to even be questioned by police because he's the good guy! Notice the subtle anti-religious dig in which the only guy seen praying is the evil "warden." That's no coincidence, no accident. That sort of negative-association things has been going on ever since the Hays Code was canned in the late '60s and was seen, as you see hear, in the Pre-Code early '30s.
Dudley Digges, by the way, is outstanding in his "bad guy" role of "Mr. Thomson." I especially his voice was very effective and could picture him playing one of those similarly-evil roles as an institution boss in a Charles Dickens film adaptation. Cagney played his normal role, the take-no-guff tough guy who gets the pretty girl, "Dorothy Griffith," played by Madge Blake. Frankie Darro also was effective as the leader of the boys, "Jimmy Smith." Just the looks on Darro's face alone made his character believable. Some thing he was the real star of the film, but I'll still go with Cagney. The rest of the reform school kids weren't too believable and they were really ethnic stereotypes, but they were all fun to watch.
I thought the most interesting part of the film was the first 20 minutes when we saw how bad these kids were and witnessed the good and bad and stereotypical parents in the court after the kids were arrested. Those scenes are pure 1930s Dead End Kids stuff. They always showed the kids to be bad news at the beginning of the film, but by the time the story was over they all looked acting more like Wally and Beaver Cleaver - hardly rough "delinquents." It's very far-fetched but it works, entertainment-wise.
Overall, a hokey but very entertaining movie, typical of Cagney films and those of the early '30s. Almost all of them rate at least eight stars for their entertainment value. -
davidwalsh661 October 2021All I need is someone to explain to me how and why Cagney began at the reformatory? Why is a guy running a criminal racket being given(?) such a job?
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Igenlode Wordsmith23 October 2010This film worked for me where the estimable "Boys' Town" failed a few years back; true, it's a brisk-paced, openly manipulative crowd pleaser, but it's lively and gripping, with generous dollops of social comment, romantic comedy, melodrama, prison story, ensemble character work and even gangster action all thrown into the mix. Warner Brothers did have a social conscience, as Hollywood studios went (it didn't extend to their own employees, for example), but they certainly also knew how to play up the exploitation angle for entertainment. Perhaps the film's best moments are at its most cynical - Allen Jenkins shines as the lugubrious 'Uncle' Mike, the hard-bitten sidekick who has to put up with his boss's mercurial gyrations, and it's always entertaining to watch James Cagney go a little too far and get his face slapped by a dame who gives as good as she gets.
The child actors are all very good, and nicely differentiated in the vast mix of boys, and there is attention to background detail throughout - not everything is spelt out explicitly in the dialogue, for all the film's efficient hustle. There is a bit of almost everything from heartbreak (the scene with the clinging mother in the courtroom is unexpectedly effective) to horror, with a healthy spice of humour on the side; the studio roster of character actors fills out the single-scene minor roles with talent, and all in all it's a fine film in ninety minutes. -
view_and_review7 December 2023"Mayor of Hell" is one of those movies that I agree with fundamentally and principally but disagree with practically. It was a social experiment on screen, and I generally love social experiments.
In "Mayor of Hell" a group of juvenile delinquents got rounded up and sent to a reform school. It was a dreary oppressive place run by Thompson (Dudley Digges), a mean dictator. What the movie was conveying was that this was a miserable place and not a place at all for young adolescents who hadn't even committed violent crimes. The one sane voice in the institution was the nurse, Dorothy (Madge Evans). She was young, pretty, and empathetic, which meant she was in the movie to fall in love.
Don't be mad at me for stating a fact.
The "school" was eventually taken over by Patsy (James Cagney), a ruffian who had no business in such a position. He was given the position as a political favor. He was a gangster who rounded up votes, and as a favor so that he'd have some income, he got the position of supervisor of reform school. Right away he began making wholesale changes. He got rid of the guards and the razor wire fence, sent Thompson on a vacation, improved the food, gave the kids ownership of the place, and tried to get a piece of Dorothy. Dorothy was a decent girl so naturally she rebuffed Patsy's advances, but you knew she'd catch feelings eventually.
Patsy told the boys that they'd run the school much like a city. They had to elect a mayor, chief of police, judge, treasurer, and whatever other positions needed to run a small government. Not even a full month after Patsy took over, the school was running like a well oiled machine. The kids were neat, clean, orderly, respectful, and well-behaved. And this is where I disagreed with the movie.
While I'm no fan of the prison industrial complex and the prison system here in America, I'm not foolish enough to believe that taking away guards, the walls, and punishment, even at the juvenile level, is enough to bring about reform. The testosterone alone is enough for there to be problems. "Mayor of Hell" made it seem as though once the kids could govern themselves they'd have a lot fewer problems. You know what I think of when I think of boys governing themselves?
Lord of the Flies.
The kids are still going to have jealousy, greed, envy, anger, misunderstandings, and other emotions that they don't even have the maturity to keep in check. Adults can barely keep their own behavior in check, so what about tweens and teens? I thought the portrayal of the reform school was very Pollyanna. Even having Patsy, a known gangster, run the reform school as a reward for his misdeeds was irresponsible. Did the school need changes? Absolutely. Did it need to be stripped of just about every adult authority figure in there? No way.
While Patsy was running the reform school he got into a jam. Another gangster was moving in on his territory so he went to go handle it. He and the other mobster got into a tussle and Patsy shot him.
By this time Patsy and Dorothy were an item and she didn't know about this part of Patsy. When he tried to tell her she responded with the all-to-familiar "I don't care what you've done or who you are. I love you," which is a shameful crock that Hollywood loves pushing. Let's be real. You mean to tell me that if the person you love wanted to open up about some things from his/her past (or present) you would cut him/her off and pretend it doesn't matter?
Shooooot! Not me. "Keep talking, I'm listening. I don't want any surprises five years down the line. I want to know now if it's worth being in a relationship with you."
James Cagney always plays the tough guy role and that's one of the reasons I like him. He was atypical for his time period. When most men were playing polished, charming gentlemen, Cagney was in there with his unrefined manner of speaking and behaving. It was great. However, this is one tough guy role I didn't like.
When Patsy went to check his rival or, as the man would be called nowadays, his opp (short for opposition for the uninformed), Patsy initiated their fight. Patsy punched the man and from there it was a street fight. When the rival got the better of Patsy he pulled out his gun and shot him which was a punk move. To initiate a physical confrontation then shoot a guy because he's licking you is weak. After the shooting Patsy even tried to claim it was self-defense. I was thinking, "Who are you, George Zimmerman?"
I had real problems with this movie as you can probably gather if you've read until this point. I didn't like the reforming of the reform school, the trite romance, or Cagney's tough guy act. I think the premise of the movie is remarkable and should've been explored, it just needed a more sensible writer.
$2.99 on YouTube. -
Michael_Elliott25 February 2008Mayor of Hell, The (1933)
*** (out of 4)
James Cagney plays a crime boss who uses his power to get a "real" job working in a boys reformatory school. At first he doesn't take the job too serious but then he sees how the boys are mistreated so he takes over running the school and tries to turn it into something good. This film was remade twice in the next six years with Crime School and Hell's Kitchen and while both of those films were very entertaining there's no question this is the best of the three versions. One thing that helps is the fact that this one was made before the code came into play so it has a lot more of a raw feel to it whereas the remakes were toned down in content. Another added bonus is seeing Cagney who once again delivers a strong performance. He doesn't show up until the twenty-five minute mark and it speaks well of the young actors who hold the film up before the star gets on screen. The supporting players all do fine work with Madge Evans as the love interest, Allen Jenkins as Cagney's sidekick and Dudley Digges as the bad guy running the school. I think one fatal flaw is the ending and the aftermath. The ending turns into a Frankenstein type setting, which might have worked but the aftermath is so rushed and faked that it really ends the film on a sour note. Outside of that this is a pretty good drama with its heart in the right place and the toughness you'd expect from a Warner/Cagney film.