James Cagney plays 'Brick' Davis. Brick was born and raised on the mean streets of New York. Determined to turn his back on his criminal past, he avoids a life of crime and instead becomes a lawyer. Its a time of corruption and rampant crime, when honest lawyers don't make much money and so his business venture fails. This movie is one of those, "the past comes back to haunt him" type films, but its one of the better ones.When his federal agent buddy Eddie Buchanan (Regis Toomey) begs him to make a change in his career and become a federal agent and join him in Washington, he is non-committal, that is until Buchanan is gunned down by members of a crime syndicate Brick knew from his younger days. Using his back street knowledge of the syndicate, Brick has the edge over all the other federal agents and what follows is a one man clean up of the leading criminal scum of New York.James Cagney's performance is truly enigmatic. His is a study in constant focus. He once said that "There's not much to say about acting but this. Never settle back on your heels. Never relax. If you relax, the audience relaxes. And always mean everything you say."No wonder his performance in this film is intensely perfect.

Directed by William Keighley with a screenplay by Seton I. Miller from a story by future Academy Award winning producer Darryl F. Zanuck (who earned his first Academy recognition with a Best Writing, Original Story Oscar nomination), this above average crime drama features James Cagney as a client-less lawyer turned 'G' (for government) man, an employee of the Department of Justice's bureau of investigation (to become the F.B.I.), for the purposes of helping to capture those responsible for killing his friend.Regis Toomey appears briefly as agent Eddie Buchanan, 'Brick' Davis's (Cagney) college friend who had tried to convince Davis to join the bureau before he was gunned down by (as it turns out) Brad Collins (Barton MacLane). Brick is acquainted with the culprit because he'd grown up in a rough New York neighborhood with Collins, and some other hooligans, before crime boss 'Mac' McKay (William Harrigan) had taken Brick under his wing and paid for his college education to give him opportunities he'd never had, which allows Brick to go straight.Unwilling to become a mouthpiece for other gangsters, when Buchanan is murdered, Brick signs up with the Dept. of Justice and is assigned to work for Jeff McCord (Robert Armstrong), a tough taskmaster who refuses to admit that Brick has what it takes to succeed in the bureau, and is suspicious of the lawyer's earlier associations. Margaret Lindsay plays Jeff's sister Kay, who catches Brick's eye and interest. Lloyd Nolan plays agent Hugh Farrell, who helps Brick learn jujitsu and other self defense tactics. Mary Treen appears uncredited as a secretary.Because Brick grew up with Collins and the others, and knows (for instance) that Danny Leggett (Edward Pawley) has a penchant for fresh daily gardenias, he's soon involved in trying to capture Buchanan's killers. After Farrell is killed (Ward Bond appears uncredited as one of the culprits), Brick wins over McCord, and more slowly his sister, by helping to catch Leggett.Collins's wife Jean Morgan (Ann Dvorak), who Brick also used to know (they had a 'thing' for one another), inadvertently spills the beans that her husband and the rest of the wanted criminals are holed up in McKay's mid-Western lodge. This leads to a shootout during which the whole gang, save Collins, is shot dead or captured; McKay, who'd been their prisoner, is killed and Brick is injured.It takes a little longer to get Collins, who catches up with Jean while he hides out at Venke's (Harold Huber) garage, inexplicably long. But you know Cagney's character is going to get his man, finally earn McCord's respect, and win the girl in the end.The film was re-released in 1949 with a prologue and introduction (by an actor pretending to be an F.B.I. agent) that talks about the 25th anniversary of the bureau and the difficulties they had fighting crime during the gangster era because initially their agents couldn't carry guns, didn't have adequate firepower (e.g. machine guns) relative to the hoods, and couldn't even cross state lines to chase their quarry, having to work with local authorities in every state to apprehend them.

That's what tough, gritty Warner Brothers was in the 1930's and'40's. Nobody made better gangster films and this is one of their best. It is a fast-paced, crisply-paced entry in the genre with lots of gun-play and action. Cagney plays a good guy in this one and he is at the top of his game. He is ably supported by a good supporting cast that includes good work from Robert Armstrong, Barton MacLane and Lloyd Nolan in an early role. Ward Bond can also be briefly seen as a trigger-man. One can see how this film influenced such later crime films like "The Cotton Club" and "The Departed." For anyone who likes gangster films, this is a must-see.

William Keighley directed this exciting film about the early days of the FBI(Federal Bureau of Investigation) where lawyer Brick Davis(played by Jimmy Cagney) is recruited to join by an old friend. After that friend is murdered, Brick becomes determined to take down the mob, even though he has old ties to it from his past. These particular gangsters are on a multi-state crime spree, so it becomes a perfect opportunity for the FBI to prove what it can do. For its re-release, it was presented as a training film for new agents during its 25th anniversary in a clever prologue. Lots of action and witty banter between Cagney and costars Robert Armstrong & Barton Maclane.