Warning. Minor Spoilers Ahead.<br /><br />This film is an excellent '30s gangster flick, and far superior to another gangster movie that would be considered a classic, like GoodFellas. This movie explores not only Cagney's criminal life, but his complex relationship with his real family, especially his straight-laced brother. His brothers seems rather funny today, as the actor playing him went WAY over the top to make him seem stuffy and angelic. He speaks in harsh tones and with an accent so different from his brother that it would seem comical today if an actor tried that role. The film has a tragic ending, as was shown on premium cable's "The Sopranos" (or so I was told. i've never seen that show). Cagney, compared to the guy who played his brother, is divine as an actor, and plays the gangster role credibly; he's a tough guy and a creep, but nowhere near the gonzo slimeballs that Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta played in Goodfellas. Cagney has a heart, for he respects his family and wants sincerely to help them, but he his devotion to a life of crime also makes him a consummate anti-hero. He is cruel to his moll, played deliciously by Jean Harlow (remember that scene with the grapefruit), and to his partners in crime. This is a great movie, and anyone who liked "The Godfather" will love this one.