I've always thought that Rocky "toined yella" for the sake of Father Jerry and the Kids. So here, I guess I'm in agreement with Olivant and SC. But, though I've seen the film a few times, it's been at least fifteen years since my last viewing. I'm definitely up for seeing this one again, so I'll be keeping an eye on the TCM listings.

Re: J. Carrol Naish. Don Cardi certainly knows his Universal horror films. Naish's portrayal of the tragic Daniel in House of Frankenstein (1944) was unusually sympathetic for this series. Very memorable. Naish was usually cast in a variety of ethnic roles, most of which would now be considered politically incorrect. A few off the top of my head: He was Italian in The Beast With Five Fingers (1946) and Life With Luigi (TV). He was Chinese in The Hatchet Man (1932) and Japanese in the first Batman serial (1943). He was Sitting Bull in Annie Get Your Gun (1950) and Sitting Bull (1954). I believe he was really of Irish descent - but I don't think he ever played Irish onscreen!

Speaking of gangster and horror films, does anyone remember an interesting film starring Boris Karloff called Black Friday (1940)? This one dealt with a partial brain transplant: Karloff transplants part of the brain of a dying gangster into his dying friend, a college professor who was mortally wounded after being accidentally shot by the thug. The professor recovers, but becomes a Jekyll/Hyde character alternating between kindly Professor Kingsley and ruthless killer Red Cannon - complete with physical transformation (!). Now-forgotten character actor Stanley Ridges played the dual role. Interesting and fun - if you don't take it too seriously. Bela Lugosi also had a supporting role as a rival mob boss.

Signor V.

Was his character in Life With Luigi named Luigi Bosco?

I do remember Black Friday.

I don't want to turn this into a Horror movie topic, so I've taken the liberty to start a FAVORITE PRE 1970 HORROR MOVIES topic over in the General Discussion Thread.

I've gotta go with Angels with Dirty Faces. I saw it for the first time about 6 months ago on TCM On Demand. It's a timeless tale, and I don't think it's been told any better than in that film. I literally went back and watched it again as soon as the credits rolled. Cagney was mesmerizing.

As for the ending...I'm kinda torn. I wanna say he literally broke down at the end and was legitimately afraid of death, but my gut tells me he did it as a final favor to the father, for the kids. But I'm not 100% confident on either scenario.

According to the IMDb, the family's name was Basco.

Interesting thing I wasn't aware of: When Life With Luigi returned for its second (and final) season in 1953, the entire cast had changed. Luigi was now played by Vito Scotti - better known as Nazorine the baker in The Godfather.

Some episodes from this show are available through public-domain video vendors.

Anyway...

We now return you to your regularly-scheduled thread.

Signor V.

I haven't posted in a while, but here's some of my fav early gangster films:

Scarface (1932)
White Heat
Little Caesar
Roaring Twenties
Angels with Dirty Faces
San Quentin
The Public Enemy
Each Dawn I Die
Bullets or Ballots


I've read around that there were outcries against the Warner Bros. gangster movies of the 1930's, apparently that they "glorified" criminals. IMO, that was a ludicrous protest. The films did not "glorify" anyone, they simply gave you an insight into life in the underworld. The films depicted how gangsters lived, not to go out and shoot people with a Tommy gun. Any comments on this?