Edited by George S. Larke-Walsh

Gangster films have consistently been one of America’s most popular genres. In 1954, Robert Warshow calls their protagonists the logical development of the myth of the Westerner and suggests they “appeal to that side of us which refuses to believe in the normal possibilities of happiness and achievement” (454). Earlier, in 1946, Warshow had stated a gangster’s “tragic flaw” as their refusal to accept limitations, thus arguing the inevitability of their downfall in every film. As such, gangsters are symbols of freedom and selfexpression, but with a concurrent inability to control their impulses. Warshow’s descriptions provide easily understood and pragmatic reasons for the gangster’s appeal, and consequently these two analyses have dominated responses and writings about the gangster film ever since their mid century publication.

Gangster films are unique in comparison to other crime films, because they are not narratives about petty criminals, mentally disturbed serial killers, or individuals on a crime spree. They are narratives about organization, about loyalties and betrayals, and about success or failure; achievement is often measured simply through an individual’s ability to survive their environment. Cinematic gangsters don’t have lives outside of their profession; they don’t have the ability to walk away from their criminal identities. In these ways, the gangster genre is much more than just a type of crime film Warshow calls their protagonists the logical development of the myth of the Westerner and suggests they “appeal to that side of us which refuses to believe in the normal possibilities of happiness and achievement”

Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2018. 567p.

By Jack Shadoian

Dreams and Dead Ends provides a compelling history of the twentieth-century American gangster film. Beginning with Little Caesar (1930) and ending with Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead (1995), Jack Shadoian adroitly analyzes twenty notable examples of the crime film genre. Moving chronologically through nearly seven decades, this volume offers illuminating readings of a select group of the classic films--including The Public Enemy, D.O.A., Bonnie and Clyde, and The Godfather--that best define and represent each period in the development of the American crime film. Richly illustrated with more than seventy film stills, Dreams and Dead Ends details the evolution of the genre through insightful and precise considerations of cinematography, characterization, and narrative style.

Oxford, UK; New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. 397p.

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By Ron Wilson

This volume examines the gangster film in its historical context with an emphasis on the ways the image of the gangster has adapted and changed as a result of socio-cultural circumstances. From its origins in Progressive-era reforms to its use as an indictment of corporate greed, the gangster film has often provided a template for critiquing American ideas and values concerning individualism, success, and business acumen. The gangster genre has also been useful in critically examining race and ethnicity in American culture in terms of "otherness." Films studied include Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912), The Racket (1928), The Captive City (1952), The Godfather, Part Two (1974), Goodfellas (1990), and Killing Them Softly (2012).

New York: Wallflower Press, 2015. 144p.