Load of rubbish!!

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Only four years after his iconic portrayal of Tom Powers in "The Public Enemy," James Cagney switched alliances and played Brick Davis, a G Man or Federal Agent. Educated through the generosity of a racketeer, who eventually goes straight, Cagney is an unsuccessful lawyer. However, an old friend, who is a Federal agent, suggests that Cagney apply for a job with the FBI. When the friend is gunned down in the line of duty, Cagney decides to use his inside knowledge of the mob and pursue a career as a G-Man.Although not as colorful as his gangster performances such as Rocky Sullivan or Cody Jarrett, Cagney nevertheless is always fun to watch, and he is as tough on the side of the law as he is on the wrong side. However, the fine cast of Warner Brothers stock character actors also shines, especially Barton MacLane, who makes Cagney's chief nemesis, Collins, particularly despicable. Lloyd Nolan, in his first film role, and Robert Armstrong as Cagney's fellow G-Men pale in comparison to the more interesting gang of thugs. Like Nolan and Armstrong, Margaret Lindsay is one of the good guys and provides somewhat bland love interest for Cagney. Meanwhile, Ann Dvorak as Lindsay's rival from the past hangs out with the gangsters and has some good moments, particularly a clumsy musical number near the film's opening.Although William Keighley's direction is not particularly imaginative, heated gun battles, car chases, fistfights, and flashes of screaming newspaper headlines will keep viewers engrossed. While not among the greatest, "G Men" is a fine example of 1930's gangster films that is executed in a solid and entertaining, if unexceptional, style.

This is definitely Jimmy Cagney's film all the way. He is superb in it and his acting actually makes the rest of the cast better in support. Cagney was such a great actor he would always help elevate others performances in his films and he does so very much in this one. This film is well done for it's time though it looks a little flawed with age now.The story is actually based upon a real FBI case in the early 30's. It stretches the truth after a while in order to fit the task. The gun fight sequence towards the end is amazingly violent yet most of the what seems to be thousands of shots fired seem to miss everything.This is one of many films that established Warner Brothers as :Gangster Films Inc" during the 30's & 40's. It is a strong entry which was well produced for a 1935 (early) film. It treats it's subject pretty well. If you like Cagney, this is a film you must see to understand how far he had already developed his acting skills in 1935.

Of course Cagney's best parts in the 30's and 40's were his trademark gangster roles - think "Public Enemy", "Angels With Dirty Faces" and "White Heat" but here he gets to cross the road and do-good as a bored would-be lawyer turned hard-bitten FBI man in this brisk actioner on the trail of the gang who murder his best friend, who just happens to be an FBI man trying to recruit Cagney into the ranks! Obviously derived from a pulp fiction source (besides the above, the plot has still more twists and turns than a roller-coaster, it takes someone like Cagney to drive it along as you suspend disbelief at the fantastical coincidences that happen along the way. I quite liked the direction of the piece, remembering this is quite an early "talkie", for example there's a nice car chase montage, some nice fast - panning camera shots and a concentration on forensic techniques someway ahead of its time, all told in fact, the director keeps the pace up throughout, with some mild interjections of humour between the numerous shoot-ups which seem to occur every few minutes. There is some poor editing-in though, of some stunts early in the piece as Cagney goes through his physical training. The rest of the cast give mixed performances, the dancer that Cagney leaves behind (but who ends up dead as the unwilling moll of the villain who kills Cagney's mate - see what I mean about the fantastical plot-line) acts far better and seems a better catch than the straight-laced almost glum girl he actually does get! Also Cagney's old mobster-boss gets bumped off accidentally as the G-Men storm the gangsters' lair and before he expires, delivers an excruciatingly bad death-scene. To go on in this way would be slightly cruel as the film is clearly a star vehicle for Cagney and doesn't he know it. The version I watched incidentally has a late 1940's Warner Brothers introduction by actors playing real FBI men, effectively laying claim to the movie as a recruitment driver although interestingly the FBI isn't, to the best of my recollection, formally named in the whole film.

"G" Men (1935) *** (out of 4) Raised by a gangster as a child, James Cagney grows up to be a lawyer but after a friend's murdered by the mob he decides to join the FBI. This film is a tad bit overrated in my opinion because we've seen this type of thing from Warner quite a few times but there are a few nice elements that make it worth watching at least once. Cagney turns in another wonderful performance but to be fair, he rarely turns in anything but. The supporting cast are pretty good but there's no doubt this is Cagney's picture all the way. There are several wonderful shoot outs, which are a lot of fun and the ending is also very nice.