Gunmen and Gangsters
Profiles of Nine Actors Who Portrayed Memorable Screen Tough Guys
Average rating:
0 | rating | ![]() |
0 | rating | ![]() |
0 | rating | ![]() |
0 | rating | ![]() |
Your rating: -
Book Presentation:
Gangsters such as Al Capone and Lucky Luciano were considered by many people to be the most exciting personalities of the 1920s and 1930s. The public was hungry for press coverage about these mysterious and dangerous men. Most reports about them were sketchy, as the reporters did not want to get on the bad side of the racket bosses. Hollywood’s response to the public’s fascination was to portray the lives of gangsters on the movie screen, using actors such as Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson. Perhaps surprisingly, these men received not-so-favorable reviews from the Academy Award voters, and as their popularity grew with the public, censorship dictated other actors be brought in to play the roles.
That’s what this book is about—the personal and professional lives of William Bendix, Charles Bickford, Ward Bond, Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, Paul Douglas, William Gargan, Barton MacLane, and Lloyd Nolan, second-string actors who replaced the big names and did a memorable job. A filmography is supplied for each actor.
About the Author:
The late Michael Schlossheimer lived in Bayside, New York.
Press Reviews:
"probably the only source for the actors discussed…accessible to all readers"—Choice; "thorough examinations…writing is intelligent…this material is fresh and different and should please many movie fans"—Classic Images.
See the publisher website: McFarland & Co
> On a related topic:
Organized Crime on Page and Screen (2024)
Portrayals in Hit Novels, Films, and Television Shows
Subject: Genre > Gangster films
Global Trafficking Networks on Film and Television (2023)
Hollywood's Cartel Wars
Subject: Genre > Gangster films
Narcomedia (2023)
Latinidad, Popular Culture, and America's War on Drugs
by Jason Ruiz
Subject: Genre > Gangster films
Warners Wiseguys (2020)
All 112 Films That Robinson, Cagney and Bogart Made for the Studio
Subject: Genre > Gangster films
The Gangster Film (2014)
Fatal Success in American Cinema
by Ron Wilson
Subject: Genre > Gangster films
The Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies (2011)
Featuring the 100 Greatest Gangster Films of All Time
by George Anastasia and Glen Macnow
Subject: Genre > Gangster films
Gangster Films (2008)
A Comprehensive, Illustrated Reference to People, Films and Terms
Subject: Genre > Gangster films