Picture Snatcher

I've only seen two of his movies, but I think James Cagney is quickly becoming my favorite gangster movie personality. It probably has as much to do with Dick Tracy villain-esque face as it does with his constant snarkiness, arrogance and short temper. In "Picture Snatcher" (1933) Cagney plays a con named Danny Kean who attempts to go straight becoming a photographer for the trashiest gossip rag newspaper in town. There's a fine line between gun running life he lead previously and his new sleaze peddling, but he thoroughly enjoys being "legit." The film's plot isn't so much to speak of; it's mostly a progression of events for Cagney to smart-mouth other more respectable journalists, various women, and the police officer who pinched him in the first place. Cagney does much to carry the film, but the lpacing of the story and its lurid pulp flourishes -- the climax centers on Cagney sneaking a hidden camera into the execution of a woman convicted of murder -- as well as the light noir touches make it a thoroughly solid project.