Preview

genre

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1825 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
genre
Gangster film Genre

Reading number one-Developed around the sinister actions of criminals, gangsters, particularly bank robbers and underworld figures who operate outside of the law stealing and murdering their way through life.
Crime stories in this genre usually highlight the rise and fall of one of these leading individuals. And the personal power struggle between these gangster and officials of the law.
Gangster films are usually set in large crowded cities, to provide a view of the secrets of the criminals world
Film gangsters are usually very street smart, immoral, materialistic, and self destructive
Hays Censorship Codes of the 1930’s, the Hays Office was whom wrote these codes, forced studios particularly after 1934 to make moral pronouncements, pronounce criminals as psychopaths, de-glorify crime and show that crime doesn’t pay. It also demanded minimal details for brutal crimes.
Before this time there was no code on what could and couldn’t be shown during films
The code was largely adhered to during the 1930’s and 1960’s

Film site.org
Criminal/gangster films date back to the early days of film during the silent era
One of the first to mark the start of the gangster/crime genre was D. W. Griffith's The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) about organized crime. It wasn't the first gangster movie ever made, but it was the first significant gangster film that has survived.
Josef von Sternberg's gangland melodrama Underworld (1927) with George Bancroft and Clive Brook, often considered as the first modern gangster film, had many standard conventions of the crime film - and it was shot from the gangster's point of view. It won the Best Original Story Award for Ben Hecht - the first Oscar ever awarded for an original screenplay, and the first of Hecht's two Oscar wins (among six writing nominations during his career). [The first 'gangster' pulp had the same title, Underworld, a breeding ground for many crime thriller plots.]
It wasn't until the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The primary source, A Game Show Producer Remember the Red Scare has a very similar outlook on how films produced and the allowance of things in the films. Mark Goodson tells about the time in the Mid-1950s during the production of What’s My Line? poet Louis Untermeyer had been listed in Red Channels, which was a list of names of those affiliated with communist causes. Due to his involvement and the outcries of citizens Louis was dropped from the show. He was being naïve when he lent his name out for what he thought was a good cause and ultimately led him to getting dropped for the show. “CBS…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1907, Chicago enacted the first film censorship law. Two years later, the National board of Censorship was created due to the amount of complaints about indecent movies in New York City. This caused multiple theaters in the NYC Area to close down. By the 1920’s, most American protestant cities were being called for federal regulation. The year is now 2016 and censorship still plays an important role in the film industry and also our society.…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gangster Film Analysis

    • 196 Words
    • 1 Page

    Hollywood entered a new phase with the coming of sound movies in 1927 and it was also chronicled as the golden decade for the crime film, with the flourishing of two classical genres-gangster film and prison film. The gangster films echoed the financial predicaments of many ordinary Americans during the Great Depression, and in doing so it influences the succeeding genres. Gangster films connected criminality with economic hardship and portrayed gangsters as underdogs. They soothed the financially struggling Americans and at the same time attacked crime and the government’s inability to control it. Prison films also had its root in silent films which became popular in the 1930s, left the audience cheering for the “wrong side” (Rafter 20).…

    • 196 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Gangster Disciples, formed in 1974 as a 60-man operation, by 1995 had matured into a centralized criminal organization with nearly 30,000 members in Chicago alone, spreading its tentacles out to at least 35 other states and several thousand more members.…

    • 9823 Words
    • 40 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    A rating system for film has been around for quite a while. Since 1926, the film industry has been rated in some manner. Back in 1926, much more was banned sexually and in terms of violence. “For almost 40 years the US film industry was governed by the Motion Picture Production Code, which banned nudity, drug use, religious ridicule, disrespect for the law and other depictions in film that would have the effect of lowering society’s moral standards” ( Feiser, np). Many movies back them were quite subtle compared to today’s day and age. Many filmmakers didn’t get adventuress and stayed well within the parameters of the rules because our society was more modest and pure. There was a much harsher strain on sexuality. “Romantic scenes were heavily scrutinized to uphold ‘the sanctity of the institution of marriage’ and ‘excessive and lustful kissing,…

    • 3190 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Prohibition Dbq

    • 1210 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Since bootlegging had such high profits more and more gangsters became involved. As a result of the money involved in the bootlegging industry, there was much rivalry between gangs. Incidentally, it was the large cities that were the main location for organized gangs. New York was thought to be one of the most gangster riddled cities in the United States but it was in fact Chicago that was the capital of racketeers including; Johnny Torrio; Bugs Moran; the Gennas and the OBanions. The most infamous gangster of all time Al Scarface Capone , was operating out of Chicago and was said to have been making an income of $100 million a year. Al Capone had began crime at the early age of 14 when he left school and had part time jobs as well as acting in the Brooklyn Rippers and the Forty Thieves Juniors who then moved to Chicago as he was in danger from rival gangs. It was here in Chicago where he joined the Chicago Outfit and becoming the most well known gangster of the 20th…

    • 1210 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This is a quote from the famous essay "The Gangster as Tragic Hero", a "classic example of film criticism and cultural analysis". The essay was published for the first time in 1962 in Robert Warshow's book "The Immediate Experience". In it the author examines some of the generally accepted conventions that most gangster movies follow and draws conclusions from them about the reasons and the way this genre appeals to the audience.…

    • 1567 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Godfather and Goodfellas are both considered “mafia movies.” Both of these films portray some form of organized crime committed by Italians. They mutually romanticize the mob lifestyle and depict it with pure clarity. Although both of these movies portray the lives of the same kind of people, they are more than just a simple characterization. Violence plays a major role in each of these films. The Godfather and Goodfellas are obviously very similar. However, they also have several aspects that differ from one another.…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gangsterism In The 1920's

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “The Roaring Twenties,”; what a perfect aphorism. It was certainly roaring with music and dance, but it also was roaring with gangsters. In the aspect of gangsterism, the thirties were also roaring. Americans in this time period tolerated criminals, especially those involved in bootlegging. Bootlegging is the smuggling of illegal substances. Bootlegging could have possibly been tolerated because of the recent outlaw of alcohol during this time period, known as the Prohibition. Gangsters were involved in bootlegging, prostitution, gambling, organized crime, and racketeering. Al “Scarface “ Capone, Bonnie and Clyde, and John Dillinger were the headliners of this era. Gangsterism provided a risky job but maximum rewards in a…

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    These street gangs took control of anything people wanted gambling, drinking, and murder, during the times of 1920 to 1933 under the 18th Amendment banned the sale of liquor. This led to NYC street gangs or “the mafia” took control of these illegal distribution of liquor just as modernized Latin Kings run the heroin on the streets. This led to famous gangsters as most Chicagoans know Al Capone, who actually got his rise in the NYC street gangs brought on by the Five Points Gang which is said to be the most significant street gang in United States History. Johnny Torrio a key member to the Sicilian Mafia sought out Al Capone to be in the James Street Gang where Capone ran in to trouble and moved himself to Chicago. Al Capone eventually became the most violent gangsters in Chicago…

    • 1537 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chicago in 1930 was a very dangerous period to be in . Local gangs stage war throughout the city for control of the billion dollar illegal alcohol industry . The main cause of thee violence in the city was Prohibition . Gang wars , gun battles and explosions were a common scene Whenever local liquor stores won 't accept the high-priced low quality liquor being sold by gangsters that store will just be blown into dust Gangs impose their will with the use of their toys , the tommy guns and hand…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    What makes a good movie? An engaging plotline, talented actors and actresses; perhaps a happy ending? Movies have always been an important part of American culture; of course, they can entertain us but they can also hold up mirrors to society, raising awareness about issues we need to pay attention to, and help us form opinions. But it’s getting harder and harder to find good movies in current theaters. Current films are being made in an age where almost any movie can pass as a good one, not necessarily due to talent or skill, but due to the weakening of the standards we once held our films up to. The 1930 Motion Picture Production Code gave filmmakers a set of guidelines that let only the most talented films reach audiences; it provided audiences with quality films that didn’t have to sacrifice artistry for explanation or lean on pointless vulgarities to catch audiences’ attentions; it acted as a filter that allowed only the finer-made films to be shown to the people who loved them and kept coming back to see them. The 1930s film code was the superior code because it gave the public superior films.…

    • 1957 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    1920s Fashion Essay

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Much like the other fashion trends of the 1920s such as the flapper girls, the gangsters fashion showed the rise of organised crime in America during the Jazz and Prohibition age. Prohibition was a law passed by the American Government that made the…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Motion Picture Production Code, made to control the making of talking, synchronized and silent motion pictures, in order to provide wholesome entertainment to the public. There are twelve sections including Crimes against the law, sex, vulgarity, obscenity, profanity, costume, dances, religion, locations, national feelings, titles and repellent subjects. Under Crimes it said that no movie should be produced that will lower viewers moral standards or lead them to sympathize with the side of crime, evil or sin. The technique of murder, brutal killings, revenge and methods of crime including theft, safe cracking, arson and dynamiting should be shown with little detail in a way that will not motivate imitation. The use of liquor and firearms should only occur when they are vital to plot or characterization and illegal drug trafficking and methods of smuggling should never be shown. Under the section governing the use of sex it says that motion pictures should not imply that low forms of sex are common or accepted in order to uphold the sanctity of marriage. Excessive kissing, lustful embraces, suggestive gestures, sex perversion, sex relationships between white and black races, white slavery, sex hygiene, venereal diseases, scenes of childbirth and children’s sex organs should not be displayed or inferred. Unless they are a necessary part of the plot, adultery, scenes of passion, seduction, and rape should not be suggested and should never be displayed. The treatment of disgusting, unpleasant subjects should show good taste. Obscenity in word, gesture, or by suggestion- including pointed profanity such as god, Jesus Christ, and lord- is forbidden. Complete nudity, costumes that permit indecent or undue exposure are also not to be shown. Dances that suggest or represent sexual actions or excessive passion are…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Perfect Crime

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Each of this crime leads to the identity of the villain. He wants the cops to admit that he's the perfect crime'ster.…

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics