We're gandering at our first Jimmy Cagney picture in almost 6 years…and what a hard left turn from his patriotic musical Yankee Doodle Dandy. The Next 148 Project digs into the vicious 70-year-old crime flick where Cagney is unhinged and might even be over-acting, but in the right way. A great way. The supporting cast is solid too (including Virginia Mayo and Edmond O'Brien), but this flick belongs to the copper-hater. It's a police procedural mixed with low-down antics from the criminals and that mix works extremely well, all the way to its famous finish. Dubious bonus: this episode might have set a new record for the Ellis usage of the word "gangster".

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Next week: Splash