American Gangster 1930s

[Eliecer Brathwaite]

Duringthe 1930s Americans became fascinated with the gangster, typically depicted as a violent man who took on law enforcement and robbed banks or bootlegged alcohol. John Dillinger and Al Capone are two of the most well-known Depression-era gangsters. Dillinger has been represented as an outlaw and sympathetic anti-hero who robbed banks. Capone has been remembered as a violent mobster who illegally distributed alcohol. They are different types of gangsters yet Americans remember them both for the four reasons that will be outlined in this article. The Capone and Dillinger people believe they know today are allusions created by the media, film and television to entertain and fascinate.

It is important that we seek to understand public memory and question why we remember and represent certain people and events the way we do. The gangster is an allusion created to entertain and fascinate. Both Dillinger and Capone as gangsters have been remembered the way they have because they could provide the public an escape from the Depression, they could be used as an example of success and efficiency, they sought public affection and influenced memory by using the media to their advantage, and they supplied the public drama by challenging authority. The 1930s American gangster continues to be remembered in film and television as a certain character the public thinks they know.

Gangster films of the 1930s pushed the boundaries of "American-ness" at home and abroad when they introduced sound and more diverse characters, said Professor Sabine Haenni in her Oct. 19 talk in Goldwin Smith Hall.

Haenni, associate professor of American studies and theater, film and dance, studies how the gangster genre expresses themes of diversity, as well as the genre's reception abroad. The films point to what Haenni characterizes as the "dark history of globalization," a time when violence resulted from capitalist changes in global society against the backdrop of the 1930s when the Great Depression was at its height.

In the films of the 1920s, criminality was no longer seen as a problem of groups on the outskirts of society, but rather as the result of choices of the individual, said Haenni. Gangsters were portrayed as an integral part of mainstream, middle-class society, as seen in films like "The Public Enemy" (1931), where the gangster began to look "potentially respectable," as though criminality was simply another route to upward social mobility. In this new context, said Haenni, "every American could potentially be a gangster."

She pointed to the example of the gangster protagonist who operated as a semi-legitimate businessman in the1934 film "Manhattan Melodrama." The film concludes with his walk to the electric chair, while his brother, a politician, leaves the governor's mansion, where corruption is inevitable, because "the only acceptable moral position is literally outside humanity." While the film "reveals a society where all positive values seem in danger," Haenni said, it stops short of defining what constitutes American identity.

The gangster film not only expanded the definition of the middle class by incorporating previously excluded people of distinct classes and ethnicities, but also questioned the traditional place of the woman, argued Haenni. After screening a clip of "The Public Enemy," she noted, "there's a lot to be said here about how these women move their bodies, occupy space, drape themselves. ... In the end they are profoundly confused as to what they want. They find themselves in new worlds, economically and sexually." The gangster films also hinted at homosexuality but did not resolve the challenges posed to the status quo, she said, adding that in interpreting gangster films, it's crucial to understand how they were perceived by their original audience.

Haenni emphasized that the export of these films abroad had an impact on the international view of American democracy. When the films were adopted as an international genre, "the U.S. could not fully control the image of the U.S. as gangster or the U.S. as gangland," said Haenni.

The international community also adapted the gangster genre for their own purposes. Haenni pointed to the example of French director Maurice Tourneur, who turned his 1934 gangster film "Justin of Marseille" into a commentary on French regional and anti-nationalist politics.

In Socratic fashion, Haenni left her audience with a question to ponder: Were gangster films expressions of fear of change during a turbulent time, the consequences of social transgression, or did their creators intend them to subtly chip away at cultural norms?

EDITORS COMMENTS

The captivating black and white mugshot photograph of Meyer Lansky, an infamous American gangster from the 1930s, exudes a sense of mystery and intrigue. With his piercing eyes and stern expression, Lansky's presence commands attention even through the lens of time. Lansky, born in 1902, was a prominent figure in organized crime during the Prohibition era. Known for his involvement in illegal gambling operations and connections to various criminal enterprises, he became one of the most influential members of the American mafia. This mugshot captures him at an early stage in his criminal career when he was just beginning to make waves within underworld circles. The image serves as a reminder of both the allure and danger associated with figures like Lansky during this tumultuous period in American history. It offers viewers a glimpse into a world where power struggles were settled with violence and illicit activities thrived behind closed doors. As we study this photograph today, it is important to remember that it represents not only an individual but also an era defined by lawlessness and corruption. The Granger Collection has preserved this piece as part of their historical archives, allowing us to reflect on our past while appreciating its artistic value.

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If the Old West Outlaws get a lot of historic attention, a close second are the gangsters of the 1920s Prohibition era and the 1930s Depression period. Feared and revered, these American gangsters often controlled liquor sales, gambling, and prostitution while making popular silk suits, diamond rings, guns, booze, and broads.

With it came violence, spawned mostly by bitter gang rivalries in the 1920s. In those days, gangster killings were unlike those of the Old West or those of today. They generally calculated business practices rather than personal vendettas, where one gang would line up rival gang members and shoot them down or make a surprise attack on them, blasting or bombing until their rivals were dead. In the 1930s, the violence was more desperate as outlaws were determined to have their way at any cost.

The body John Dillinger, who is accused of terrorizing the Midwest in the early 1930s and became a major figure of the U.S. \"gangster era,\" will be exhumed from the Indianapolis cemetery where he has been interred for 85 years.

Even during hard times and wartime, people need to be entertained. The American people in the 1930s and 1940s were no exception. They enjoyed many forms of entertainment, particularly if they could do so inexpensively.

With the addition of sound, movies became increasingly popular. Comedies, gangster movies, and musicals helped people forget their troubles. In the early 1940s, some of the great dramas of American film reached theaters. Radio was also wildly popular, offering many kinds of programs, from sermons to soap operas.

In the 1930s, big bands and swing music were popular, with Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Glenn Miller popular bandleaders. In the 1940s, the bands started to break up, and band singers like Frank Sinatra and Sarah Vaughan went out on their own. War songs became popular.

As you examine the documents in this section, compare arts and entertainment in the 1930s and 1940s with arts and entertainment as you know them today. What similarities do you see? What differences? How might you explain the continuity you see, as well as the change?

To find additional sources on this topic, use the names of specific forms of art or entertainment to search the collections; for example, you might use such words as music, dance, or theater in your search.

From 1920 to 1933 in the USA, alcohol was banned under Prohibition. The acts of selling or consuming alcohol were criminalized, but few American adults seemed willing to part with the alcoholic beverages they'd grown used to. As such, gangsters and criminal organizations stepped in to provide illegal alcohol to the American public. The industry was deregulated and illegal, with frequent clashes between criminals and the law throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s, until Prohibition was repealed.

Numerous movies deal with this unique period of American history, including many in the crime genre. The following movies all depict gangster stories that took place during Prohibition, at a time when criminal gangs often thrived and the law struggled to keep up with all the illegal production and distribution. Some are more based on fact than others, yet all provide valuable insights into the time.

A revenge movie that also stands as a rare comic book adaptation that's not a superhero movie, Road to Perdition is an impressive movie for many reasons. It has a unique visual style that still looks striking 20 years later, it contains Paul Newman's final performance in a live-action role, it has one of Daniel Craig's earliest roles, and features Tom Hanks playing against type in the lead role as a ruthless mob enforcer avenging his murdered family.

It plays out in 1931, as the Prohibition era is nearing its end. It's a dark film that captures the end of this time in history well, partly because it also features a good deal of fictional lives coming to an end (it has quite the bodycount). It's a moodier American crime movie than most, but certainly succeeds in what it sets out to do.

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