City Streets (1931) Online

I saw this film last night at a "pre-Code" film festival, and I have to tell you that when Gary Cooper turned his head for his introductory close-up, the entire audience gasped. He was just that beautiful.

Cooper's looks aside, this film displays Rouben Mamoulian's directorial artistry to perfection. Wonderful scene-fades, creative camera angles, symbolic allusions--Mamoulian just keeps exploring the directorial medium and coming up with innovation.

This was Sylvia Sidney's first role in Hollywood, after her success on the New York stage, and she is just as lovely as a Gary Cooper leading lady ought to be. It's nice to see her in a role with a harder edge than many she was given--so often she looks like she's afraid she's about to be hit by someone.

There are lots of familiar faces in this film, including the wonderful Wynne Gibson. Most striking is Guy Kibbee, best known for playing fatuous rich men, as a grinning and mendacious hit-man.

There aren't nearly enough of these pre-Code films available on VHS or DVD, so if you can't find a pre-Code festival near you, try campaigning Turner Classic Movies for a broadcast! As for the reviewer who believes Gary Cooper was too stupid to have dialogue more complex than "Yep" or "Nope," he should perhaps consider Coop's performance in films such as "Mr Deeds Goes to Town" or "Meet John Doe." Although heaven knows anyone who looked that good shouldn't have to be smart as well.

Clearly patterned after the first gangster movies that Warner produced the same year,Little Caesar (1931) and The Public Enemy (1931),this gangster movie is one of the better efforts I've seen. Although not quite in the same league as the previous mentioned classics, it has a powerful performance by young Sylvia Sidney.She's magnificent and delivers her lines more natural than perhaps anyone did at the time.Gary Cooper is better than usual at this stage in his career and shows signs of what would follow the next few years when he rose to the top. The movie has some fascinating villains in Paul Lukas (never seen him this detestable) and Guy Kibbee (what a shock to see him act the hoodlum).The direction of Rouben Mamoulian is very inventive,probably the first voice-over to show a persons thoughts appear in this movie. If you get the chance to see this little gangster flick, don't let the chance go by.

I thought I'd witnessed every wrinkle the crime/gangster flick had to offer, but the Garrett-Marcin-Hammett combination pull off some genuine thrills and surprises here, thanks to the inventively forceful direction by Mamoulian, the atmospheric photography by Lee Garmes, plus remarkably sharp film editing and flawless special effects. Brilliant acting helps too. Coop gives one of his most convincing performances as the reticent hayseed-turned-fearless bootlegger (the sort of character progression he was to repeat in other roles such as Sergeant York). Miss Sidney (pictured center) in her first major role is also an eye-opener. The principals receive great support from Paul Lukas, Wynne Gibson and Stanley Fields as the heavies, and even from Robert Homans' hard-as-nails detective. The movie has obviously been realized on an extensive budget which is brilliantly deployed in its realistic, crowd-filled sets.

City Streets is amazingly modern technically speaking for a movie made in 1931. Also who could not be mesmerized, enthralled by Gary Cooper's powerful magnetism, galvanizing the audience attention. The plot is quite elaborate and clear. The scenarios, decor, are exceptional in every detail. All the actors are above average. I keep guessing how the director and his staff, including editing, sound, lighting, photography, could have been so brilliant. I couldn't find a flaw, understanding that the scenes in the road(bumpy ride) with the large motion pictures screen on the background was the best they could get in 1931. All in all I found this movie superb and so much alive thanks to Gary Cooper charisma.

Only two years after the introduction of sound, "City Streets" combined innovation and expressionism into one of the most riveting gangster movies of the era. So why isn't it as well known as "Scarface" or "Public Enemy," for example? Because the movie so outraged the Hayes office that Paramount was forbidden from re-releasing it for the next several decades. Fortunately, Turner Classic Movies has a pristine print which showcases the ingenuity of Rouben Mamoulian's direction (and his brilliant establishing shots,) the genius of Lee Garmes' shadowy camera-work and the suspense of the screenplay based on a Dasheill Hamlett story. That tale portrays gangland as a place where alliances are fleeting, where your best pal one moment is the same guy waiting to gun you down in an alley. Typical is Guy Kibbee, in a total turnabout from the affable old roue he so frequently played, as a smiling, sauntering hit man for hire. Heading the cast are two relative newcomers (at the time,) Gary Cooper as an ambitious sharpshooter known only as "The Kid" and Sylvia Sydney as his gullible young girl friend who swears that the mob will protect her -- until she winds up in the prison sweat shop. If you're a movie buff or simply want to see just how good (and ahead of its time) a movie from 1931 can be, catch "City Streets."

If it had been made 2 years later it would have been BANNED! The number one MUST SEE recommendation of the day!. The best Rouben Mamoulian film I have seen this far (have but have not yet seen J+H).

There's no wonder why this film got less than 200 votes. A bigger greyzone that could not care less about what's proper would not be seen again until the 60's. As morally ambiguous and dark as 70's grit but with a certain charm as well. Of course this had to lay low in the later 30's and sadly it does not appear to have been re-discovered.

Seriously. This got it all. Great actors: Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sidney and the this time not so lovable Guy Kibbee. And a mighty good director. This far I haven't been RM's biggest fans but I have liked his films a lot and with this he steps into a new league. One of the best 30's films I have ever seen! This is something I never thought even existed! 9.5/10

I was lucky indeed to come up with a copy of this classic that is sadly not available. This was Rouben Mamoulian's first screen hit after the critical misfire of his first film Applause.

This was Gary Cooper's one and only film in the gangster genre though he did run into a few gangsters in Ball Of Fire. Of course his western persona is not one you would think would fit into the gangster film, but his character of a rodeo cowboy who was stranded in the big city and was now making a living at a shooting gallery, presumably in Coney Island rings true enough.

Coop's skill as a marksman is noticed by his girlfriend Sylvia Sydney who tries to interest him in going into the beer racket. But her own stepfather Guy Kibbee gets her involved in the murder of Stanley Fields and she takes a two year fall as an accomplice. In the meantime while Sylvia ponders the error of her ways in the joint, Cooper who was reluctant when she was out has now joined with Kibbee and is now a confidante of the big boss Paul Lukas.

Lukas is a suave and menacing gangster in one of his earliest sound roles. Guy Kibbee who usually played buffoons in later films at Warner Brothers and MGM will be quite the revelation as a really slimy character. Later on Kibbee was so typecast he could never have been given a part like this which he performs so well.

Mamoulian gets top flight performances from his whole cast. Cooper and Sydney are great in the leads. Mamoulian had great help from Dashiell Hammett who wrote his only original screenplay for City Streets. And special phrase must also go to Wynne Gibson who plays Lukas's moll and when she's scorned, she takes a terrible vengeance.

Paramount was not a studio known for gangster films, later on they did get their own gangster star in George Raft and Gary Cooper was not known for this genre. But in this case Paramount gave him one of his best early sound features. Do not miss this and demand that TCM broadcast it.

I've only seen a couple of Sylvia Sidney's early films, but they all seem to feature at least one closeup of her face that reveals what's really going on in the picture. In Hitchcock's "Sabotage," there's a fascinating shot of her working at a theater box office when a guy she likes suddenly shows up unannounced. Hitchcock went in tight on her face as it slowly changes from a blank expression to a glow of sheer joy. I've never seen anything like it in any other film. And here, in "City Streets," the director dollies in and lingers on her face for a full minute while Hollywood cinema's first "voiceover" tells us what's going on in her thoughts. But really, the words are superfluous, because her brown, luminous eyes tell us everything. Sidney was perhaps too exotic and unconventional to compete for major stardom with the Clara Bow flappers and Jean Harlow blonds of her time. She was also difficult to get along with, according to some sources. But she is more timeless than most. Dashiell Hammett, who wrote "City Streets," said she was the best part of the movie. For me, she's the best part of any movie she's in.

The first thing that stuck me as I was watching this gem was the lack of a sound track. Other than the club scene where a band is jamming there is no music at all. The introduction of sound in film was so recent that technique hadn't been fully developed yet. But the strange thing is that the dialog was enough to fill that void. It actually didn't even appear as a shortcoming. And another strange thing: the bad guys were played by actors who always play honorable characters, Paul Lukas and Guy Kibbee, and boy are they despicable. Very good at it too, especially Kibbee. I never thought of that jovial, ebullient character actor as able to bring it off but he does, and well. As for Lukas he is evil incarnate. There's plenty of other reasons to watch this one. The story is gripping. The camera work was way ahead of its time. Character development is superior. And I could go on and on. If there was ever a film deserving to be digitized this one is it.

Visually striking pre-code gangster picture starring Gary Cooper as a carnival sharpshooter who wants nothing to do with girlfriend Sylvia Sidney's father's bootlegging business until she is sent to prison and he needs money to help get her out. Cooper uses his "aw shucks" persona well here. Sidney is absolutely gorgeous and does a great job as the naive girl who grows up fast when she's betrayed by her own father. Paul Lukas and Guy Kibbee are probably two of the more unlikely gangsters to ever appear on screen, but both make their parts work to their strengths. Based on a story by Dashiell Hammett, with characters who have names like The Kid and Big Fella. But the story isn't the main selling point. That would be Lee Garmes' camera-work and Ruben Mamoulian's direction. It's a beautiful-looking picture with some interesting techniques on display that are very impressive when you consider this was released in 1931. Mamoulian's jogging at a time when other directors are still learning to walk. One of the best gangster pictures not released by Warner Bros., who pretty much had the market cornered on that genre during the 1930s.

I watch a lot of pretty bad contemporary movies, partly because I want to be there when something new happens. I think I see this in films today, the emergence of new elements of the cinematic grammar. Its one of the biggest thrills in life to be there when a new way to dream appears.

This would have been such an experience for someone watching this movie seventy or so years ago. Its quite an invention, you know to show an inner monologue.

One of the most interesting things in a life of film is considering it as a full narrative medium. Its tough, you know. When this film was made, we still read books; literature was vital. We were still inventing narrative devices in the written word. We had a few thousand years of working with the written story and perhaps a half a million with spoken stories. They had all that time to integrate with and lead the way we imagine, the courses of concepts.

One problem they solved and perhaps invented was the notion of inner dialogue. Since this film was made, we have developed a rich vocabulary of narrative layering. I'm determined to understand it because I am engaged in an effort to make machines who understand this.

But if you are interested in history, this is important. It incidentally isn't too bad, in a now naive sort of way.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

The movie is an absolutely wonderful piece. It was a great show of the truth behind the time period, including the degradation of women at the time. The emotion of the characters wasn't shown solely through the skills of the actors, but also the orchestrated soundtrack playing throughout. The sound effects of everything going on in the movie would have been relatively new technology at the time of filming, increasing the overall quality of the production. Lighting and camera angles also made many great shots possible, including the one of convoy barreling down the street(driving over the camera). Another is the shot in the prison where she could watch her cell mate get to the car to go home, that was an amazing shot that emphasized distance very well. All around the movie was excellent, especially knowing that many of the issues faced by the characters can be easily compared and likened to current gang and crime families.

City Streets is a wonderful film, beautiful to watch and surprisingly "modern" for a film of its era.

It's a film that transcends its genre: I pretty much never watch gangster movies as I dislike the theme/violence, but this was very enjoyable. I watched it twice, back to back, as I liked it so much.

What particularly struck me was the prominence of female roles: as well as the luminous Sylvia Sidney, the other female supporting actresses also get good screen time and lines. Unlike modern gangster movies where protagonists tend to be all male with a token female, this is very much the story of Nan, more so than the Kid.

Watching it I was struck how gendered many movies are these days in terms of being solely targeted to women or men. City Streets, like many other early films, has more universal appeal.

Some reviewers have mentioned the film being dark (in tone/colour). I watched it online and didn't find this a problem.

I would highly recommend this to others who aren't major movie buffs but are interested in vintage cinema. It's very accessible and enjoyable in its own right as a movie: not just as an old-fashioned curiosity.

Gary Cooper stars as a carny turned wise guy in this forgotten, unavailable on home video should-be-classic directed by the great Rouben Mamoulian. Based on a story by Dashiell Hammett, the film features Coop as The Kid, operator of a sideshow shooting gallery. Gal pal Nan (Sylvia Sidney) urges him to join the mob so he can earn some easy money, but The Kid isn't interested — even though Nan's father (Guy Kibbee, playing against type brilliantly) is a big-time hood who could make life easy for him. When Nan is arrested whilst trying to dispose of a murder weapon, however, The Kid has second thoughts: she'll need a lot of money to pay for an expensive lawyer. What, Dad won't pony up for his own child? The Kid takes the bait, only to find out that Nan liked him better when he was straight. City Streets is visually stunning from start to finish thanks to cinematographer Lee Garmes, and compares favorably to Josef von Sternberg's silent classic Underworld (1927). Mamoulian's next film was the since unsurpassed Fredric March version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but this film is even better.

Overall, this film lives up to the expectations I had for it. I think the plot was way too basic, especially because most love story/gang movies all consist of a good person turning bad for someone they love. The beginning of the movie set a good platform for Nan and The Kid's relationship and showed their true love, which in my opinion helped develop and explain some of the choices made throughout the movie. The character development in this movie is also impressive, given that The Kid was able to change his ways so quickly, while still displaying his true character behind the violence of the mob. All the characters really played a role in making this movie what it was, and I feel as though the scenes, and what was said was very thought out, rather than places to fill space. The party scene also contributed to the movie, being that the camera and characters made you feel as if you were a part of the party, instead of a camera looking in. Despite the predictability of this film, the characters ability to be more than just actors, but actually become their role made the film as successful as it was.

As a pre-code gangster film, although not entirely very well-put together in terms of pacing, several scenes and elements of the film are vividly memorable. These includes the opening floating hat scene, Kid and Nan's romance scene at the beach, and killed-at-jail-door scene, and the line "No hard feelings". The former three especially highlights the good camera techniques employed in the film. In stead of overtly dramatizing, the film cut those short while still maintaining a romantic storyline characterized by how Nan and Kid's love remained despite the events leading to the drastic character development and transformation of the two. Audiences are eventually surprised by the "no hard feelings" line that pierce the film from beginning to the end, but not without viewing a rather confusing car scene. Overall a solid crime film classic, especially so if you like to see the face and acting of Gary Cooper.

I thought the movie City Street was a very well put together film, especially considering the time period it was made in. I would consider this film to be romance movie, while having action and crime as well, appealing to a wide variety of audiences. The use of sound stood out to me throughout the movie, and I found certain times more notable. One example would be the dramatic volume level of footsteps through out the movie. Another would be the pitch and sound of louder everyday things, such as the telephone, bells, alarms and sirens. The camera angles also changed frequently, such as close ups or larger range shots, and the lighting changes as well. My favorite scene was when the camera started as a close up on her face, then slowly the camera backed up and you could see more of her in the shot, and you see that one of her eyes is squeezed shut, then you see her whole face, and she has on a very serious straight face. Next you here a gun shot and the camera view is no longer on her and you see the targets she was shooting at.

I really enjoy watching movies, especially ones with action and a story. I don't think that this movie had any of that. Gang and Mafia movies have a lot to work with. And I didn't see that in this movie. The basic plot of this film was that a man joined the mafia to get his girlfriend out of prison, and that's it, there were no shootouts, no signature mafia climaxes, nothing else happened. We don't even see anyone getting shot, just after shots of a dead person or just a floating hat. This movie is so basic the IMDB synopsis is "Man joins a gang to free his girlfriend from prison." That's it, just 10 words. Would not watch again.

"I used to want to be a sailor before I made up my mind about the circus" In this 1931 film by Rouben Mamoulian and Gary Cooper as "The Kid", this gangster picture by Paramount Studios which won NBR Award for Top Ten Films. This film was a true blessing to watch. I love Gaangster films and even though it is a Gangster film it also relatively mild. The staging of each shot was magnificent, and the camera angles from wide shots to closeups really brought the characters to life.

This movie was more than I expected it to be. In the movie I had expected it to be slower and not as exciting. I really enjoyed the storyline. The way that Nan loved the carnival shooter guy and how she portrayed her love for him. The kid also showed many ways that he loved her by winning her the animal at the other game and when she was in prison he did the job that he said he wouldn't enjoy to help her and make money so that they could hire lawyers and such to help her. Also when she was thought to have killed the guy he defended her and stood by her. The film was very well directed. It had many details. I enjoyed the way they used. I am glad this was an option to watch for my college class I am in. I am impressed with the making if the movie especially being in the early sound time of the movie industry.

This movie seems to be written to show the time period and thoughts about the mob and mob activity at the time. I honestly saw mostly as a romantic film as it focused mostly on a woman whom was already involved in mob activity due to her father, then turns into a love story between her and the "Kid" (not involved in the mob). The way in which it was written shows the "Kid's" true side throughout the film even though his non-involvement is short lived. The beginning of the film was a bit confusing to me, however I quickly caught up within the first 10 minutes. The use of lighting was interesting, several times throughout the film I noticed many visual clues in the form of showing or lighting that set up the movie more. I loved the ending, I had hoped that it would end on a good note, and the last line from "Kid" is perfectly written and placed.

The story is cliched and a bit vague (good guy and good girl get corrupted and sucked into the criminal world around them), but director Rouben Mamoulian isn't very interested in the story; this is really an art movie that follows the surface guidelines of a gangster movie. Pictorially striking and well-acted (especially by Guy Kibbee, whom I've never seen playing such a sleazeball before), it could be classified as an early attempt at avant-garde cinema, decades before avant-garde cinema was in vogue. **1/2 out of 4.

This film was slower and calmer than I expected from a gangster flick, especially one that was pre-Code, but it was very good nonetheless. The importance and pull of this film comes from the cinematography techniques and allusions. I found myself noticing creative usage of angles, one that especially comes to mind is when you see characters talking to someone out of the shot (which I had not seen in a movie from this era before). Scenes faded and transitioned well, not jarringly, which other films from this time have a tendency have a tendency to do. And using inner monologue to display what someone is thinking, so innovative! Overall, a fine movie with innovative techniques used.

"City Streets" (1931), Directed by Rouben Mamoulian was an interesting film, and very advanced for its time. The two main characters Sylvia Sidney and Gary Cooper were very strong actors and portrayed their lines and scenes with great truthfulness. It was great to see how the fact that this film was made pre code era had such an influence on what the filmmakers showed. It has elements and scenes that expand the story much better than some post code films could. The scenes never got stale and the camera panning, angles, and close ups were very well done. There weren't too many dull moments, it kept me interested throughout.