Straßen der Weltstadt

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.

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

This is an odd film for several reasons. For one it is a gangster film made at Paramount, home of the sophisticated continental comedies and dramas. Also, you have Gary Cooper in a modern dress role but with that Montana twang on full display.

Gary Cooper plays "The Kid", a sharp shooter at a circus. His best girl is Nan Cooley (Sylvia Sydney). I can't say why they are going together, because Nan seems to dislike all of "The Kid's" outlooks and plans for the future. Nan's dad is a gangster played by an oddly cast Guy Kibbee (Pop), who is usually associated with being the comic relief over at Warner Brothers.

Nan helps "Pop" out whenever he wants to get rid of a getaway car or dispose of a weapon, but then one night her ruse doesn't work and she winds up being sent up the river for possession of a gun used in a murder done by dear old dad. And apparently "pop" only makes weak attempts to get her out of jail, although while she is inside he does use the opportunity to recruit the kid into the beer racket because of his handiness with a weapon.

Nan gets out and for some reason now sees The Kid as irresistible - a real about face in her attitude with no reason given. However she is very upset that dear old dad has her beau in with the rackets. Oh, and "The Big Fellow" (Paul Lukas), apparent head of the rackets, wants to throw over his current long time girlfriend and replace her with Nan, regardless of what Nan and the Kid think about it. Complications ensue.

The story is really conventional gangster lore - nothing to write home about. What makes it interesting is Mamoulian's direction and shots. He likes to linger on faces or even a stuffed bird. He's not really an "action packed" kind of director. There is great atmosphere with the prohibition era night spots taken over by the rowdy gangsters and shadows on the dark streets.

What makes it fun are some of the inconsistencies. The urban shots are done so that you feel like you are in a big city of the Northeast US. People in coats, talk of the cold, etc. But then the final chase scene comes and you see palm trees, canyons - it is obvious you are in southern California. And what is Cooper's character's real name? Everybody just calls him "Kid". That is who he is billed as.

I'd say watch it and just have fun with it. It certainly is different from a Warner Brothers gangster picture of the same era.

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.

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."