''The Last Gangster'' (also called ''Another Public Enemy'') is a 1937 American

crime drama film In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

directed by

Edward Ludwig Edward Irving Ludwig (October 7, 1899 – August 20, 1982) was a Russian-born American film director and writer. He directed nearly 100 films between 1921 and 1963 (some under the names Edward I. Luddy and Charles Fuhr). Ludwig was also one ...

and starring Edward G. Robinson and James Stewart. The supporting cast features

Rose Stradner Rose Luise Maria Stradner (July 31, 1913 – September 27, 1958) was an Austrian stage and film actress, who starred opposite Edward G. Robinson, James Stewart, Gregory Peck, and other leading men of her era. She was married to the film directo ...

Lionel Stander Lionel Jay Stander (January 11, 1908 – November 30, 1994) was an American actor in films, radio, theater and television. He is best remembered for his role as majordomo Max on the 1980s mystery television series '' Hart to Hart''. Early ...

and

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later ...

Plot

During

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

, gangland kingpin Joe Krozac returns from Europe with a new wife, Talya, who is unaware of his criminal background. The Kile brothers have muscled in on his territory in his absence, so he orders their assassinations. Three are killed, but "Acey" Kile survives. Soon after, Talya becomes pregnant, much to Krozac's delight. Krozac is sent to

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, also known simply as Alcatraz (, ''"the gannet"'') or The Rock was a maximum security federal prison on Alcatraz Island, off the coast of San Francisco, California, United States, the site of a ...

for ten years for income tax evasion before their son is born. After Talya visits her husband with their child, reporter Paul North plays a dirty trick on her, putting a gun in the baby's hands for a photograph. When Talya goes to his newspaper to plead to be left alone, his editor refuses to do so, but Paul is so ashamed of himself, he quits his job and strikes up a relationship with Talya. She gets a divorce and marries Paul. They move away and change their names to start a new life. When Krozac is released from prison, he is determined to take his son, now named Paul Jr., and punish his former wife. However, his old assistant, Curly, persuades him to take charge of his old gang first. It turns out to be a trap. Curly and the others only want to learn where Krozac hid his money before going to jail. When Krozac resists their torture, the gang kidnaps his son to apply pressure. Krozac gives in. The gang drives off with the loot (only to be killed by the police), leaving Krozac and his son on foot. He is unable to convince the boy that he is his father, but they get along all right on the journey home. After the boy is reunited with his parents, Krozac has a change of heart and leaves without his son. However, Acey Kile is waiting for him. Acey taunts Krozac at gunpoint, saying he is going to tell the newspapers who the boy's father really is after he guns down Krozac. To stop that, Krozac rushes him and manages to kill Acey before dying.

Cast

* Edward G. Robinson as Joe Krozac * James Stewart as Paul North *

as Talya Krozac *

as "Curly" * Douglas Scott as Paul North Jr./Joe Krozac Jr. *

as Caspar, an inmate who tries to bully Krozac * Sidney Blackmer as San Francisco editor * Grant Mitchell as Warden * Edward Brophy as "Fats" Garvey, a prisoner who supports Krozac * Alan Baxter as Frankie "Acey" Kile * Frank Conroy as Sid Gorman *

Louise Beavers Louise Beavers (March 8, 1902 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress. From the 1920s until 1960, she appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows. She was most often cast in the roles of a maid, servant ...

as Gloria, Talya's servant

Production

Despite the presence of Robinson and young Stewart, the picture fared poorly at the box office. A protege of European director

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most pro ...

, Rose Stradner subsequently married writer/director

Joseph L. Mankiewicz Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (; February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career, and won both the Academy Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best A ...

in 1939 and committed suicide in 1958 at age 45.

Reception

Time Out Film Guide Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to c ...

'' noted that Edward G. Robinson was his typically edgy character and that James Stewart looked much younger than his (then) 29 years, remarking that the film was "an absorbing exercise in contrasting styles".

References

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External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Gangster, The 1937 films 1937 crime drama films American crime drama films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Edward Ludwig American gangster films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Alcatraz Island in fiction 1930s American films