This film is a classic example of a Warner Bros. gangster/crime melodrama of the 1930s - a slick, action-packed, hard-hitting film with a touch of social conscience.
It has a great cast of characters, including James Cagney and Pat O'Brien as its two stars, and The "Dead End" Kids" plus Humphrey Bogart in an early role as a gangster.

It is the story of two childhood buddies from New York City slums in the 1920s:

"Rocky" Sullivan (Frankie Burke as youth, James Cagney as adult), and
Jerry Connolly (William Tracy as youth, Pat O'Brien as adult).
The story of two kids on the opposite side of the law.

Rocky (James Cagney) - a swaggering, pugnacious career criminal
Jerry (Pat O'Brien) - a mild-mannered, forceful, sincere and compassionate priest

This film was Cagney's and O'Brien's second film together after Cagney's departure from Warner Bros.

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