[EMPIRE] The 20 Greatest Gangster Movies you’ve never seen …propably
by gig-panas | created - 19 Oct 2018 | updated - 09 May 2021 | PublicIn Issue 241 (July 2009) of EMPIRE magazine, readers found a list titled "The 20 Greatest Gangster Movies you've never seen ...propably"
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1. The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Passed | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Three men attempt to make a living in Prohibitionist America after returning home from fighting together in World War I.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Priscilla Lane, Gladys George
Votes: 15,533
2. Villain (1971)
R | 98 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
In 1970s London, Scotland Yard orchestrates the downfall of mob boss Vic Dakin after he crosses the line by blackmailing Members of Parliament.
Director: Michael Tuchner | Stars: Richard Burton, Ian McShane, Nigel Davenport, Donald Sinden
Votes: 2,036
3. A Bittersweet Life (2005)
Not Rated | 119 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Things go wrong for a high ranking mobster when he doesn't follow his boss's orders.
Directors: Jung Doo Hong, Jee-woon Kim | Stars: Lee Byung-hun, Shin Min-a, Kim Yeong-cheol, Hwang Jung-min
Votes: 42,927
4. 99 and 44/100% Dead! (1974)
Passed | 98 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Uncle Frank Kelly calls on Harry Crown to help him in a gang war. The war becomes personal when Harry's new girlfriend is kidnapped by Uncle Frank's enemy, Big Eddie.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Richard Harris, Chuck Connors, Edmond O'Brien, Bradford Dillman
Votes: 831 | Gross: $0.04M
5. Tokyo Drifter (1966)
Not Rated | 82 min | Action, Crime
After his gang disbands, a yakuza enforcer looks forward to life outside of organized crime but soon must become a drifter after his old rivals attempt to assassinate him.
Director: Seijun Suzuki | Stars: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Hideaki Nitani, Tamio Kawaji
Votes: 9,711
6. Gabriel Over the White House (1933)
Passed | 86 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A political hack becomes President during the height of the Depression and undergoes a metamorphosis into an incorruptible statesman after a near-fatal accident.
Director: Gregory La Cava | Stars: Walter Huston, Karen Morley, Franchot Tone, Arthur Byron
Votes: 1,398
7. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)
Not Rated | 100 min | Crime, Drama, History
Al Capone's Valentine's Day surprise for the rival Bugs Moran gang in 1929 Chicago.
Director: Roger Corman | Stars: Jason Robards, George Segal, Ralph Meeker, Jean Hale
Votes: 4,768
8. Underworld U.S.A. (1961)
Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A teenager who witnesses the murder of his father vows to exact revenge on the four mobsters involved in the killing.
Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Cliff Robertson, Dolores Dorn, Beatrice Kay, Paul Dubov
Votes: 3,926
9. The Violent Professionals (1973)
R | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When his colleague is murdered by an organised criminal gang, a Milanese cop goes undercover to continue the investigation and single-handedly destroy the organization from within.
Director: Sergio Martino | Stars: Luc Merenda, Richard Conte, Silvano Tranquilli, Carlo Alighiero
Votes: 989
10. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950)
Approved | 102 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller
Starting with a violent prison break, clever, ruthless Ralph Cotter corrupts everyone around him.
Director: Gordon Douglas | Stars: James Cagney, Barbara Payton, Helena Carter, Ward Bond
Votes: 2,463
11. Dillinger (1973)
R | 107 min | Action, Biography, Crime
John Dillinger and his gang go on a bank robbing spree across the midwest, but one G-Man is determined to bring him down.
Director: John Milius | Stars: Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Michelle Phillips, Cloris Leachman
Votes: 5,853 | Gross: $2.00M
12. The Grissom Gang (1971)
R | 128 min | Crime, Drama
Set in the Depression, a gang of half-witted small-time hoods led by Slim Grissom kidnap heiress Barbara Blandish and Slim proceeds to fall in love with her. Remake of the British film No ... See full summary »
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: Kim Darby, Scott Wilson, Tony Musante, Robert Lansing
Votes: 1,475
13. Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)
Not Rated | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Music
In 1927, a Kansas City, Missouri cornet player and his band perform nightly at a seedy speakeasy until a racketeer tries to extort them in exchange for protection.
Director: Jack Webb | Stars: Jack Webb, Janet Leigh, Edmond O'Brien, Peggy Lee
Votes: 1,502
14. Prime Cut (1972)
R | 88 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A vicious Kansas City slaughterhouse owner and his hick family are having a bloody "beef" with the Chicago crime syndicate over profits from their joint illegal operations. Top enforcer Nick Devlin is sent to straighten things out.
Director: Michael Ritchie | Stars: Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman, Sissy Spacek, Angel Tompkins
Votes: 5,862 | Gross: $0.52M
15. Monument Ave. (1998)
R | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A small-time hoodlum is divided between his conscience and loyalty to his boss when his cousin is murdered.
Director: Ted Demme | Stars: Denis Leary, Ian Hart, Jason Barry, Lenny Clarke
Votes: 1,891 | Gross: $0.33M
16. The Funeral (1996)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama
After the funeral of one of their own, a criminal family decides to embark on an emotionally unnerving journey in an attempt to exact bloody revenge.
Director: Abel Ferrara | Stars: Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Annabella Sciorra, Isabella Rossellini
Votes: 9,404 | Gross: $1.23M
17. The Penalty (1920)
Passed | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A deformed criminal mastermind plans to loot the city of San Francisco as well as revenge himself on the doctor who mistakenly amputated his legs.
Director: Wallace Worsley | Stars: Charles Clary, Doris Pawn, Jim Mason, Lon Chaney
Votes: 2,632
18. Black Caesar (1973)
R | 87 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Raised in Harlem, Tommy Gibbs becomes a successful mob boss but he clashes with the rival Mafia and his old enemy, dirty cop McKinney.
Director: Larry Cohen | Stars: Fred Williamson, Gloria Hendry, Art Lund, D'Urville Martin
Votes: 3,893
19. Borsalino (1970)
R | 125 min | Crime, Drama
During the 1930s, in Marseilles, France, two small time crooks work for local crime bosses until they decide to go into business for themselves.
Director: Jacques Deray | Stars: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Catherine Rouvel, Françoise Christophe
Votes: 4,790 | Gross: $1.09M
20. A Better Tomorrow (1986)
Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Lung Ti, Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-Fat, Emily Chu
Votes: 25,469
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