Watch The Mayor of Hell For Free

Instant Favorite.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

James Cagney demonstrates his versatility as an actor in this charming pre-code classic.When one thinks of James Cagney, they almost always think of his roles as a gangster, or as a dancer. While the former may, to some degree, describe his role in this picture, the character is not your typical Cagney.Cagney plays the commissioner of a reform school, who sees an opportunity to improve the lives of the juvenile offenders whom society has turned its back on. He gives a brilliant performance, appearing particularly sensitive for one of his 'tough guy' characters; one feels a genuine sense of caring for the downtrodden youngsters.The youngsters themselves could be described as the main stars of the picture, particularly Frankie Darro, who delivers a very powerful performance.Though the plot itself is rather simplistic, particularly in dealing with complex themes regarding criminal reform, the outstanding acting carries the film with flair. Furthermore, the direction, allegedly handled in part by Michael Curtiz, is another highlight; great suspense is created in several scenes, most notably the final climax of the film, making for a particularly memorable viewing experience.The Mayor of Hell is yet another forgotten pre-code classic waiting to be rediscovered.

Don't let the overly sensationalized title put you off of this one, which is about a gang of young toughs all sentenced to a reform school, where they suffer mistreatment until James Cagney improbably shows up to run the show. Cagney befriends the nurse (Madge Evans), but clashes with the strict warden (Dudley Digges), who does not approve of their ideas to give the kids more freedom and the chance to govern themselves. Cagney has further trouble in that he's a gangster himself, trying to keep his 'racket' under control while he spends time at the school.Cagney has such charisma and his presence carries the movie, but there are also fine performances from Frankie Darro (the leader of the kids), Digges, and Arthur Byron (a thoughtful judge), among others (and including all those child actors). It's fun to hear all the 'tough talk' and slang from the 30's, and the scenes early on with the kids are enjoyable. The film's message, to paraphrase Cagney's character, is that you have to take a firm hand with kids or they'll walk all over you, but on the other hand, they're just kids, and behave better when shown a little love and respect. The action gets a little melodramatic as the film progresses, and the simplistic and somewhat horrifying ending isn't great, but all in all it's an entertaining film.

Please note that this film, which purports to expose common abuses and failings of juvenile reform schools of the times(1933), was released just the year after the damning "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang", staring Paul Muni, the purpose of which was to expose common abuses and failings of US adult justice systems. Both were sponsored by Warners. Whereas Muni thereafter was mostly assigned to portray non-American historical, scientific, literary or political rebels, Cagney and Eddie Robinson mostly specialized in portraying characters relating to American crime, especially gangsters: a popular subject in the '30s.In this film, Cagney is assigned to portray a cocky gangster leader who, quite accidentally, transforms himself into a revolutionary reformer of reform schools. Thus, it's a story about reform taking place simultaneously at 3 levels: the delinquent boys, Cagney(as Patsy) himself, and the basic nature of the reform school. The latter is catalyzed by 3 main factors: 1) Patsy's political corruption-related plum appointment as Deputy Commissioner, which places him over the corrupt and punitive supervisor of the school(Dudley Diggs, as Thompson) 2)Patsy's introductory visit to the school, when he becomes aware of some of the unsavory conditions and policies 3)Patsy's introduction to the reform-advocating school nurse, and his accidental discovery of two of her books: "Fundamental Principles of the Juvenile Republic", and "Self Governing of Juvenile Correction" - radical -sounding titles. Initially, largely to impress Dorothy, whom he soon takes a shine to, he very unexpectedly agrees to try to institute the radical policies advocated by Dorothy. Essentially, the school will be run by the boys, with the superintendent(Thompson) mostly a figurehead, and Patsy and Dorothy present to enforce basic policies and make needed interventions. Among other things, this means the boys will now get decent food, as Thompson cannot siphon off much of the food budget for his own pocket. Patsy and Dorothy essentially hand pick the most incorrigible of the boys: Jimmy Smith(Frankie Darro)as mayor, and his chief rival as the Chief of Police. Court is held for infractions of the rules.This new system seems to be working well, and Dorothy is responding to Patsy's romantic overtures, despite their very different backgrounds. However, Patsy is called away to tend to some gangster 'business', and ends up accidentally shooting a rival, in a tussle. Patsy decides he has to go into hiding until it's determined if his victim will live. This gives Thompson the opportunity too reestablish his old way of running the school, firing the objecting Dorothy, who goes to tell Patsy what is happening. Thompson eventually makes a big mistake in sentencing a boy with a bad cough to a stint in 'the cold room', for not revealing the identity of the other boys involved in a food storage room break-in. The boy dies, presumably of pneumonia, precipitating the whole body of boys into a riot frenzy. They overpower the guards and cut the phone lines, charging the shaking Thompson with murder. Fearing a lynching or lethal beating, he crashes through the window and climbs up on the roof of the school barn, which the boys set ablaze. Thompson has to jump to the ground to avoid being roasted, and dies in the fall. Patsy and Dorothy now arrive, and the aroused boys initially want to beat up Patsy, as being a traitor, until Dorothy is able to explain his situation, and he is accepted back as their new superintendent: a happy ending, after a very scary scene.The film makes the point that there were some relevant people in the justice system and the reform schools, who had the ultimate good of the boys at heart., while others were merely vindictive, exploitive and not interested in trying to reform them, assuming that they were inherently criminal. Historically, this reflected reality, as documented in the book "Abominable Firebug", for example. Since the late 19th century, there had existed 2 basic models for reform schools: 'open' and 'closed'. The school in this film clearly began as an extreme version of the 'closed' type, whereas 'the juvenile republic' model was, in some ways, an extreme version of the 'open. type, which typically dispensed with fences and guards, with the boys spending part of the day in academic studies, and part in vocational training or working at various jobs in or outside of the school.Understandably, the film fails to adequately dramatize the common rivalry among the boys, with the stronger, older, and more aggressive ones tending to abuse(sometimes including sexually) the weaker, younger, and less aggressive ones. Also, as emphasized in the title of the remake: "Crime School", the less incorrigible boys tended to pick up criminal techniques and contacts from the more incorrigible boys.In contrast to many reviewers, I didn't find Frankie Darro, nor any of the other boys, especially charismatic, nor did I find Dudley Diggs exceptional in his thankless role as Thompson. Cagney and Madge Evans(as Dorothy) shine brightly as the stars and heroes. The judicial authorities clearly gave the boys a big break in agreeing that Thompson was guilty of second degree murder, and thus the boy's rioting and vigilante action was justified. Of course, we don't find out how the boys turn out as adults. Despite Patsy's and Dorothy's efforts, Darro's Jimmy still comes across to me as a thuggish adult gangster in-the-making. Social environment isn't everything.The early scene where the parents are defending their son before the judge is interesting. As is historically true, most of the boys were from poor, often immigrant, families, often with no father or a cruel, imprisoned or drunkard father, or were orphans or with foster parents.

Racketeer James Cagney takes over a reform school that's being run like a prison. With help from pretty nurse Madge Evans, he turns the place around and helps the boys get back on the right track. But the scummy guy that used to run the school is determined to destroy all the good work they've done, no matter what harm it does to the kids.Intense, gritty drama that tackles the issue of juvenile crime and how to deal with it. Strong writing with some good characters. Cagney's excellent in one of his best and probably most underrated films. The kid actors are all terrific and believable. Dudley Digges is a particularly evil villain. Backed up by a typically solid WB stable of supporting actors. Jaw-dropping climax is one of the best finishes to any movie of this decade. Remade as Crime School, with Humphrey Bogart and the Dead End Kids. That one's not bad but it's not nearly as powerful as this one.