Editing Angels with Dirty Faces (section)

==Critical reception==
[[File:James Cagney and Pat O'Brien in Angels With Dirty Faces trailer.jpg|thumb|right|James Cagney and Pat O'Brien]]

===Initial reactions===
''Angels with Dirty Faces'' was met with critical acclaim upon release. [[Frank Nugent]], of ''[[The New York Times]]'', attended the world premiere in Nevada, and called the film a "savage melodrama" offering "Cagney at his best".<ref name=AbramsonReview>Abramson, p. 1551.</ref> The New York-based motion picture journal ''[[Harrison's Reports]]'' had similar views. In a review dated November 5, 1938, they called the film a "powerful gangster melodrama," and said it is "one of the most thrilling pictures produced in some time." The "acting, particularly by James Cagney, is brilliant".<ref name=HarrReport>Harrison Staff. "Angels with Dirty Faces", ''[[Harrison's Reports]]'', p. 179, published November 5, 1938. Retrieved December 8, 2015.</ref>

On the other hand, Hobe Morrison of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' was less enthused stating "On the strength of the Cagney–O'Brien combo, ''Angels'' should do fair business, but the picture itself is no bonfire. That 'Dead End' kid story has already been told too many times." and "Although the deathhouse scene itself is a harrowing one, that simulated cowardice angle, seems completely implausible...It's a novel twist to a commonplace story, but it's thoroughly hokey".<ref name=Variety1937>{{cite magazine|author=Hobe.|url=https://variety.com/1937/film/reviews/angels-with-dirty-faces-1200411713/|title=Film Reviews: 'Angels with Dirty Faces'|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=October 26, 1938|page=13|access-date=December 8, 2015}}</ref>

===Accolades===
Cagney won two awards for Best Actor from the [[National Board of Review Awards|National Board of Review]] and the [[New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle]].<ref name="NofReviewAwards">[https://web.archive.org/web/20160309233926/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/2391/Angels-With-Dirty-Faces/awards "'Angels with Dirty Faces' Accolades"], ''The New York Times'', published January 1, 2010. Retrieved December 7, 2015.</ref><ref name="NYCircleAwards">[http://www.nyfcc.com/awards/?cat=2 "New York Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Actor"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928060456/http://www.nyfcc.com/awards/?cat=2 |date=2015-09-28 }}, ''[[New York Film Critics Circle]]'', first published January 3, 1939. Retrieved December 7, 2015.</ref> ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' was nominated for three [[Academy Awards|awards]] at the [[11th Academy Awards]] ceremony: Best Actor (for Cagney), Best Director (for Curtiz), and Best Writing (for Brown).<ref name="11th Oscars">[https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1939/A?qt-honorees=1#block-quicktabs-honorees "11th Academy Award Winners and Nominees"], ''[[Academy Awards]]'', first published February 23, 1939. Retrieved December 7, 2015.</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" width="99%"
|- style="background:#ccc; vertical-align:bottom;"
|+ style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | List of awards and nominations
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! scope="col" | Date of ceremony
! scope="col" | Award 
! scope="col" | Category
! scope="col" | Recipient(s) 
! scope="col" | Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Abbr|Ref(s)|Reference(s)}}
|- style="border-top:2px solid gray;"
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[11th Academy Awards|February 23, 1939]]
| rowspan="3"| [[Academy Award]]s
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[Michael Curtiz]]
| {{Nom}}
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="3" |<ref name="11th Oscars" />
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| [[James Cagney]]
| {{Nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Writing (Original Story)]]
| [[Rowland Brown]]
| {{Nom}}
|-
|-
| rowspan="1"| [[National Board of Review Awards 1938|December 15, 1938]]
| [[National Board of Review Awards]]
| [[National Board of Review Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| James Cagney
| {{Won}}
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="1" |<ref name="NofReviewAwards" />
|-
| rowspan="1"| [[1938 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|January 3, 1939]]
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| James Cagney
| {{Won}}
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="1" |<ref name="NYCircleAwards" />
|}

===Contemporary consensus===
The [[review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reports 100% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 21 reviews collected retrospectively, with an average rating of 8.05/10.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/angels_with_dirty_faces |title=Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]] |access-date=May 14, 2019}}</ref> In 2005, ''[[Slant Magazine]]'' praised ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' for being Warner's "best gangster movie". Awarding four out of four stars, Jeremiah Kipp said: "Rocky Sullivan embodies all the qualities we love about bad guys." Cagney "offers a real intensity and a sense of playfulness," even as he shoots "fellow gangsters" dead. The final, "climactic" scene of "cowardice is unparalleled in gangster movies, and the more Cagney begs and screams, the more [we are] amazed at how he reduces the hero worship of gangsters to nothing. [The film marks] Cagney's finest hour in a career filled with great performances."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/angels-with-dirty-faces/ |title=DVD Review: Angels with Dirty Faces |last=Kipp |first=Jeremiah |date=February 2, 2005 |website=[[Slant Magazine]] |access-date=May 14, 2019}}</ref>