Here you know he is a bad guy; you see all of the terrible things he does to people, and yet you can't help but like him and care about what happens to him.

What a strange choice it was to cast Cagney as Lon Chaney, but what a good one. This movie is very good and interesting even aside from the biographical aspect.

Cagney reprises his role in Angels With Dirty Faces on the Lux Radio program, an abbreviated version.

Cagney is excellent as Cohan; he captured Cohan's singing and dancing style and put in plenty of his own personality as well.

Cagney is great as an overactor who is turned into a donkey for a night. He is hilarious and exaggerated.

An interesting performance in a not-so-good movie, Cagney is much less likable here. He's a tough guy with selfish intentions who is really rough around the edges.