Genre Analysis Of Gangster Film

When we look back throughout American culture there has been a character that has played a role in the shaping of America.  That character is the notorious gangster, ever since America has existed the gangster has been around to influence certain aspects of the American Culture.  The gangster usually comes from the slums or across the ocean to be a part of, or take advantage of the American dream any way that they can.  With the gangster playing such a key role in the American culture I have decided that my blog will be dedicated to Gangster Film, and my first blog will be an analysis of the Gangster film.\

Gangster film started around 1912 before talking was in the movies, the movie was The Musketeers of Pig Alley, directed by D.W. Griffith.  It was the first gangster movie of its time and featured organized crime as well.  During this time the genre of gangster film was not attracting the crowds that they once desired, this all changed when films gained sound in 1929.  When sound became part of the movie crowds would flock to the cinema to get a glimpse inside the life of a gangster. But sound was not the only factor, prohibition had sparked the rise of gangsters in America.  The St. Valentine Day Massacre and villains such as Al Capone sparked the interest of America, so they looked to gangster films for understanding.

The first sound gangster film was Lights of New York in 1928 then in 1930 Warner Bros. released their first gangster film Little Caesar.  After exploding onto the cinema gangster films started to develop and become more complex with different sub genres.  The first sub genre that gangster film branched to was prison films in 1930 with the release of The Big House.  These types of films were intended to show the hardships of life behind bars not only for the individuals spending time behind bars, but for the guards in the prison and the warden as well.  One of the more popular films that would be considered prison films of lately would be the Shawshank Redemption, this aired in 1994 and was based around a inmate that after careful planning finally escaped.

Film noir is a very popular aspect of many gangster films.  It is not a genre itself but helps to set the mood in many films as a dark setting and the characters are more corrupt.  It is the perfect partner for the gangster genre in all aspects of the meaning Film Noir.  The darkness and coldness that you get from the characters and the lighting sets the tone of the film, and sets your perceptions of the film as well.  A great gangster film that shows film noir perfectly is White Heat from 1949.  It is a extremely violent movie, the darkness and coldness you get from Film Noir Works perfectly in sync with the movie itself.

Another sub genre of gangster film is organized crime.  One of the most popular organized crime films of all time is The Godfather airing in 1972 there are also two other films, The Godfather II and The Godfather III.  This crime family that originated in Sicily and Moved to New York to live the American dream.  Other types of organized crime movies would be those of Immigrants as well such as The Departed or Scarface.


Gangster film genre is one of the most cultural filled genres in film.  It has so many ties to many things that helped America become the individualistic society that we are today.  Most of us strive to have the things that the gangsters strive for as well.  I was truly blown away when I realized how much the gangster film ties into our society as a whole.


Dirks, T. (n.d.). Crime and Gangster Films. Greatest Films - The Best Movies in Cinematic History.Retrieved October 5, 2011, from http://www.filmsite.org/crimefilms2.html

Grant, B. K., & Schrader, P. (2003). Notes on Film Noir. Film genre reader III (pp. 229-242). Austin: University of Texas Press.