Roger Touhy, Gangster

Roger Touhy (Preston Foster) and his gang are sent to jail for the kidnap of Joe Sutton (William Post Jr) thanks to the evidence given against them by former gang member 'Smoke' Reardon (Henry Morgan). A few years later, Reardon turns up in the same prison. Uh-oh. Touhy makes an escape with his gang but do they get away with it?

The cast are good, especially 'Troubles' (Frank Jenks), 'Owl' (Victor McLaglen) and Carroll (Anthony Quinn) as likable gang members. The film plays out at a good pace and whilst it is the story of a true life gangster, the events are not necessarily true to life. For example, although Touhy went to prison for kidnap, he was not actually involved in the crime and later released. The film portrays him as leading a kidnap. The facts don't matter (unless you are Roger Touhy) as it is a good story anyway. One minor criticism is that the film is quite dark in parts and difficult to make out. Still, I'm glad I bought it.