The Doorway to Hell

Plot synopsis:
Lew Ayres plays as a young Chicago gang leader who is so successful that he becomes the underworld boss of the entire city. He meets Dorothy Mathews and immediately falls in love with her. Unfortunately, Mathews is a gold-digger who is secretly in love with Ayres's best friend, played by James Cagney. Ayres ends up marrying Mathews, who continues to be unfaithful to him during her marriage. Ayres eventually gets tired of being a gangster and attempts to go straight. Against the advice of all his underworld friends, Ayres buys a house in the country in Florida and brings along his wife. Cagney is left in charge of the gangsters and through his ineptitude things quickly become chaotic. Although his former friends plead for Ayres to return he ignores them and spends his time in the country writing his autobiography. In order to force Ayres to come back, some of the gangsters kidnap his younger brother, played by Leon Janney. Unfortunately, Janney is accidentally killed by a truck. Swearing revenge on the men who killed his brother, Ayres returns to the city.

Tags: revenge, murder

Review:
(I should add, however, that Jimmy Cagney, in his autobiography, agreed with those who believed Ayres was too pretty to play a convincing gangster!)This film is so much better than you'd think, and that is due not only to fine performances by Ayres and Cagney (make that, a WONDERFUL performance by Cagney, who really does ignite the screen), but also to impressive direction by Archie Mayo.
Of course, without the sound, you'll miss the great period dialogue (a gangland ambush offers Ayres the opportunity to "walk into a handful of clouds").TCM shows this film from time to time, and you really shouldn't miss it.
Lew Ayres acts well as the head guy, "the Napoleon of crime", although he's perhaps a little too cleancut looking for the role.The story is good, and rather dark.
There's some good gangster violence along the way.- a number of well-done hits, and an over- the-top scene that resembles a full-scale battle.Two other things struck me as memorable: The adulterous relationship between Cagney and his boss' wife.
I first wanted to viddy this interesting piece of sinny because it offered a pre-PUBLIC ENEMY look at James Cagney.
Lew Ayers, fresh from ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT is the real hero, or should I say anti-hero, of the movie and Cagney exhibits the screen personality that aimed him directly at the bullseye of Hollywood stardom but being a lifelong fan of character actors, I now like this film for Dwight Frye's brief, but memorable, appearance..
A pretty good crime drama of its time, on a par with PUBLIC ENEMY, LITTLE CEASAR, and others of the genre,good acting, too.Excellent acting by a very young Lew Ayres, an up-and-coming yet unknown James Cagney, here listed way down in the cast of players as a secondary, and I particularly enjoyed the fine characterization by pre-Dracula Dwight Frye.
Much better than the common, cheesy melodramas of the period,this one holds the interest better due to its inferences and unseen sub-plots, an early gem by director Archie Mayo, ahead of its time for its imaginative storyline, and great scene shots, a captivating film as a whole simply for standing out among the rest!
Ayres' baby-faced good looks and polished exterior were supposed to clash with the reality of the gangster that he was - that is part of the whole point of the film.Ayres plays Louie Ricarno, a gangster who has decided to take the warring gangs of the city and run them like departments of a corporation of which he, of course, is president.
Full of vengeance, Louie does return home, but not to restore order.Cagney here has a minor role as right hand man to Louie and one-time boyfriend of Louie's now bored wife Doris.
He's perfect in the role since his openly wise-guy exterior is in sharp contrast to Ayres' gee-whiz personna, in spite of the fact that they are equally violent.Louie is a sympathetic character in many ways.
This pre-Code gangster movie is interesting primarily because of James Cagney, who is in a supporting role, that of a gangster's right-hand man.
His boss is played somewhat improbably by 21- year-old Lew Ayres, who is hard to believe as he threatens rival gang members to fall in line under his authority.
(Yes, the pretty boy baby-face had had enough of the game, when it looks like he hasn't started shaving) When he's gone, all hell breaks loose for reasons we can't really fathom, prompting them to attempt to reel him back in by kidnapping his kid brother, who is away at a military school.
The ending is drawn out, however, and it's too bad the story surrounding the love interest (played well by Dorothy Matthews) who marries Ayres but secretly loves Cagney isn't expanded on, though the scene where she coyly slips off her wedding ring to encourage him is nice.
This was only Cagney's 2nd movie, just before a string of movies the following year which would cement him as a star, most notably, The Public Enemy, and he's such a natural with great screen presence.
As a footnote, I found it ironic that while Ayres in the movie lauds Napoleon, his brother's military training, and war in general, Ayres in real life was a conscientious objector during WWII, making him very unpopular at the time, though he served with honor in the medical corps instead..
A thing William Wellman took note of during the filming of "Public Enemy", and had Cagney and the Lew Ayres clone  "switch roles"...because "this Cagney guy has that gutter quality that this story needs to become effective".
Fine early talkie that belongs along side Little Caesar and The Public Enemy as the gangster films that set the rules for the genre.
Lew Ayres(Louie Ricarno),"Calling Dr. Kildare",'38, was a crook trying to go straight and start a new life for himself and did everything to protect James Cagney,(Steve Mileaway),"The Public Enemy",'31, who was a fellow side kick in the rackets and was also fooling around with his wife.
If you look close, you will also see Dwight Frye (Monk, a gangster),"Frankenstein",'31 and Ward Bond(a policeman that was uncredited in this picture) Ward Bond appeared in many of John Wayne Western Films.
Doorway to Hell, The (1930) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Early gangster picture from Warner tells the rise and fall of Louie Ricarno (Lew Ayres) who started up a beer racket before retiring yet he gets back in after his youngest brother is killed by rival gangs.
James Cagney steals the film as Ayres' sidekick and he's his typical, high energy self.
The Doorway to Hell is yet another step up the ladder for James Cagney as the Brothers Warner discover that the guy they signed for a one shot deal to repeat his stage role from Penny Arcade was in fact future star material.
He was certainly unlike some of the classical emoting stars from the silent period, unlike anything that ever had been on screen before.Lew Ayres is the lead in this film, Cagney's his chief henchman.
The wife, Dorothy Matthews, is bored with early retirement mainly because she's been two timing Ayres with Cagney and Cagney's not around.The story is pretty silly in any number of ways.
And the plot where two of the gangsters have the brilliant idea to kidnap Ayres's little brother from military school to bring him back is frighteningly stupid.Ayres, Cagney, Matthews and the rest muddle through this dumb mess.
Even if Cagney had been in Ayres's role, I'm not sure The Doorway To Hell would have been it..
This is one of the early films that came shortly after the birth of the Talking Movies came about Lew Ayres Being a pretty young boy and James Cagney starring and doing his great bit as a gangster.
This film is not your Al Capone nor Public Enemy but its a real good Gangster flick.
I love James Cagney and he always gives a very entertaining performance....Lew Ayres is a not very known actor but all the same he acts well.Great early Talkie, good Acting, nice little action movie..
"Doorway" stars Lew Ayres as mob boss "Louie", with co-star Dorothy Mathews.
Interesting side note -- James Cagney is way down in the cast list...This appears to be his first or second role, and he clearly steals the show.
I like Lew Ayres--he proved himself a versatile actor in everything from the Dr. Kildare series to "Johnny Belinda" to "Holiday" (which he steals from Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn) to his moving early work in "All Quiet on the Western Front." In this, a prototypical Warners gangster flick, at 21, he's a bit young to convincingly play a mob boss who lords it over a sea of bootleggers and other crooks; when he snarls, you're just not sure they'd cower in response.
That said, it's an interesting early talkie, happily pre-Code (Cagney has an affair with Ayres' wife, a calculating Dorothy Matthews, and the screenplay doesn't over-judge them for that), directed by Archie Mayo with some striking compositions and a slam-bag prison-breakout climax, and with some thoughtful work by Ayres.
The most Glaring Creakiness of this Prototypical Gangster Movie from (of course) Warner Brothers, is the Slow-of-Pace Dialog and Mannerisms usually Associated with Early Talkies.The Pulp Banter, full of Street Slang and "Dick Measuring", is doled out in what seems like Slow Motion Today, but it's not without Underworld Charm.
After a Gang Member pulls out a .45 Automatic, Lew Ayres, making His move to Lead the Mob, pulls up the window shades to reveal two WWI Mounted Machine Guns..."Put that away it's too small."...He says.Ayers, barely 21, has been accused of being too Young for the Part, but if You watch closely He's got the Posture and the Scowl, and it works.
He plays Ayers "Right Hand Man" and is never without Presence when On Screen.It's an Interesting Movie for many reasons, and is Worth a Watch for its Place in Film History.
A Must See for Fans of Gangster, Cagney, and Pre-Code Movies.Note...Also watch to find out that, perhaps, Professor Moriarty wasn't the only "Napoleon of Crime"..
It only had a few faults typical of films of the early talkie period.The basic story is about a young mob boss Louie Ricarno(Lew Ayres) who through intimidation unites the gangs in the city for which he collects his percentage and piece reins in the city under his stewardship.
He then gets married to Doris(Dorothy Mathews) and retires to Florida to write and play golf he leaves the syndicate in the hands of his right hand man Steve Mileaway(James Cagney) but soon the gangs are again warring and Louie for family reasons must return to the city and deal with the situation.The film is well directed and the acting particularly Cagney's is a forerunner of his future career as a film tough.
I think Ayres did a decent job in the lead role remember he was only 22 when he made this film but he is able to make Louie feel like he is the boss of the city.
Louie Ricarno (Lew Ayres) leads a bootlegging gang in Chicago with his right hand man Steve Mileaway (James Cagney).
He's fine as a leading man but even at this early stage, Cagney has the gangster vibe over many of his fellow actors.
Young Lew Ayres and James Cagney.
Lew Ayres and James Cagney are the big draw for this movie.
Lew Ayres and James Cagney are the big draw for this movie.
I particularly enjoy watching James Cagney in mob movies.
Funny how Cagney's smart aleck attitude and mannerisms got him stereotyped as a gangster right out of the block, and he made it seem all so natural.As for the story, Warner Brothers takes yet another stab at the menace to society theme with it's take on mob violence and competition between rival gangs.
This was my first look at Lew Ayres, who heads the cast as crime boss Louie Ricarno.
I also got a kick out of the scene in which Ricarno fancies himself as big a man as Napoleon, and Cagney does a mock impersonation of the dictator to the amusement of Louie's girl Doris (Dorothy Matthews).With the back drop of Louie going straight and retiring to Miami with his new wife, the film throws a minor curve with the autobiography he's writing.
The finale is effective for Warners' purposes, the fade out hones in on the rewritten last page of the Louie Ricarno story, the 'doorway to hell' swings only one way.Keep a sharp eye and you'll catch a typo in the gangland slaughter headline of the newspaper Louie reads in the boarding house - it reads 'grewsome' for 'gruesome'.For an early talking picture, I found the film to be fairly well written and acted, most of that contribution coming from the main principals, Ayres and Cagney.
(There are Spoilers) Rarely seen and almost forgotten early gangster film that in fact was the first of the great crime motion pictures of the early 1930's, released before the big three "Little Caesar" "Public Enemy" and "Scarface", that put the "organize" into "organized crime".Getting to the top of the heap of the Chicago Crime Syndicate through murder blackmail and payoffs, to the police politicians and judges,Louie Ricarno decides to get all the city's bootleg gangs united into one big operation with him of course in charge.
Hesitant at first the leaders of the crime gangs soon see the genius of Ricarno's master plan in that they now can runs their illegal business's without the fear of being rubbed out by each other.Feeling that there's nothing left for him to conquer, in the world of crime, Louie decides to retire, at the ripe old age of 22,and move to his estate in Forida to live out his life in peace and quite, with his new wife Doris, spending his time playing golf and writing his autobiography.
Wanting to get Louie out of retirement and thus, with him back in charge, save what's still left of the organization two of his former colleagues the Midget and his partner in crime Gimpy try to kidnap little Jackie.
That was to show the Midget just what's in store for him or anyone else who messes with either the "Great Louie Ricarno",the self proclaimed "Napoleon of Crime", or those like Little Jackie that he loves and cares about.
When I refer to the 'Big Three' I am of course referring to the holy trinity of early 1930's gangster flicks: Little Caesar, The Public Enemy & Scarface.Firstly, this is NOT a James Cagney movie.
It's a Lew Ayres movie in which James Cagney, (In only his second movie), is amongst the great supporting cast and based on this performance it was easy to see the star in the making.Lew Ayres plays Louie Ricarno, a bootlegging gangster determined to get rich or die trying.
One wonders whether Charles 'Lucky' Luciano ever saw this movie and used this element of it's plot as his blueprint for the 'syndicate' which he adopted after the murder of crime boss Salvatore Maranzano a year later.After a period of profitable peace for all involved, Ricarno feels that he's made enough money to quit the rackets for good and go straight.
His two main reasons for this life style U turn, is his new wife Doris, (Dorothy Mathews), (who unbeknown to him is having a passionate affair with his best friend Mileaway), and his young Brother Jackie, played brilliantly by Leon Janney.
In his bid to escape, he is knocked over and killed by a passing truck.On hearing the news, Louie, now driven solely by vengeance on the would be kidnappers, returns to his old turf, but peace & profits are the last thing on his mind, and you half expect him to utter Al Pacino's memorable line "Just when I thought I was out....they pull me back in"Ayres, although brilliant in his role was probably miscast, especially when you had the best movie tough guy in world playing the lead's sidekick.
(A mistake they nearly duplicated with The Public Enemy until the producers woke up).One let down of the movie was the rivalry between Ayres and fellow gang boss Rocco (Noel Madison), I feel the bitterness between the two needed to be brought out in the plot a little more.
Sadly, because they didn't do this, the movie is robbed of any REAL menacing villain.The Pre-code element was also very risqué and the fact that the affair between Cagney's & Mathews's chaarcters was so obviously sexual, must have had all at the Hays office pulling their hair out.Like in most early talkies, many cast members seem to struggle with adapting to the new medium, such as adopting wild animated body gestures as they would have done in silent pictures and also speaking terribly slowly as they were so often told to do.
Luckily both Ayres & Cagney are on hand to show them that you didn't need to speak three words a minute to be understood on film.Doorway to Hell is a great early Warner's gangster movie and worth giving a go.Enjoy!.
This is a very early talkie gangster film.
It wasn't until a year later that these two problems were pretty much eliminated in American films and even better gangster films like PUBLIC ENEMY and LITTLE CAESAR debuted.The story itself is very interesting due to its cast.
Since he wasn't an established star, it's not surprising he plays a supporting role though he already was being cast as a mobster in films.The movie is in some ways a very typical Warner Brothers gangster film, though with one exception.
While "Little Caesar" dealt with the rise of a mobster within an organised crime ring and "The Public Enemy" was about a pair of thugs making their way up in the criminal world, "The Doorway to Hell" tried to deal with the complexities of a gangster, even as the film starts, already called "King of the Underworld", who wants out but is not allowed to break away.The whole point of the film was (to me) someone struggling with their inner demons that were triumphing over his basic goodness.
The role needed a clean cut actor who was believable, especially when he left the rackets to try and live a normal life and Lew Ayres was perfect, however he didn't have much of a presence in the scenes where he was doing some tough talking to his mob.
It didn't help that his off-sider, Mileaway, was played by James Cagney - only his second film but he was already acting like a veteran.
Zanuck cast James Cagney in his second film role; a Lew Ayres vehicle directed by the legendary Archie Mayo.
Ayres plays Louie Ricarno a smart young wise guy that organizes the multiple gangs of Chicago.
The beer barons honoring each others territory and things running smoothly, Louie decides to put the gangster life behind him and marry a moll named Doris(Dorothy Mathews)and retire to Florida.