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Little Caesar (1931)

The then-unknown Edward G. Robinson became a star in this pre-Code crime drama, the first of the gangster classics, as "Rico" Bandello, an Al Capone-inspired Italian hood who moves from petty thief to mob kingpin. Blasting his machine gun from one job to another, Rico finds himself at odds with a longtime friend (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) who knows too much about the crook. With Glenda Farrell, Sidney Blackmer; Mervyn LeRoy directs. 78 min. BW/Rtg: NR

The Public Enemy (1931)

Grown up poor in early-20th-century Chicago, Tom Powers (James Cagney) got used to taking what he wanted. When Prohibition came in, he was ready to grab easy cash as a bootlegger's muscle, but the bill for a criminal lifestyle would ultimately come due. Star-making gangster cycle foundation piece from Warner co-stars Joan Blondell, Donald Cook, Eddie Woods, Jean Harlow, and (in the classic grapefruit-in-the-kisser scene) Mae Clarke. William A. Wellman directs. 84 min. BW/Rtg: NR

The Petrified Forest (1936)

Based on Robert Sherwood’s play about mobsters holding the residents of an isolated Arizona diner hostage, this classic gangster drama stars Leslie Howard as a failed writer whose appearance in the café attracts the interest of a waitress (Bette Davis). Fate then brings them into contact with thug Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart, in the role that made him a star), when he and his gang of fugitives take them prisoner in a bid to escape the law. With Charley Grapewin, Genevieve Tobin. 82 min. BW/Rtg: NR

White Heat (1949)

Quintessential gangster film features James Cagney as Cody Jarrett, a psychotic, mother-obsessed gunman who plans to escape from prison with fellow inmate Vic Pardo (Edmond O’Brien) and reunite his old crew for an armored car job. But Pardo is a federal agent sent to infiltrate the gang, leading to a violent shoot-out with the law and a fiery finale. Virginia Mayo and, as Ma Jarrett, Margaret Wycherly co-star; Raoul Walsh directs. 113 min. BW/Rtg: NR

Standard; Soundtrack: English; Subtitles: English (SDH); bonus documentary "Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film."