![James Cagney who in real life was actually against criminal activity sure knew how to act as a criminal. There are plenty of Cagney movies either it be crime or not but his bulldog looks and his snappy attitude wants us to watch more of his gangster films.In "White Heat," his performance as a crazed gangster was a scary performance and a memorable one at that. His mother fixation and his violent attitude pushed Cagney as one of the great actors of his generation. He liked to push limits, to really good emotion to his roles. Now talking about his early roles like "Public Enemy," was just as promising to watch. He stormed audiences with his persona. So just by that, that's why Cagney is one of those gangster actors you can never forget about. He was one of the ones that also defined them. ](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/hash/34/85/348599e4601e6038cf6d38fb3c8859c4.jpg?itok=dpT1N1KV "James Cagney who in real life was actually against criminal activity sure knew how to act as a criminal. There are plenty of Cagney movies either it be crime or not but his bulldog looks and his snappy attitude wants us to watch more of his gangster films.In "White Heat," his performance as a crazed gangster was a scary performance and a memorable one at that. His mother fixation and his violent attitude pushed Cagney as one of the great actors of his generation. He liked to push limits, to really good emotion to his roles. Now talking about his early roles like "Public Enemy," was just as promising to watch. He stormed audiences with his persona. So just by that, that's why Cagney is one of those gangster actors you can never forget about. He was one of the ones that also defined them. "){kind=small}
![George Raft is another classic actor that can be defined in gangster movies. He wasn't always the tough either but when he was, he was! Raft always had that sly look to him and what's also interesting was how he could add the realism to the movies because many sources say Raft was friends with mobsters and one in particular was Bugsy Siegel.Raft dominated gangster movies with Cagney and Robinson during the 30s and the early 40s. One thing about him even if he wasn't in the lead, his characters were memorable like in, "Scarface," and when he was the lead he stole the show with his strong gritty performances!](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/hash/7a/66/1361398649_9081_George_Raft_in_Invisible_Stripes_trailer.jpg?itok=aHSwpqce "George Raft is another classic actor that can be defined in gangster movies. He wasn't always the tough either but when he was, he was! Raft always had that sly look to him and what's also interesting was how he could add the realism to the movies because many sources say Raft was friends with mobsters and one in particular was Bugsy Siegel.Raft dominated gangster movies with Cagney and Robinson during the 30s and the early 40s. One thing about him even if he wasn't in the lead, his characters were memorable like in, "Scarface," and when he was the lead he stole the show with his strong gritty performances!"){kind=small}
![Edward G. Robinson has played his fair share of gangsters film and he has starred in plenty of other movies too but his performance in films like, "Little Caesar," are quite memorable.He had that tough guy look too him and he also had that voice that was very distinctive! Edward G. Robinson is one of those actors that helped define the gangster film and the persona. He had that brilliant lingo and memorable quotes, thanks both to the writers of his scripts and to his own charisma. But don't just take my word for it, if you have never seen his work well rent one of his gangster movies and see what you're missing!](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/hash/f0/16/f0164d926956874df8aca8207e166ec4.jpg?itok=iNSDjco9 "Edward G. Robinson has played his fair share of gangsters film and he has starred in plenty of other movies too but his performance in films like, "Little Caesar," are quite memorable.He had that tough guy look too him and he also had that voice that was very distinctive! Edward G. Robinson is one of those actors that helped define the gangster film and the persona. He had that brilliant lingo and memorable quotes, thanks both to the writers of his scripts and to his own charisma. But don't just take my word for it, if you have never seen his work well rent one of his gangster movies and see what you're missing!")
If you love gangster cinema:
If you love gangster cinema then you'll love the list about these classic actors who have starred in those kind of movies. The men on this list have one thing in common, they all starred in either one or many memorable gangster movies. I know there were a lot of actors who've starred in some good gangster films and I've probably left them out but the ones that are added on the list have some good credentials.
Some classic gangster films:
If you think of classic gangster films like the movie "Goodfellas," well you're not wrong, that movie is a classic but this article when talking about actors is focused are movies made between the early 30s to the 50s. There is nothing wrong with movies made later just were are going to look at some older ones!
- "Little Caesar"
- "Angels with Dirty Faces"
- "Scarface" (Paul Muni's classic not Al Pacino's classic)
- "Public Enemy"
- White Heat"
- "The Racket"
- "Underworld"
So those are just some of the movies that graced the audiences.
Now that you know:
Now that you got a little refresher take a look at the list and see who these five men are! If you know these kind of movies then you may have you guessed that James Cagney is on the list, well you're right but who are the other four? Take a peek!
![Edward G. Robinson has played his fair share of gangsters film and he has starred in plenty of other movies too but his performance in films like, "Little Caesar," are quite memorable.He had that tough guy look too him and he also had that voice that was very distinctive! Edward G. Robinson is one of those actors that helped define the gangster film and the persona. He had that brilliant lingo and memorable quotes, thanks both to the writers of his scripts and to his own charisma. But don't just take my word for it, if you have never seen his work well rent one of his gangster movies and see what you're missing!](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/6b/11/6b11c931c80c1e45efd1a0e603bbf775.jpg?itok=cWmEmUMJ "Edward G. Robinson has played his fair share of gangsters film and he has starred in plenty of other movies too but his performance in films like, "Little Caesar," are quite memorable.He had that tough guy look too him and he also had that voice that was very distinctive! Edward G. Robinson is one of those actors that helped define the gangster film and the persona. He had that brilliant lingo and memorable quotes, thanks both to the writers of his scripts and to his own charisma. But don't just take my word for it, if you have never seen his work well rent one of his gangster movies and see what you're missing!")
![George Raft is another classic actor that can be defined in gangster movies. He wasn't always the tough either but when he was, he was! Raft always had that sly look to him and what's also interesting was how he could add the realism to the movies because many sources say Raft was friends with mobsters and one in particular was Bugsy Siegel.Raft dominated gangster movies with Cagney and Robinson during the 30s and the early 40s. One thing about him even if he wasn't in the lead, his characters were memorable like in, "Scarface," and when he was the lead he stole the show with his strong gritty performances!](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/7a/66/1361398649_9081_George_Raft_in_Invisible_Stripes_trailer.jpg?itok=UPZdZZTV "George Raft is another classic actor that can be defined in gangster movies. He wasn't always the tough either but when he was, he was! Raft always had that sly look to him and what's also interesting was how he could add the realism to the movies because many sources say Raft was friends with mobsters and one in particular was Bugsy Siegel.Raft dominated gangster movies with Cagney and Robinson during the 30s and the early 40s. One thing about him even if he wasn't in the lead, his characters were memorable like in, "Scarface," and when he was the lead he stole the show with his strong gritty performances!")
![James Cagney who in real life was actually against criminal activity sure knew how to act as a criminal. There are plenty of Cagney movies either it be crime or not but his bulldog looks and his snappy attitude wants us to watch more of his gangster films.In "White Heat," his performance as a crazed gangster was a scary performance and a memorable one at that. His mother fixation and his violent attitude pushed Cagney as one of the great actors of his generation. He liked to push limits, to really good emotion to his roles. Now talking about his early roles like "Public Enemy," was just as promising to watch. He stormed audiences with his persona. So just by that, that's why Cagney is one of those gangster actors you can never forget about. He was one of the ones that also defined them. ](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/39/dc/39dcc3bfb3ec3126599e8324a2d07b68.jpg?itok=dLAgtDH3 "James Cagney who in real life was actually against criminal activity sure knew how to act as a criminal. There are plenty of Cagney movies either it be crime or not but his bulldog looks and his snappy attitude wants us to watch more of his gangster films.In "White Heat," his performance as a crazed gangster was a scary performance and a memorable one at that. His mother fixation and his violent attitude pushed Cagney as one of the great actors of his generation. He liked to push limits, to really good emotion to his roles. Now talking about his early roles like "Public Enemy," was just as promising to watch. He stormed audiences with his persona. So just by that, that's why Cagney is one of those gangster actors you can never forget about. He was one of the ones that also defined them. ")
![Richard Widmark in his first film a film noir, "Kiss of Death," made an impression as a psychotic gangster and from that he was good at playing those kind of roles. His laugh and that smile could freak out a crowd. He also would like to note starred in plenty of westerns too.It seemed when film noir movies needed a back guy in the late 40s and 50s films, Richard Widmark was a good choice. "Night and the City," one of those must see noir ones. He acting ability to both frighten the audience and even could make himself the nervous type of character.He made the perfect hoodlum and that's why he's on the list. He has starred in plenty of different kind of movies but there was something about his psychotic behavior in crime films that makes him memorable. ](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/9b/67/9b6728ea19af061cdfb638160b9c6694.jpg?itok=lIFNtDiS "Richard Widmark in his first film a film noir, "Kiss of Death," made an impression as a psychotic gangster and from that he was good at playing those kind of roles. His laugh and that smile could freak out a crowd. He also would like to note starred in plenty of westerns too.It seemed when film noir movies needed a back guy in the late 40s and 50s films, Richard Widmark was a good choice. "Night and the City," one of those must see noir ones. He acting ability to both frighten the audience and even could make himself the nervous type of character.He made the perfect hoodlum and that's why he's on the list. He has starred in plenty of different kind of movies but there was something about his psychotic behavior in crime films that makes him memorable. ")
![Paul Muni was the first Scarface of cinema. His performance in "Scarface," just makes him an actor that is memorable with gangster movies. Now watching in "Scarface," you can see and feel the emotion he gave the role. He was also in the gangster film, "Angel On My Shoulder," which was a comedy. So he had a comedic side to the gangster's life.Muni like a lot of actors on the list had a diverse career, he wasn't just a typecast because of that role in "Scarface," is actually helped his career though before that in 1929, he got his first Oscar Nomination, so Muni had it going pretty good for him.But when one thinks of gangsters films they should think of his character in "Scarface." ](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/profile_large/hash/f1/3f/f13fc601ba6eea0611933f798fa9b1b6.jpg?itok=fGrWAGfx "Paul Muni was the first Scarface of cinema. His performance in "Scarface," just makes him an actor that is memorable with gangster movies. Now watching in "Scarface," you can see and feel the emotion he gave the role. He was also in the gangster film, "Angel On My Shoulder," which was a comedy. So he had a comedic side to the gangster's life.Muni like a lot of actors on the list had a diverse career, he wasn't just a typecast because of that role in "Scarface," is actually helped his career though before that in 1929, he got his first Oscar Nomination, so Muni had it going pretty good for him.But when one thinks of gangsters films they should think of his character in "Scarface." ")
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