Discuss Angels with Dirty Faces
Discuss → Movies → Angels with Dirty Faces → General
**SPOILER**: The ending
posted by wonder2wonderSTAFFMOD on March 26, 2017 at 6:17 AM
It didn't end like other gangster movies in a big shoot out.
Why did Rocky start begging and crying for his life? Was he really afraid? Did the priest convince him with talk of saving souls?
Reply by Strange Bedfellows
on March 26, 2017 at 10:02 AM
This is Jimmy Cagney !! Of course he was trying to stop being hero worshipped by the kids !!
Reply by tmdb53400018
on March 26, 2017 at 12:30 PM
It's beautifully ambiguous. One thing I love is that you just don't know what his true motivation was -- draw your own conclusion.
Reply by jann
on March 26, 2017 at 4:15 PM
Yes, no one knows and the point is that the audience has to decide for themselves.
Reply by Quincey_Morris
on January 23, 2019 at 6:59 PM
He was cool in the face of death earlier, I think it was just an act for the kids.
Reply by barrymost
on August 7, 2020 at 5:46 PM
Agreed. I think Pat O'Brian's argument convinced him at the last moment to put on a show that would deter the kids from a miserable life of crime.
Reply by Strange Bedfellows
on August 7, 2020 at 6:22 PM
Don't forget this film was made in the days when good mostly triumphed over evil. I think they were trying to show that it was evil that was driving Jimmy and that once that evil had been triumphed over then Jimmy was redeemed and became good in the end. That is my take on it - but of course - it is ambiguous.
Reply by barrymost
on August 9, 2020 at 11:39 PM
Yes, also an excellent point.