"City Streets" (1931), Directed by Rouben Mamoulian was an interesting film, and very advanced for its time. The two main characters Sylvia Sidney and Gary Cooper were very strong actors and portrayed their lines and scenes with great truthfulness. It was great to see how the fact that this film was made pre code era had such an influence on what the filmmakers showed. It has elements and scenes that expand the story much better than some post code films could. The scenes never got stale and the camera panning, angles, and close ups were very well done. There weren't too many dull moments, it kept me interested throughout.

City Streets(1931)is not your typical gangster film. One example is Mamoulian never showed anyone being killed. When Nans father kills his buddy they purposely focus on Nan and you hear the gunshot. throughout the movie they always avoid any killings. The Kid, Nans lover is a shooting gallery showman and he doesn't want anything to do with the mob. however when Nan takes the blame for what her father did and is sent to jail. The Kid decides he needs to join the mob in order to support Nan while she's in jail. We realize that the mob is not all that its cracked up to be. Sure you can make a lot of money but your at risk of death anytime the boss changes his mind. Also the mob is filled with immediate pleasure and then you are tossed off to the side. The acting in the film was excellent. All the actors were well chosen for their roles. However Big fellow had a weird almost Spanish accent it just doesn't make any sense. It is a very different approach to gangster films because it doesn't end in a massive gunfight. City Streets is an excellent film that manages to keep it G rated while still being a gangster film.

I like watching movies about gang fighting and Mafia. But this movie I feel like director wants to tell us a story about love among gang fighting. But I cannot tell it is a love story or a gang fighting story. It does not have a emphasize side. That's the main cause for me to unlike this movie. But it does have few interesting points to attract me during watching time. 1) At the beginning of this movie, camera focuses on the wheels of those big trucks. These big wheels view and night time street together give us a heavy starting for this movie. 2) The first guy's death, Director does not use any direct killing or bloody shots to say that guy is dead. Only a hat floated on the river. It implies that owner of this hat was dead. 3) Two young lovers playing on the beach. At the starting of this part, it was a beautiful view. It had sunshine and sea. The kid and Nan was happy with each other. But after a conversation about future. They had disagreement. They argued with each other and tried to convince each other. Then the kid walked away from Nan. But as soon as Nan realized how she loved this man, she ran to him. They hugged and kissed just like the argument never happened. 4) While Nan's father and his friend waiting for the elevator, they were having a conversation. But director use a special way to show this. He uses the shadow on the wall as real person to talk. So I can tell they were talking to each other but can't see their face both on the screen. It was a actor and other actor's shadow.

Overall, this film was well put together. Low angled cameras were visual in the beginning. The film was quite dark in the beginning, but the lighting became better after about 2-5 minutes. Love plays a role in this film with Gary and Sylvia. Gary is not the type of man who will settle for less. He and Slyvia who date and are in love want to get married. Gary does not have all the funds he needs. Slyvia who is the "racketeer's" daughter suggests to Gary that he should work with her father so that he can earn the funds needed to get married. Gary does not like that type of work, which includes beer, and states that's not an option. Slyvia selfishly tells Gary he will practically never earn the money to get married and basically in our terms nowadays called him, "broke". Gary, not settling for less, gets up and leaves, and Slyvia shows her true love by running to him apologizing and asking for forgiveness. I liked this film!