I did not have any surprise with this film. I have always loved every of the Don Siegel's features and this one makes no exception. Action packed, rough, tough script pulled by terrific performances with the likes of Mickey Rooney and Leo Gordon. I will never forget their prison films characters; LAST MILE for Rooney and RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11 for Gordon. Rooney is as crazy as he was in the Howard Koch's masterpiece where he already was a cold blooded killer, leader of a bunch of men who have nothing to lose. This gangster film is not so easy to purchase and that's a real shame. I think it is one of the best of Don Siegel, so typical of his trade mark. Find it at all costs.

In the late 1950s and early 60s, 1930s gangsters were the rage. In addition to the TV show "The Untouchables", there were a lot of films that practically made heroes out of Dillinger, Ma Barker and other unsavory jerks of the era. One thing these depictions all had in common...they bore little semblance to the actual criminals! Why? Because their real life exploits weren't all that exciting...so they spiced it up by fictionalizing their lives--much like films of the 1930s and 40s did with cowboys like Billy the Kid and Jesse James. So, if you are looking for a history lesson or documentary about Baby Face Nelson, you should not bother with this movie.If you don't mind that it's almost complete fiction, the film is modestly entertaining. Mickey Rooney's portrayal of the man is much like Jimmy Cagney's portrayal of Cody Jarrett in "White Heat"...completely over the top and more a caricature than realistic portrayal of anyone. This isn't so much a complaint...this is entertaining but it's hard to imagine anyone this antisocial and nasty being a successful gangster or working with any gang. This version of Nelson shoots people right and left, hates EVERYONE and is just plain nuts. The only problem with all this is that there is no room for anyone else in the film...even Dillinger! These other characters are one-dimensional and uninteresting. Overall, a dopey but enjoyable film. It has many faults but still makes for fun viewing if you have very, very modest expectations.

Shortly after watching a tremendous film for the very first time called Dirty Harry,I decided,that since having become a big fan of Clint Eastwood thanks to his one-two punch of Changaling and Grand Torino,I felt that it was about time to take a look at the credits of Dirty Harry's director:Don Siegel.As I went down the list of titles by Siegel,I was surprise to find very near the end of the page that one of his first ever films was about a gangster called Baby Face Nelson.Predicting,that this would be a very easy film to get hold of,thanks to it being directed by the man behind Dirty Harry and the original Invasion of The Body Snatchers I went to order the film on Amazon.Shortly after getting onto the site,I soon began to get a creeping feeling that this was a film which seemed to have been wiped off the face of the earth.Desperate to find what was now becoming one of my "holy grail" films,I spent the next 4 years checking up on Youtube and Ebay every week in the hope of getting the chance to see the film.With having tried every option possible to get hold of this title,I eventually accepted that I would have to admit defeat on every getting hold of the film.A few months after waving "the white flag",me and my dad experienced one of the few times where we have both been stunned into silence,when a very kind friend caught me completely off-guard and passed me the film!After all of the years of searching,I decided that it was at last time to sit back and see one of the most elusive gangsters ever for the very first time. The plot:Given an early release from prison thanks to good behaviour,Lester Joseph Gillis prepares to take his first breath of freedom.Suddenly,as soon as the prison doors are closed behind Lester,a car appears which is driven by a man who has been order to take him to meet the person who secretly sorted out his early release:Rocca.Relucktently.Agreeing to the meeting,Gillis is told by that due to him having had to invest a good amount of cash in getting him out of jail,Rocca really hopes that Gillis will pay him back by doing some very important "missions".After being shown the first person who he is required to "deal" with,Rocca passes Lester some cash and drops him off so that he can at last be reunited with his wife.As he is still thinking about being reunited with his wife,Lester's flat is suddenly invaded by two cops,who find a gun that has been secretly placed by Rocca as a set up to get Gills sent straight back to jail.Being all prepared to send Gills straight back from where he came from,the plan of Rocca and the dirty police officers is left in tatters when Lester arranges his own secret plan with his wife,who intercepts the train carrying Gills and ends up becoming his getaway driver.As Lester plans on how to get his own back at Rocca and his name begins to climb up the Ten Most Wanted list,he soon starts to notice that as the number of crimes he commits goes up,the tightening of the noose from the police also starts to get closer and closer. View on the film:Although Mickey Rooney was sadly unable to completely block my memory of him being the lovable Andy Hardy in a series of films that he made with Judy Garland,I still feel that he gave a good performance as the "angelic face" gangster,with the scenes of Gills committing a series of robberies allowing Ronny to show a wickedly cunning side to the character,and also having Roony show a wonderful "wise guys" snarl as he begins to feel that he is quickly becoming "the man" of the corrupt ridden city that Siegel displays.Whilst I did still have my old memories of Mickey in my head,Caolyn Jones ended up completely catching me off- guard with her great performance as Nelson's wife .Along with not getting me to suspect for a moment that this was one of the main cast members from the classic TV series The Addams Family,Jones (who also has a sun bathing scene in the film!) gives a fantastic performance as Nelson's Femme Fatale Sue,that along with showing her desperate to wrap herself around Nelson's "rouge" lifestyle,also allows Jones wonderful "Gothic" face to show Sue as someone with an edgy side,who instead of being unwillingly pulled into Nelson's world,is actually someone that is their for the whole thrill of it all.Despite the film starting with a note that dedicates this sadly almost impossible to find,fantastic Gangster Film Noir to the FBI!,director Don Siegel displays an excitement for the anti-heroes activities that he would return to 14 years later.For the excellent stylish look of the film,Siegel has a number of objects in the background "shaded" (something which he also smartly does with the suits that the characters wear) into black,that allows for a great contrast with the characters clothes,faces and still-thrilling wild robbery scenes,which allow Siegel to create a terrific,far from "babyface" Gangster/Crime Film Noir.

Don Siegel's BABY FACE NELSON is one of the harshest, most ferocious of movies; its conclusion one of the bleakest ever filmed. Siegel hit this same note of bitter cynicism again later in his career with DIRTY HARRY; but because BABY FACE NELSON offers no redemption for its protagonist, it is the more direct and powerful film. The central performance by Mickey Rooney ranks with Cagney's Cody Jarrett in Walsh's WHITE HEAT, in its absolute lack of sentimentality, utterly uninterested in ingratiation. One of the most chilling moments is when Nelson abruptly sets free a hostage instead of killing him: Rooney offers no clue as to why. There is no reason why: it is a whim as little understood by Nelson as by the viewer. An independent production originally released through United Artists, it has not been seen theatrically for several decades, and seems never to have been issued on DVD. Long overdue for rediscovery, BABY FACE NELSON should take its place alongside Siegel's better known pictures THE LINE UP and HELL IS FOR HEROES as a dark and chilling masterpiece.