Long before the release of such memorable gangster films as "The Godfather "and "Bonnie and Clyde, " tough guys portrayed by Edward G. Robinson, Jimmy Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and other pioneers in the crime genre were shooting up movie screens. This intensely readable summary of the best gangster films ever made spans the decades from the 1930s to the present day. Films cited in this book include: The Big Sleep * Bonnie and Clyde * Bullitt * Dillinger * Each Dawn I Die * Gangs of New York * The Godfather, I and II * L.A. Confidential * Little Caesar * The Petrified Forest * Scarface * This Gun for Hire * White Heat . . . and many more Films are presented in chronological order to illustrate the genreas development and the impact early artists had on later directors, actors, and technicians. Plot summaries are presented, casts and credits are listed, and illustrations include ad posters and evocative movie stills. More than 200 illustrations.