Gang War (1940) User Reviews

Public Enemy Wannabe

[howdymax · 6/10 · 15 February 2003]

This is a routine crime melodrama with amateurish acting, but it is still an interesting movie for a couple of reasons.

It is one of a genre produced in the 30's and 40' that were called "race" pictures. These were movies that featured all black casts that mirrored lesser white "B" movies of the period. It is important to realize that the acting and script were not very polished, but that they were honest efforts to portray blacks in a more positive light. Looking back on that period and recognizing the stereotyping blacks suffered, one has to applaud the efforts that Popkin and the other producers put out.

Ralph Cooper, playing the gangster, was a regular in these features but I thought he would look more at home in a board room than a pool room. His love interest, played by Gladys Snyder was a pleasant surprise. I found her to be believable and quite appealing. I was disappointed to find that she only appeared in one other movie also made in 1940.

All in all, given the budget and distribution restrictions these pictures were subject to, I think they were a brave effort to reach a hungry and ignored audience. Not only do I think they did it well, but I think they displayed a pride in the black race that Hollywood has forgotten about. Even talented black actors and directors like Spike Lee seem to revel in the violence, drugs, and misogynism of "the hood". I honestly think the industry should take another look at these pictures and try to recapture the tenderness and emotions they invoked. Black viewers can take pride in these features and white viewers might develop a better understanding of black pride - without the violence.

A routine crime drama with nothing special to recommend.

[Art-22 · 5/10 · 16 July 1999]

Ralph Cooper, Lawrence Criner and Maceo Sheffield are three gang leaders in Harlem vying for control of the jukebox business, but none of them had a flair for acting like a tough gang boss. As a result, I never did get involved with the goings on. I guess I am spoiled by portrayals by James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Paul Muni and Humphrey Bogart in some of the mainstream crime movies of the 30's. This film has its fistfights, car chases and shootouts, and a love interest in Gladys Snyder, but it somehow left me cold.

This was a "race" film with an all black cast, intended for black audiences, and it's interesting to note that Ralph Cooper was often called "The Bronze Bogart" in ads. As tough guys, there's no comparison.

Gang War was an interesting "race" movie with some excitement

[tavm · 6/10 · 25 January 2015]

I just watched a 50-minute version of this low-budget "race" movie. It stars Ralph Cooper as a gangster having a couple of rivals killed so he takes over the town. Gladys Snyder is the singer Cooper's in love with but she's more of the kind willing to call the police if she knows how much in trouble he's in especially if one of them is an old buddy of Cooper's. I'll just now say that while there are some exciting fights and chase scenes, this seemed like a by-the-numbers take on the gangster genre. Still, Gang War is worth a look if you're curious about these kind of movies made when much of the country was segregated meaning movies like this would only be shown in those theatres meant for the black audience. P.S. IMDb lists Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison as playing a gang member in this one but I haven't seen anyone who resembles the former Our Gang member as an adult. Maybe when I watch some of his East Side Kids movies, I'll be able to identify him in this movie later on.

The Black Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney

[msladysoul · 15 November 2003]

This film is very enjoyable. I think anyone will enjoy it who sees it. This film is a gangster film and very entertaining. You would think your watching Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, John Garfield or Edward G. Robinson, but really its Ralph Cooper and Monte Hawley. Ralph Cooper, Reginald Fenderson and Monte Hawley were very popular in the Black cast films. They usually played hard-nose gangsters but with a weak heart for the women. They were great actors and very appreciated in the Black community. Their all forgotten, sadly since they were not Belafonte and Poitier, but Cooper, Fenderson, and Hawley was the first to show real dramatic acting and be in substantial roles made by blacks for black without Hollywood stereotypes but it seems your only remembered if you cross over which has a lot of missing figures from Black History because of that. Shouldn't we remember the ones who stayed stars within the Black race and helped the progress in Black Cinema who didn't need white acceptance or help? Black cast films like this were popular in the Black community, it gave Black people a break from the stereotypical roles in Hollywood. Ralph Cooper wrote, directed and starred in some of the best movies of the Black cast films. These films made you forget color and look at talent, the same way you would white actors/actresses. What he did do was appreciated. He was the son of Harlem. This film is about 60 minutes long but very jam-packed. Gorgeous, babyfaced black jean harlow look alike Gladys Snyder is regal and elegant in the movie. Anyone who wants to see what life was like in Harlem in the 1930s. This is one of them. The glamour, talent and beauty. This isn't some "B" movie. It's really action-packed with non-stop entertainment.

Ralph Cooper Crime Drama

[CatherineYronwode · 7/10 · 15 October 2006]

Because the "all colored cast" or "race movies" of the first half of the 20th century were made on such low budgets, due to systematized racial discrimination in the United States of America at that time, it is not really right to compare their production values with comparable mainstream "poverty row" B-movie crime dramas of the same era. Also, there has been, until lately, little or no attempt to preserve or restore race films, and thus many of the copies circulating as of the early 21st century are taken from scratched 16 mm prints, have garbled sound tracks, or derive from "dupey" videotapes in worse condition than comparable poverty row films of the same era. Also, culturally speaking, there are, in sheer terms of run-time, more musical and dancing interludes in race film crime dramas than in mainstream poverty row crime dramas of the same era, a fact that is jarring to some modern Caucasian reviewers, but that truthfully reflects the interests of the intended African American audiences of the era in which these films were made. Therefore, in terms of "ranking," "rating" or "voting" for race film crime dramas at IMDb, it is imperative to discard these factors and judge the movies on their own unique merits. When viewed in this way, "Gang War," starring Ralph Cooper is a solid entry in the genre. The typical conflict of interest between devoting screen time to the gangster plot and devoting screen time to the singers, dancers, and specialty acts applies, but if one of the reasons you seek out and watch these movies *is* to see the variety acts, then "Gang War" will leave you quite satisfied. A restoration print is probably too much to hope for, but i still hold out hope that some day a true benefactor of film history will be led to give these films the same sort of restoration that has been accorded other early movies.

by any definition a really good but pretty violent crime drama about a gangster reaching for the top

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 6 December 2006]

Ignore the fact that this is a movie with an all black cast and just take it for what it is, a really good crime drama.

The plot of this little gem has Bob "Killer" Meade making his move to take over the gangs in Harlem after his boss refuses to do anything about a friend who was killed in a gang fight over territory.Meade kills his boss and then begins to move to increase his hold on the rackets and fight the other gangs. Its a violent affair that only pauses for time out with his girl who's an up and coming singer.

An hour long this is a fast moving and very violent film. I would have thought that some of the nastiness of this film would have been banned by the production code, clearly the rules were being ignored by some independent producers. This film hearkens back to the precode films of James Cagney, Paul Muni and Edward G Robinson with its on screen death toll. (Even by todays standards the film is some what nasty in its violence) Directed by a sure handed Leo Popkin, this film uses montages of stock footage and newspaper headlines to make you feel as though you're seeing much more than you really are. The paper dodge is as clichéd as you can get but it manages to stretch a meager budget into something many of the big studios would have been proud to release. Clearly the man knew how to stretch a dollar and make you believe you were actually seeing more than you were.

Far from perfect there are times when the budget shows in the use of of some stock sets. Also the cast is no always on the same level acting wise, but it doesn't really mater since the story moves things along so that you really don't care.

Yes this is a program B film, but at the same time it manages to be a breath of fresh air to anyone who's seen more than their share of B programmers.

Worth a look for anyone who wants to see a very good little action film. You may not love it but I'm pretty sure that if you take it on its own terms you'll come away liking it a great deal.

Interesting "Race" Movie

[jtyroler · 8/10 · 19 May 2008]

One of the possibly lesser known aspects of early to mid-20th century racism is "race" movies - movies made by African Americans largely for African-American audiences. I can't imagine what it would have been like when this was released in 1940 - about a month after Hattie McDaniel won her Oscar for "Gone With the Wind". For many people, this might have been their first, if not only, view of city life.

Although there probably wasn't much of a budget, this actually seems to make the most of what they to work with. It's a pretty good gangster movie. It's a chance to see life in Harlem just prior to WWII, and quite probably, one of the few chances to see these entertainers on film.

This is the story of an ambitious gangster who fights his way towards the top of the Harlem underworld who takes over, what appears to have been a lucrative business in jukeboxes. This isn't as violent as some of the Warner Brothers pre-code gangster movies (i.e., "The Public Enemy" or "Scarface"), but is fairly fast-paced and well worth watching. I'm glad TCM showed this rare gem.

Public enemy, Harlem style.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 30 November 2023]

This is an above average rather elaborate all black cast organized drama that shows Ralph Cooper at his best and has some nifty Cotton Club like sequences too. He's Bob "Killer" Meade, exonerated for murder of a crime ring leader whose turf he took over, in love with talented singer Gladys Turner, and in a rivalry with another gang's turf leader Lawrence Criner. Cooper is determined to have Turner for himself, and if that means destroying his rival for her heart, he'll be as ruthless as Little Caesar to get her.

I was shocked by camera work that wasn't exactly flattering to Turner, puffing out her cheek bones noticeably in closeups, while it other angles, she's quite beautiful. She's sort of a Hedy Lamarr/Joan Bennett look, but more innocent looking except when the camera moves too far in. Other than that, this is a pretty snazzy crime drama with Cooper charming but ruthless. Outside of the flaws mentioned above, this is really good on a technical angle, with the editing and use of montages really good. One of the best of the black produced race films, filled with ingenuity, action and great outdoor chase sequences.

Interesting Race Drama

[Michael_Elliott · 26 February 2008]

Gang War (1940)

** (out of 4)

Another early film from the black cinema, this one directed by Leo C. Popkin. This is a gangster picture about two rival gangs fighting over a profitable juke joint. Once again this film features a very small budget since it would only be shown in black cinemas but the director and screenwriter hold back no punches and make a pretty good movie. The opening bar fight is terrific and there's some nice police chases and shootouts as well. The acting is quite poor and brings the film down a few notches but this one here is certainly worth checking out. The director went on to produce D.O.A. and star Ralph Cooper was billed as "The Dark Gable" or "Bronze Bogart".