The roaring Twenties have come roaring back in a big way on the small screen. I’m pretty knowledgeable about the era but I learned a plethora of new details fromKen Burns’Prohibition. I knew how important women were in getting the damn thing passed but didn’t know how instrumental they were in its repeal. Let’s hoist one for the ladies. I already knew how muchAl Smith rocked before he became embittered by his defeat and FDR’s enacting his his Noo Yawk programs nationally without giving as much credit as Smith thought he was due.
I keep meaning to blog aboutBoardwalk Empire but the first episode of Season-2 left me uninspired except for the bits about Chalky White. Episode-2, on the other hand, was a grand slam and once again it was the mesmerizing Michael Kenneth Williams as Chalky who made the episode crackle with excitement. I fully expect Nucky Thompson to make a comeback aided by Chalky’s “colored” gang and the IRA, of all people.
Finally, I couldn’t write about the prohibition era without mentioning my favorite Jimmy Cagney movie, The Roaring Twenties. Cagney plays Eddie Bartlett, a basically decent guy who stumbles into bootlegging, becomes a big shot but his fortune craps out along with the stock market. It’s great stuff and features a fine supporting performance by Humphrey Bogart as Cagney’s sleazy, venal and vulpine partner.
If you’ve never see the movie, check it out. Here’s the trailer:
