The Best Gangster Movies of the 1940s

With the days of speakeasies and rumrunners long passed, you’d think that gangster movies would have gone the way of anti-alcohol laws. The best '40s gangster movies, however, show nostalgia for the Prohibition Era, and the crimes committed therein.

Some of the best '40s gangster movies include timeless classics, like Key Largo, High Sierra, and White Heat. Also notable is the 1945 gangster-biography Dillinger, which tells the story of John Dillinger, one of the most prolific and dangerous gangsters of the decade. Add to that two delightful gangster-comedies, Brother Orchid and Ball of Fire and you have an awesome collection of badass 1940s gangster movies.

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