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[[File:bogiecagneyroaring.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px|James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart in ''The Roaring Twenties'', 1939]]

1934 was a pivotal year for the United States. Americans were enduring the fifth year of the Great Depression and the rural population was in an extreme state of suffering that had begun prior to the stock market crash in October 1929. Urban citizens fared little better, yet those who had a nickel to spare spent it at the moves. Particularly popular throughout the decade were gangster films. The films of this genre criticized many aspects of society and portrayed the gangster as a victim of the system. Moviegoers were able to identify with film gangsters as they too were stressed by the task of financial survival.<ref>Nicole Rafter, ''Shots in the Mirror: Crime Films and Society''(New York: Oxford University Press, 200), 21</ref> Audiences were enthralled by the characters on screen that were living freely and without responsibility. Due to the great success of these films, primarily shot at Warner Brothers Studios, actors such as James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and newcomer Humphrey Bogart became movie stars.

The popularity of these actors and the genre as a whole was due in part to the uncensored cinematic violence and sexual innuendo portrayed on screen. The extra-cinematic exploits of such outlaws as John Dillinger and Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd, coupled with the rise in crime due to bootlegging during Prohibition, added to the appeal of the screen gangster. All of that changed in 1934. The gangster character changed from a courageous, enterprising individual to a weak victim of society. Evident alterations of characters and the overall atmosphere of films of this genre were due to the enforcement of the Production Code, the capture of America’s outlaws, and passage of the 21st Amendment.