The inspiration behind a few films specifically, and the entire genre in general, was the rise of gangsters as a result of prohibition. The model for many gang leaders in the movies of the 1930s was Al Capone. The wide-open gangster activities in Chicago in the 1920s (as well as other cities around the country) captured the public's imagination, and Hollywood responded with a series of gritty fictional stories that were more violent and realistic than anything that had been put on screen before.
Three films are generally recognized as being the epitome of early gangster movies, and all three have withstood the test of time to become classics. "Little Caesar," "The Public Enemy" and "Scarface" were all released between 1930 and 1932. Other important gangster movies of the period include "The Petrified Forest," in which Humphrey Bogart gave the performance that turned him into a star, and "The Roaring Twenties," which paired Bogart with the actor who rose to prominence as "The Public Enemy," James Cagney. Also, "Manhattan Melodrama" offers an example of a common plot device in gangster films: two childhood friends grow up to become leading figures on the opposite side of the law. This Clark Gable/William Powell movie is perhaps most infamous for being the film that John Dillinger saw before he was gunned down outside the theater.
Tony Camonte, the leading figure in "Scarface," was directly inspired by Al Capone. Rico Bandelli in "Little Caesar" also contained significant allusions to Capone's story, as it told of an Italian nobody who quickly rises through the ranks to become the most powerful gangster in town. Cagney's Tom Powers, who is "The Public Enemy," differs because he is of Irish descent, but the story of his rise and fall mirrors the narrative arc of the other two movies. Although law-enforcement agencies decried the charismatic portrayal of these gangster figures, it is worth nothing that each of them die in a very violent fashion that distinctly sends the message that crime does not pay.
Gangster movies played a central part in elevating a number of actors to the level of Hollywood superstar, and many achieved film legend status. Along with Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney and Paul Muni all received major career boosts as a result of playing a gangster in at least one movie.
The role of women in the gangster movies of the 1930s was typically that of either the good girl, the bad girl or the mother. A common motif of the early masterpieces was a strong affection by the gangsters for their mothers. The bad girl was typically a blonde with loose morals whom the gangsters treated with contempt. This contempt is most concretely realized in a famous scene from "The Public Enemy," in which the James Cagney character mashes a grapefruit into the face of his girlfriend. This contempt multiplied when the gangster achieved power and set his sights on the good girl he wanted to marry, who was usually a brunette.
Everything changed for the gangster movie genre in 1934 with the creation of the Production Code. This means of censorship set out to protect American morals from films that were not just violent, but often seemed to be romanticizing the gangster at the center of their stories. Following the implementation of the Production Code, gangster movies became a tool for presenting the social message that crime does not pay. Violence and sexuality were curtailed and sometimes entirely eliminated. The Production Code also forced filmmakers to shoot new scenes that delineated the moral lesson that gangster movies now existed to serve.