In Angels with Dirty Faces, the story opens in 1920 with two Irish-American youths, Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connolly, attempting to rob a railroad car packed with fountain pens. Jerry slips away from the law, but Rocky is caught and sent to reform school, setting a course for a life on the wrong side of the law.
Fifteen years pass, and an older Rocky Sullivan is arrested for armed robbery. His lawyer and co-conspirator, Jim Frazier, proposes a grim deal: Rocky should take the blame, and Frazier will safeguard Rocky’s $100,000 share until his release. Rocky agrees, and he receives a three-year sentence, his fate tied to a reputation he has built up in the street.
After his time in prison, Rocky returns to the neighborhood and seeks out old connections. He visits Jerry Connolly, who is now a Catholic priest, and rents a room in a boarding house run by Laury Ferguson. Rocky also pays a visit to Jim Frazier at his casino, where Frazier promises to have the $100,000 ready by week’s end and hands Rocky a small amount of spending money as a gesture of goodwill.
Soon Rocky finds himself mugged by a gang of kids—Soapy, Swing, Bim, Pasty, Crab, and Hunky. He tracks them to their old hideout, and they admit they look up to his criminal legend. After reclaiming his wallet, Rocky invites the boys to dinner, and the afternoon shifts toward a fragile alliance between old street life and a sense of responsibility.
Jerry arrives and, with Rocky’s help, persuades the gang to play another basketball game with a new, more disciplined team. The match reveals the danger Rocky’s influence could pose, and Laury worries about the consequences of his leadership on the younger gang members.
Meanwhile, Frazier’s hit squad closes in, attempting to eliminate Rocky. Rocky thwarts the assassination, kidnapping Frazier and raiding his house for money and a ledger. He then confronts Frazier’s business partner, Mac Keefer, demanding $100,000 in exchange for Frazier’s release. Keefer pays, but not long after, he informs the police that Rocky is in possession of the ledger, forcing Frazier to feign a “misunderstanding.” Rocky’s release is short-lived as he is pulled back into the web of corruption, and Jerry learns of the kidnapping, intending to take the matter to the press.
On the radio, Jerry denounces the corruption tied to Rocky, Frazier, and Keefer. Frazier and Keefer assure him there will be no harm, but Jerry discovers their plan to kill both him and Rocky. In a desperate move, Rocky kills Frazier and Keefer, then retreats to an abandoned warehouse where a tense stand-off with the police unfolds, and a pursuit for survival begins.
Jerry arrives and tries to coax Rocky into surrender, arguing he can reason with him. Inside the warehouse, Rocky finds himself cornered and takes Jerry hostage, attempting to escape. A shot in the leg cripples him, and he is finally captured after a dramatic confrontation.
After a trial, Rocky Sullivan is sentenced to death. Jerry visits him one last time, grappling with the Dead End Kids’ romantic image of gangster life and urging Rocky to plead for mercy so as not to “ruin” the gang’s ideal. The exchange marks a defining moment for Rocky—his reputation, not his fear or justice, becomes the measure of his life.
As they walk toward the electric chair, Rocky shares a final, uneasy moment with Jerry, and then faces the execution with a wavering resolve. He appears to falter, begging for mercy and seemingly dying a coward’s death. The Dead End Kids read the headlines about his supposed “yellow” end, unsure of what to think about the life he led, while Jerry leads the gang in a quiet prayer for a boy who couldn’t run as fast as I could.
> a boy who couldn't run as fast as I could
