Thehibikiew
Not even bad in a good way
Maidexpl
Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast
ChicDragon
It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
Michael_Elliott
Gang War (1940) ** (out of 4) Another early film from the black cinema, this one directed by Leo C. Popkin. This is a gangster picture about two rival gangs fighting over a profitable juke joint. Once again this film features a very small budget since it would only be shown in black cinemas but the director and screenwriter hold back no punches and make a pretty good movie. The opening bar fight is terrific and there's some nice police chases and shootouts as well. The acting is quite poor and brings the film down a few notches but this one here is certainly worth checking out. The director went on to produce D.O.A. and star Ralph Cooper was billed as "The Dark Gable" or "Bronze Bogart".
catherine yronwode
Because the "all colored cast" or "race movies" of the first half of the 20th century were made on such low budgets, due to systematized racial discrimination in the United States of America at that time, it is not really right to compare their production values with comparable mainstream "poverty row" B-movie crime dramas of the same era. Also, there has been, until lately, little or no attempt to preserve or restore race films, and thus many of the copies circulating as of the early 21st century are taken from scratched 16 mm prints, have garbled sound tracks, or derive from "dupey" videotapes in worse condition than comparable poverty row films of the same era. Also, culturally speaking, there are, in sheer terms of run-time, more musical and dancing interludes in race film crime dramas than in mainstream poverty row crime dramas of the same era, a fact that is jarring to some modern Caucasian reviewers, but that truthfully reflects the interests of the intended African American audiences of the era in which these films were made. Therefore, in terms of "ranking," "rating" or "voting" for race film crime dramas at IMDb, it is imperative to discard these factors and judge the movies on their own unique merits. When viewed in this way, "Gang War," starring Ralph Cooper is a solid entry in the genre. The typical conflict of interest between devoting screen time to the gangster plot and devoting screen time to the singers, dancers, and specialty acts applies, but if one of the reasons you seek out and watch these movies *is* to see the variety acts, then "Gang War" will leave you quite satisfied. A restoration print is probably too much to hope for, but i still hold out hope that some day a true benefactor of film history will be led to give these films the same sort of restoration that has been accorded other early movies.
msladysoul
This film is very enjoyable. I think anyone will enjoy it who sees it. This film is a gangster film and very entertaining. You would think your watching Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, John Garfield or Edward G. Robinson, but really its Ralph Cooper and Monte Hawley. Ralph Cooper, Reginald Fenderson and Monte Hawley were very popular in the Black cast films. They usually played hard-nose gangsters but with a weak heart for the women. They were great actors and very appreciated in the Black community. Their all forgotten, sadly since they were not Belafonte and Poitier, but Cooper, Fenderson, and Hawley was the first to show real dramatic acting and be in substantial roles made by blacks for black without Hollywood stereotypes but it seems your only remembered if you cross over which has a lot of missing figures from Black History because of that. Shouldn't we remember the ones who stayed stars within the Black race and helped the progress in Black Cinema who didn't need white acceptance or help? Black cast films like this were popular in the Black community, it gave Black people a break from the stereotypical roles in Hollywood. Ralph Cooper wrote, directed and starred in some of the best movies of the Black cast films. These films made you forget color and look at talent, the same way you would white actors/actresses. What he did do was appreciated. He was the son of Harlem. This film is about 60 minutes long but very jam-packed. Gorgeous, babyfaced black jean harlow look alike Gladys Snyder is regal and elegant in the movie. Anyone who wants to see what life was like in Harlem in the 1930s. This is one of them. The glamour, talent and beauty. This isn't some "B" movie. It's really action-packed with non-stop entertainment.
howdymax
This is a routine crime melodrama with amateurish acting, but it is still an interesting movie for a couple of reasons.It is one of a genre produced in the 30's and 40' that were called "race" pictures. These were movies that featured all black casts that mirrored lesser white "B" movies of the period. It is important to realize that the acting and script were not very polished, but that they were honest efforts to portray blacks in a more positive light. Looking back on that period and recognizing the stereotyping blacks suffered, one has to applaud the efforts that Popkin and the other producers put out.Ralph Cooper, playing the gangster, was a regular in these features but I thought he would look more at home in a board room than a pool room. His love interest, played by Gladys Snyder was a pleasant surprise. I found her to be believable and quite appealing. I was disappointed to find that she only appeared in one other movie also made in 1940.All in all, given the budget and distribution restrictions these pictures were subject to, I think they were a brave effort to reach a hungry and ignored audience. Not only do I think they did it well, but I think they displayed a pride in the black race that Hollywood has forgotten about. Even talented black actors and directors like Spike Lee seem to revel in the violence, drugs, and misogynism of "the hood". I honestly think the industry should take another look at these pictures and try to recapture the tenderness and emotions they invoked. Black viewers can take pride in these features and white viewers might develop a better understanding of black pride - without the violence.
