"Gangsters such as Al Capone and Lucky Luciano were considered by many people to be the most exciting personalities of the 1920s and 1930s. The public was hungry for press coverage about these mysterious and dangerous men. Most reports about them were sketchy, as the reporters did not want to get on the bad side of the racket bosses. Hollywood's reponse to the public's fascination was to portray the lives of gangsters on the movie screen, using actors such as Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G.

Robinson. Perhaps surprisingly, these men received not-so-favorable reviews from the Academy Award voters and, as their popularity grew with the public, censorship dictated other actors be brought in to play the roles.".

"That's what this book is about - the personal and professional lives of the second-string actors who replaced the big names and did a memorable job. William Bendix, Charles Bickford, Ward Bond, Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, Paul Douglas, William Gatgan, Barton MacLane, and Lloyd Nolan. A filmography is supplied for each actor."--BOOK JACKET.