Five Gangsters We Don't Think Are So Bad

Hollywood used to love gangsters like they loved cowboys, if only because both are so damn American. Their accompanying genres are expressions of a schizophrenic country evolved out of two ideals: 1.) everything you find in the Declaration of Independence and 2.) its antithesis – money-grubbin' capitalism. Consider the conflict between the dirt-poor land owners and the railroad companies in the traditional Western, and the struggle of the slum-poor kid who, by embracing the American dream and working (okay, shooting) his way to the top, finds himself Public Enemy #1 in the gangster pics released in the wake of the Great Depression.

American Francis Ford Coppola understood this when he made The Godfather movies; American Martin Scorsese got it when he directed his gangster epics; and Ridley Scott, a very not-American director (he's British), gets it, too – which is probably why he named his latest American Gangster.Also, it sounds a lot cooler than just Gangster or, given the star (Denzel Washington), Oscar-winning Gangster.

Anyways, the point is, the gangster gets a bum rap sometimes, so here's a list of five that I don't think are really so bad when you think about it:

1) Jabba the Hutt, Return of the Jedi (1983)
The ACLU should love the diversity on this list: Two white men, two black men, and a slug. Sure, Jabba was violent, sure, he liked to feed his dancers to the Rancors, but he also knew how to throw a party. It's not like all those aliens hung around his palace for the décor and lighting schemes. The drinks and Max Rebo Band kept them coming back for more. Can't hate a guy, er, Hutt for knowing how to have a good time.

2) Marsellus Wallace, Pulp Fiction (1994)
It's easy to dismiss Marsellus Wallace as a brutal thug, but, when you think about it, there are two golden rules a man holds dear: Don't mess with his money or his woman (or, um, man depending on the circumstances). In Pulp Fiction, boxer Butch Coolidge messes with Marsellus' money, and foot rub-giving Antwan Rockamora messes with the man's woman. Thus, can we really judge the gangster for taking a few shots at Butch and throwing Antwan off a balcony?

3) Rocky Sullivan, Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
Except for his friendship with Father Jerry Connolly, gangster Rocky Sullivan has lost all connection with what's good and decent in the world. He even goes so far as to murder rivals plotting to off his holy friend. His final moments, screaming like a girl as he's dragged to the electric chair, are his redemption. Though, even if the ending can be called ambiguous, he might have been terrified. But Jerry knew his performance was so the kids who idolized him back in the neighborhood wouldn't follow a coward into a life of crime.

4) Tommy Gibbs, Black Caesar (1973)
The original urban gangster, Tommy Gibbs is the American dream – a shoeshine boy turned wealthy entrepreneur. Some might call him a violent Harlem crime lord and, well, okay, he is. But does that really matter when you're accompanied everywhere by a James Brown score?

5) George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Machine Gun Kelly (1958)
Real-life criminal Machine Gun Kelly was so whipped that, at least according to this Roger Corman, classic B-movie, he only carried out his crimes to satisfy his dysfunctional moll, Flo. In other words, his is another story of a good man ruined by a woman. He also feeds a traitorous gang member to a lion, which is a lot cooler than dropping a severed horse head in somebody's bed to make a point.

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