Film

Never Steal Anything Small

Name: Never Steal Anything Small
Genre: Drama
Released: 1959
Cast: James Cagney, Shirley Jones, Roger Smith, Cara Williams, Nehemiah Persoff

Drama

A 1959 musical about waterfront corruption and the schemes a cunning longshoreman will deploy to seize union power. James Cagney sings, dances, and manipulates his way through a world of graft and blackmail. It's breezier than it sounds—a tart comedy wrapped in jazz and Technicolor, for anyone who loves Old Hollywood's willingness to make rascals charming.

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Sweet Smell of Success1957

Dark, witty poison about ruthless operators in a closed world—Manhattan's gossip columns instead of the docks. Burt Lancaster as a manipulator you somehow root for, wrapped in noir cynicism and brilliant dialogue.

But Bleak and genuinely nasty beneath the charm. The mood is corrosive; there's no warmth underneath, just ambition eating itself.

A Man for All Seasons1966

Paul Scofield as a man whose moral rigidity costs him everything. Like Cagney's character inverted: watching integrity destroy a life is exactly as compelling as watching cunning build one.

But Respectfully paced and very British. If you wanted fizz and jazz, this is chamber music about principle.

The Killing1956

Kubrick's racetrack heist film with Sterling Hayden. Multiple schemes, fractured chronology, a world where every operator has a separate angle. The DNA of modern crime stories is right here.

But The print quality varies wildly depending on where you watch it. Some versions are genuinely difficult to see.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Never Steal Anything Small

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie1976

Both are about small men with big schemes in closed worlds where the rules are unwritten and corruption is the operating system. But this one stares into the abyss instead of dancing across it.

Cassavetes' fever dream about a nightclub owner deep in hock to the mob, forced into a hit. Like Cagney's world if it were shot through a migraine—gorgeous, disorienting, about men running schemes in worlds that don't care about their charm.

But Deliberately opaque. The plot isn't the point; the texture is. If you need clarity and conventional narrative momentum, this will frustrate you.

On the Waterfront1954

Brando as a dock worker caught between the mob and his conscience. The spiritual opposite of Cagney's amoral schemer—same world, someone actually choosing integrity.

But Deservedly famous, which means you've probably absorbed it already through cultural osmosis. Rewarding on first watch but not a revelation.

The Asphalt Jungle1950

Huston's template for the heist film. A crew of specialists with different motives, different weaknesses. Beautifully constructed and genuinely tense even knowing how it ends.

But Dated in some visual ways, and the pacing is leisurely by modern standards. Requires patience for setup.

The Grifters1990

Scorsese-adjacent crime film where everyone's running a con, including on each other. Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, and Annette Bening in a taut, clever game of mutual deception.

But Ending is deliberately unsatisfying. The film has no heroes and no catharsis, which is the point but not everyone wants that.

The Godfather1972

The definitive film about power within closed hierarchies. Vito Corleone operates like Cagney's schemer but with operatic weight. Watch how each man uses charm, force, and knowledge differently.

But Three hours and seventeen minutes. Requires real commitment and will dominate your evening completely.

Glengarry Glen Ross1992

Mamet's adaptation of his own play about men cutting each other's throats over sales leads. The dialogue sings like a musical. Desperation, ego, scheme piled on scheme.

But Relentlessly cynical about human nature and male behavior. No one learns anything; everyone's diminished by the end.

The Hustler1961

Paul Newman as a pool player trying to be the best through guile and nerve. Similar energy to Cagney—the con man's charisma, the world of small operators with big ambitions.

But Black and white, slow-burn pacing. If you want color and energy, you'll find this deliberately austere.

The Red Shoes1948

Both are musicals where the form—the dancing, the songs—expresses something the plot alone cannot. Both believe in the transformative power of performance and spectacle.

Powell and Pressburger's dizzyingly beautiful film about obsession and art—a woman torn between love and ambition. A musical like Cagney's, but with Technicolor and ballet that makes your chest hurt.

But No cynicism whatsoever. It's rapturous and sincere in a way that modern viewers sometimes find saccharine. The plot is simple; the feeling is what matters.

Branded1950

Like Cagney's protagonist, Connors is charming, resourceful, and morally flexible—but the Western's code demands consequences he can't evade. Same archetype trapped in a different genre's rules.

A Western TV series about a disgraced cavalry officer proving his innocence while drifting town to town. Chuck Connors as a schemer operating within strict social codes. Each episode is tight, witty, morally messy.

But Episodic TV, which means it's designed to be watched over weeks, not consumed whole. The formula becomes visible once you see it twice. And finding all episodes in good quality is genuinely difficult.