Angels with Dirty Faces

Angels with Dirty Faces is screening at the Film Theatre on Tuesday 3 November, part of their Cinema Ceramica strand. It's a classic 1930s gangster film directed by Michael Curtiz, with James Cagney as Rocky Sullivan, a charismatic tough guy released after three years in prison for armed robbery. He returns to his old haunts and becomes a hero to a gang of street kids, with Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart and Ann Sheridan in the supporting cast. The film is a quintessential piece of 30s crime cinema, and seeing it on the big screen is the way it was meant to be watched.

What makes this particular screening stand out is the Cinema Ceramica strand itself: the Film Theatre programmes these classic films from 16mm prints. There's something different about a film running off actual celluloid rather than a digital file, and it's a rare thing to find in a cinema these days. The Film Theatre is the leading independent cinema in Stoke-on-Trent, showing independent, world and classic films since 1974, and it's now based at The Wade Centre on Hartshill Road. It's a registered charity run entirely by volunteers, and it also puts on Retro Vault, a monthly celebration of cult and classic films.

Tickets are £5, and the bar and box office both open from 7pm, so there's plenty of time to get a drink and settle in before the film starts. One of the best things about the Film Theatre is that there are no adverts or trailers, so when the lights go down, you go straight into the movie. You'll find it at The Wade Centre, Hartshill Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 7NY.