Scarface (1932)

No, not the Al Pacino cursefest set in Florida, but the original Howard Hawks version presented as if it were a public service (the movie was subtitled The Shame of the Nation) urging the authorities to deal with crime.  This film has much to recommend it; in particular there is Paul Muni's powerful, bestial and grotesque performance.  For an actor from the Yiddish theatre, he portrayed some of the most memorable characters in American films of the '30's.  There is also George Raft doing his toss-the-coin gimmick for the first time and one Boris Karloff before he became Frankenstein's monster.  There's the suggestion of lust between Muni's character and his young sister played by Ann Dvorak.  And there's some pretty realistic gunplay for an early movie.  Finally one notices the not too subtle symbolism of the cross -- from the scar on Muni's face to the repetitive cross motif  in the sets and shadows.