TCM Offers Dec. Prelude to TNTs Mob City: Four Gangster Claics Hosted by Mob Citys Ed Burns and TCMs Robert Osborne-

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will herald the launch of TNTs eagerly anticipated television event Mob City with a quartet of classic gangster films on Tuesday, Dec. 3, the night before TNTs three-week television event gets under way. Ed Burns (Entourage, Saving Private Ryan, The Brothers McMullen), who plays notorious gangster Ben Bugsy Siegel in Mob City, will join TCM host Robert Osborne to introduce four classic thrillers: White Heat (1949), The Roaring Twenties (1939), The Big Heat (1953) and Key Largo (1948). The two men will also talk about Burns role in Mob City and the influence of classic gangster films on TNTs high-profile production.

TNTs Mob City, from award-winning writer-director-executive producer Frank Darabont (The Walking Dead, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile), follows the epic battle between the Los Angeles Police Department and the mob in 1940s Los Angeles. The three-week television event is set to premiere Dec. 4 at 9 p.m. (ET/PT), exclusively on TNT, and will air in two-hour blocks over three consecutive Wednesdays (Dec. 4, 11 & 18).

TCMs Dec. 3 lineup features some of the most influential and enduring gangster movies ever made. The schedule showcases top-notch performances by such legendary stars as James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Edward G. Robinson, Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Virginia Mayo, Lee Marvin and Priscilla Lane. A complete schedule is included below, along with additional info on Ed Burns and TNTs Mob City.

Mob Cities: Four Gangster Classics - Tuesday, Dec. 3, on TCM

8 p.m. - White Heat (1949) - James Cagney takes the seminal gangster persona he created in Public Enemy (1931) to a whole new level in this gripping film noir from director Raoul Walsh. Edmond OBrien and Virginia Mayo co-star in the tale of a ruthless gangster trying to stay one step ahead of the law, despite having an undercover agent in his midst. Cagneys lightning-in-a-bottle performance is punctuated by great dialogue, including his oft-quoted final line, Made it, Ma! Top of the World!

10 p.m. - The Roaring Twenties (1939) - James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart star in this action-packed thriller set during Prohibition. The story follows a trio of war veterans involved in the bootlegging trade. Jealousy over a nightclub singer - played by Priscilla Lane - paves the way for a violent confrontation. Raoul Walsh is in the directors chair for this, the last of Cagneys initial run of gangster pictures for Warner Bros. He would not don another mobster role for the studio until White Heat in 1949.

Midnight - The Big Heat (1953) - A determined cop, played by Glenn Ford, goes after the criminal underworld in the wake of his wifes tragic murder in this taut thriller from director Fritz Lang. Gloria Grahame turns in an outstanding performance as the gun moll who helps Ford confront the local mob boss (Alexander Scourby) and his tough right-hand man (Lee Marvin).

2 a.m. - Key Largo (1948) - John Huston directed this outstanding drama based on Maxwell Andersons play about a group of people held captive in a Florida hotel in the midst of a tropical storm. Edward G. Robinson is pitch-perfect as the gang leader, with Humphrey Bogart as the World War II veteran who tries to take him down, Lauren Bacall as a war widow whose husband served with Bogart and Lionel Barrymore as the wheelchair-bound owner of the hotel. Claire Trevor earned an Oscar for her memorable turn as Robinsons alcoholic moll.

About TNTs Mob City

The epic battle between a determined police chief and a dangerous mobster inflames 1940s Los Angeles in TNTs eagerly anticipated three-week television event Mob City. Set to premiere Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT), this powerful drama comes to TNT from Frank Darabont (The Walking Dead), who wrote and directed the opening installment and serves as executive producer on the series. Mob City stars an exceptional ensemble cast that includes Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead), Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes), Neal McDonough (Captain America, Desperate Housewives), Alexa Davalos (Clash of the Titans, The Mist), Jeffrey DeMunn (The Walking Dead, The Shawshank Redemption), Gregory Itzin (24), Robert Knepper (Prison Break), Jeremy Luke (Don Jon) and Ed Burns (Entourage). Also serving as executive producers on Mob City are Michael De Luca (The Social Network) and Elliot Webb (Alpha House). Mob City will air in two-hour blocks over three consecutive Wednesdays (Dec. 4, 11 and 18). Based on the critically acclaimed book L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City, by John Buntin, Mob City is set in post-war Los Angeles, home to glamorous movie stars, powerful studio heads and returning war heroes. But its also a city caught between a powerful and corrupt police force and an even more dangerous criminal network determined to make L.A. its West Coast base.

Mob City centers on Det. Joe Teague (Jon Bernthal), an ex-Marine who holds his cards close to his chest. Teague has been assigned to a new mob task force headed by Det. Hal Morrison (Jeffrey DeMunn). The task force is part of a crusade by Los Angeles Police Chief William Parker (Neal McDonough) to free the city of criminals like Ben Bugsy Siegel (Ed Burns) and Mickey Cohen (Jeremy Luke), the ruthless king of the Los Angeles underworld. Chief Parker also won't hesitate to go after anyone from his own police force who sells out honor and duty for the sake of a big payout.

Mob City is being produced by TNT Originals. Working on the series with Darabont, De Luca and Webb are co-executive producers Alissa Phillips and Dana Renee Ashmore, with Paul Bernard serving as producer.

Website: http://www.tntdrama.com/series/mob-city/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MobCityTNT

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