Films have proven to have a significant impact on how we perceive or make sense of the society in which we live. In an increasingly post-literate society, where literacy is becoming commonplace, there is no doubt that cinema is considered an important medium in the way people inform and educate themselves. The use of film as a tool for understanding history is becoming a popular approach and is a hotly debated topic among historians who question the legitimacy of using films as a historical source. This essay will argue that the film can be used effectively as a historical source in relation to the study of ideas about gangsters. This will be demonstrated by examining portrayals of gangsters in films and will also attempt to establish to what extent these portrayals of gangsters can be considered accurate or realistic. Finally, this article will conclude with a discussion of the inherent challenges and opportunities that prevail when using film as a historical tool. Gangsters are integral parts of history and have emerged as iconic figures of the industrial twentieth century and represent a culture of mobility, urban space, access and individual life. The gangster is also considered an antisocial figure as he is the fulcrum of liberation from hierarchy and the past that society and ideology wish to repress. We can therefore see that the gangster film represents a fundamental figure in the history of twentieth-century culture and forms the fulcrum of a series of tensions that have dominated the discourses of industrialized society. Gangsters are important characters in popular culture as the film genre with films often featuring the glorification of their criminal actions and lawlessness often in ... middle of paper ... the process of examining films should also involve the process of careful selection of evidence and weighting of value. In conclusion, the film can portray the general ideas and attitudes towards gangsters at that time and can serve as a good representation. Films can serve as a good reflection of the period in which they were made. So, as historians, we must disentangle historical value from films and distinguish these facts from other historical evidence. Good films like DW Griffith's The Musketeers of Pig Alley can make a valuable contribution to our historical understanding. However, simply watching a film is not enough and it is up to us to develop these general ideas about gangsters and use other historical documents from the period in which these events occurred and use primary sources such as the press to build an accurate understanding of gangsters.