It’s a gangster movie, made in 1938, considered by some the peak of James Cagney’s acting career. It begins with two tough kids from a bad neighborhood running from the police. Jerry climbs over a fence and escapes. Rocky is caught.
Jerry turns his life around and becomes a Catholic priest (which, in 1938, is the personification of goodness). Rocky goes to “reform school" (which reforms nothing) then to prison (which reforms even less) then on to fame as a notorious gangster.
Near the end, Jerry (Pat O’Brien) is the priest who accompanies Rocky (Cagney) to the electric chair.