What early talkie gangster film was notable as having the first voice-over narration in an American film?

Answer 1

City Streets (1931)

Director Rouben Mamoulian's film was the first American film to have a voice-over, during a close-up of the tear-stained face of Nan Cooley (Sylvia Sidney), the stepdaughter of mobster Pop Cooley (Guy Kibbee), as she recalled the past during a flashback.