Still a classic of the gangster genre, showing neither glorifying the life nor pulling its punches.
The Public Enemy (1931)
Runtime: 84 mins
Synopsis: In William Wellman's classic crime film THE PUBLIC ENEMY, James Cagney does a star turn as Tom Powers, a trouble-ridden individual who rises from the position of cheap thug to that of a powerful Prohibition gangster. When his best friend is murdered, Powers self-destructively seeks deadly... In William Wellman's classic crime film THE PUBLIC ENEMY, James Cagney does a star turn as Tom Powers, a trouble-ridden individual who rises from the position of cheap thug to that of a powerful Prohibition gangster. When his best friend is murdered, Powers self-destructively seeks deadly retaliation. He picks fights. He slaps women around. He roughs up speakeasy owners and tells them whom they'll get their hooch from and how much they'll order. Fists, kisses, and guns are the only things Tom knows. He eventually gets promoted to become the muscleman of mobster Nails Nathan (Leslie Fenton). But Tom's violent acts are about to catch up with him. After Tom guns down a cop, he's on the run. Later, thugs dump him, beaten, on the doorstep of his estranged and horrified family. It's only then that Tom realizes his decision to live the gangster life has been an irrevocable and deadly choice. Known as the picture that launched Cagney into stardom, THE PUBLIC ENEMY doesn't hold back from exposing the violence and tedium underscoring this ostensibly sexy life of crime. The screenplay, based on a story entitled BEER AND BLOOD by John Bright and written by Harvey F. Thew, was nominated for an Academy Award. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Eddie Woods, Beryl Mercer, Joan Blondell
DVD Info
Release:
Jan 1, 2007
DVD Features:
- Region (unknown)
- Keep Case
- Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
- Mono 1.0 English
Reviews
Cagney's energy and Wellman's gutsy direction carry the day, counteracting the moralistic sentimentality of the script and indelibly etching the star on the memory as a definitive gangster hero.
The film's juiciest scene has the misogynist Tom squeeze a half a grapefruit in his nagging girlfriend Kitty's (Mae Clarke) kisser.
There's no lace on this picture. It's raw and brutal. It's low-brow material given such workmanship as to make it high-brow.
Its success proved, if by then there was any doubt, that audiences will go for a charismatic lowlife over a dull hero any day of the week, a lesson Hollywood never forgot.
The implication is that there are hundreds, maybe thousands of guys like Tom Powers, little criminals living fast and dying hard.
The film set the template for the likes of "Scarface" and "GoodFellas."
Contrary to popular opinion, the best moment in the film isn’t when Jimmy Cagney shoves a grapefruit in his girlfriend’s face.
...it was Cagney's film from beginning to end, to win or to lose, and he came out one of the biggest winners in Hollywood.
Overripe, rigid, and at times clunky ... and that's part of the enjoyment.
Now a classic, this is the movie in which Cagney famously crams a grapefruit into Mae Clarke’s face.
News
posted by RT Staff October 31, 2007
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