The Public Enemy

• In the UK Enemies of the Public
• Directed by William A. Wellman
• April 23, 1931
• Based on the unpublished book Beer and Blood by John Bright and Kubec Glasmon

The story of a street punk trying to make it big in the world of 1930s organized crime.

By modern standards The Public Enemy at 83 minutes is a bit short. But starring the legendary James Cagney it feels so much greater. Here as Tom Powers he used his often imitated tough guy template that has rarely been duplicated over the decades. He’s loyal to his friends and vengeful upon those who wrong him. He’s loyal to his friends and vengeful upon those who wrong him. He can be kind but fly off the handle at a moment’s notice. His ambition makes him dangerous but is also the reason for his downfall.

Like so many movies of the time this is at its heart a morality tale. And the message can’t be missed. Be a good and patriotic person and you’ll have a good life. Be a criminal and try for the easy way and you will eventually die a tragic death. Then again it says as much in a text card in the movie.

Despite being justifiably a classic this is not perfect though. The economy of storytelling that often works so well in older movies can be a detriment with important parts of the story. It moved too fast on some aspects of Tom’s life I felt were important. I think it needed more time developing the relationship with his good brother Mike (Donald Cook). They loved each other but were polar opposites. That never got developed. It was presented and little more. Or the friendship between Tom and Matt (Edward Woods). Part of the morality aspect was Matt becoming less ambitious to be a big criminal and instead wanting at the minimum a wife. Building up both would have made the message more impactful.

This needed a little bit more time with Tom and Mike as children and a little bit more to build the bond between Tom and his friend Matt. Both are significant characters and aspects of their relationship with Tom was simply presented. James Cagney was the star and created a fantastic antihero. Tom killed the horse that killed his only true ally. A bit darkly comical but demonstrative of his character.

And to this day the finale packs some punch. It is shocking and to the point as well as driving home the morality tale which drives the story here. Dark in a way one would not expect from a time seen as heavily censored in film.

As good as this movie is, The Public Enemy is good because of James Cagney alone. With anyone else it would be a footnote but not a classic. For James Cagney’s performance alone I highly recommend you check out this gangster classic.