The Public Enemy

film by Wellman [1931]

Written by Lee Pfeiffer

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Article History

The Public Enemy, American gangster film, released in 1931, that became a classic and propelled its lead, James Cagney, to stardom.

The story traces the life of an impoverished young man, Tom Powers (played by Cagney), as he escalates from being a petty criminal to heading a murderous bootlegging ring. Although he achieves tremendous power, he is haunted by family conflicts and a sense of overconfidence that ultimately ends in tragedy. Jean Harlow played the small but memorable role of Cagney’s glamorous moll.

As with the crime film Little Caesar (1931), The Public Enemy was a reflection of its era and was released at a time when infamous gangsters were making headlines on a daily basis. In addition, just as the latter film made Edward G. Robinson a star, Warner Brothers caught lightning in a bottle a second time with the casting of Cagney, who was initially meant to play the second lead to Edward Woods. However, director William A. Wellman was so impressed with Cagney’s intensity that he had the actors switch roles, thus facilitating a landmark performance in cinematic history. The scene that has retained the greatest infamy was not one of overt violence but rather a grim sequence in which Cagney slams a grapefruit into actress Mae Clarke’s face. The movie was cited as a prime justification for the then-new Production Code, which kept major films sanitized for many years to come.