Luke
stu-kicks
CibbuanoThe Public Enemy
September 7th 2006 07:27
The Public Enemy (1931)
From the posed profile shots of each character at the beginning, through to the jaunty soundtrack and Cagney's boyish charm, this is a vibrant and electric look at a boozing, brawling, roiling and roaring golden age of gangsters in the age of prohibition. Forget the cautionary text at the beginning and end of the film, the filmmaker's are no more interested in educating the viewer as the censors at the time were in appreciating film as a piece of art.
Shot and released before the Hayes Code could censor and stifle films for thirty years, 'The Public Enemy' is a lot more realistic and suggestive than a lot of other films from the 30s... the blatant implications of sex and the depictions of people being shot down are things that would never fly under the Hayes Code. As a result, this film stands up pretty well today, and isn't afraid to show the underbelly of the criminal world in all it's glittering glamour.
James Cagney shot to fame here as the charismatic hoodlum Tom... one of America's boys, by turns charming and callous, a dumbheaded disaffected citizen who rails as much against his own lack of understanding as he does at the authorities, but always with a disarming smile. When Tom's friend, 'Nails' Nathan, is killed in a freak horseriding accident he and his partner Matt - for lack of another target to vent their anger on - take revenge on the horse... I think this is pretty indicative of how these guys think.
Set during the rise of Prohibition, an era that turned everyone into criminals and gave the seedy element free reign to take power for themselves, we're painted a picture of American hypocrisy and yankee-doodle business acumen. Through Tom's opposition to his war-hero brother, Mike, we see the line blurred between the two halves of the country... the law-abiding class might be on their high-horse when it comes to thieving but they didn't baulk at killing Germans. When Tom's mother naively remarks that Tom is in 'politics' it's more than an offhanded remark, it's an ironic indication of the power Prohibition put into the hands of hoodlums and criminals throughout America. If there's any substance to the end credits spiel that states "'The Public Enemy' is, not a man, nor is it a character -- it is a problem that sooner or later WE, the public, must solve" it's that the 1930s gangster era was a result of the constrictions American conservatives enforced on their fellow citizens.
No one forgets the scene where Cagney smashes a grapefruit into the face of his girlfriend. The shootout near the end is particularly memorable too, as is Cagney running all the taps dry in a bar that buys liquor off a rival mob. This is a great film... relatively untarnished by censorship, vivd and alive and full of great moments.
TRIVIA: A lot of the characters and events in this film were based on real gangsters.
Edwood Woods, who played Tom's offsider, Matt, was originally intended for the role of Tom. The sequence at the beginning of the film, where the two are shown as children, was shot before the roles were switched - hence the kids physically matching the wrong actors.
| 80 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Im with Luke this is a must see film regardless of if your as fan of the genre.
Everything you could ever want from a 30's gangster film. Cagney is in full White Heat mode and creates another icon of an era.
Still packs a punch and is gritty around the edges, standing the test of time.