Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Modern Screen Acting Begins Here.", February 27, 2005
What a terrific film THIS is!
William Wellman's "Public Enemy" is a tour-de-force performance by James Cagney, wrapped within some elegant direction and supported by a simple but effective screenplay.
First, Mr. Cagney is clearly lightyears ahead of everyone else on the screen in terms of acting style, technique and ability. The quote I use in the title of my review comes from Mr. Scorsese, who screened this film prior to beginning "The Aviator" for several members of the cast and crew. One young actor noted that it appeared that modern screen acting began with Cagney's performance, and that actor could not have been more correct. It's almost obvious in retrospect.
Second, Wellman's direction I didn't notice at first, until viewing the documentary after the film. Then I realized how artful and creative it was, especially considering it was made in 1931. His in-frame composition is eye-catching. The manner in which he consistently shows the most violent events just out of frame, or just out of sight of the viewer, adds tremendously to the gravity and drama of each event. Things like the music...here's an extraordinarily clever use of source music...the soundtrack comes from things ON the screen. A piano player, a radio, a 78 RPM disc...again, I didn't pick up on this until I saw the documentary.
Let me get to that documentary right now. Warner's makes awesome discs, and the care they've put into these Gangster Classics is to be lauded. The "Night At The Movies" is no gimmick. Putting trailers, shorts, cartoons and newsreels before the film doesn't merely re-create the environment of a movie theater back then. The elements are selected to provide context for the film you are about to see. They make the movie better.
Then, the short documentary included here is a model of how these should be done. This is a perfect 20 minute class on "Public Enemy." Concise and thorough, with everything you need to know, along with things you never even considered. For more insight and depth, an audio commentary is provided, but all you need to know to fully appreciate this film is in that amazing 20 minutes.
I agree with Mr. Scorsese that this film appeals to younger viewers (high school/college) as well as cineastes. Cagney is alive in the way few actors EVER are on screen.
This film (heck, the whole BOX of 'em) belongs in every single DVD collection.
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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles, March 30, 2005
THE PUBLIC ENEMY was James Cagney's first starring vehicle. Not only was it the first movie to push a grapefruit in Mae Clarke's startled kisser, it was the movie that propelled Cagney to stardom. It's a gangster film that tells the story of the meteoric rise and early fall of young street punk Tom Powers.
THE PUBLIC ENEMY opens with a quasi-documentary montage of shots of Chicago circa 1909, taking the viewer from the els to the stockyards to the opening sequence of the movie proper - a Salvation Army band marching in front of a saloon, a brewery, past the movie's two heroes as young boys - young boys sneaking a drink from the pail of beer they're bringing to someone, somewhere.
Director William Wellman built this one, and built it good. Interesting camera placement and movement and some very well edited scenes - the heisting of the fur warehouse scene is a case in point, one of a number of scenes that averts its eyes when the bullets splat flesh and, somehow, makes the violence all that more real. Wellman went to some length showing us the conditions in which gangsterism takes seed and flourishes. Starting with the obligatory opening "We must stamp out the scourge of gangsterism" title card, Wellman blames economic hardship, a lack of an authority figure at home (Pa Powers is around for one strapping the unruly brat scene before the movie knocks him off), and a doting mother seem the main culprits, in roughly that order.
Of course, it helps if you don't glamorize those you condemn. Keeps the censors off your back. Even though the charismatic Cagney doesn't paint a particularly sympathetic portrait of young thug Tom Powers, he IS the charismatic James Cagney. His anti-hero grows rich defying the unpopular prohibition act. Grows rich, wears tuxedos to swank nightclubs, and dates a swell dish like Mae Clarke before dumping her for a sweller dish in Jean Harlow. If PE made a star out of Cagney, it also did more than its share in opening the door for a production code with a full set of sharp puritanical teeth.
Part of THE PUBLIC ENEMY'S purpose was to provide a showcase for two up-and-coming stars, Cagney and Harlow. Cagney I can understand. He leapt out of the gate at a gallop, an immense talent even then. Harlow is tougher to understand. A harsh featured sex symbol with a remarkably limited range, Harlow's appeal is as foreign and baffling to me as flag-pole sitting. All I know is it, and she, was all the rage back then.
There's something a little undercooked about her fascinatingly flawed performance. It starts with her accent. Her character claims to be from Texas and seems to be aiming for an upper-crust, socialite effect. Whatever she's speaking it sure ain't Texican, and it's about as cultured as sour milk. Every so often a word tumbles out of her mouth that seems accented in some exotic and exclusive dialect - You can let me orf heah, she says at one point, managing to corral all errant dialects into a short sentence. By law you're not allowed to write more than twenty-five words about Harlow without mentioning that she slept in the nude and never wore underwear, two factoids which I suppose go far in explaining many things.
To her credit, Harlow fares much better than poor second male lead Edward Woods, he of the handsome wooden face who seems to have two expressions - one a smile, the other not. For my money Donald Cook, as Cagney's good older brother Mike, and Beryl Mercer, as the saintly and long suffering Ma Powers, fared best in the supporting acting pool. It's hard to relate to Ma Powers, too sweet, but Mercer is as expressive as Cagney and holds her own with him. It's not her fault her character doesn't have many dimensions or any rough edges.
THE PUBLIC ENEMY is a great, great movie that I highly recommend. The print is in very good condition, with only a couple of slightly bleached sequences to disturb things.
Best of all Warner Brothers, as they are wont to do, has packed a bunch of goodies on this gangster classic. They call it Warner Night at the Movies, and I'm not scoffing. They present the movie with a newsreel (Girl Stars Train for the Olympics), a Comedy Short (The Eyes Have It - a 9 minute short featuring Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. They call it a comedy, and I don't have enough room left to argue the point), a Cartoon (Merrie Melodies "Smile, Darn Ya, Smile" with some foot-tapping fox who looks and sounds a lot like Mickey Mouse), and Theatrical Trailers. There's also a 20 minute feature, "Beer and Blood," that focuses most of its attention on Jimmy Cagney and how he got the part in THE PUBLIC ENEMY. The film comes with an informative and entertaining commentary by film historian Robert Sklar.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
James Cagney at his ultimate, November 23, 1999
James Cagney reached the pinnacle of acting success in this 1931 pre-Code gangster thriller.As Tom Powers, Cagney comes off as pugnacious, cocky, sexy and must be billed as one of the most misogynistic characters ever. (I'm female, and I still find his squashing of the grapefruit in Mae Clarke's surprised maw a riot.) With a certain comedic flair, as a bad guy who thinks he is good, Cagney is endearing as one one of the first and best of Hollywood's bad boys. Reviewers, however, focus too much on what is now classically referred to as "the grapefruit episode." Instead, "Public Enemy" has to be watched for what I call "The Death of Putty Nose" episode where Tom murders Putty, a bad guy who had done him wrong. Putty begs for reprieve, then tries to endear Tom to him by serenading him at the piano with a song from Tom's childhood. Putty Nose nervously looks back at Cagney standing behind him, who smiles beatifically upon him in response. When Putty turns back to his playing, Cag shoots him in the back, in mid verse. The Cagney character then strides out, never looking back, and reminds his gangster pal that "I guess I'll call Gwen," his gal. He has no sense of remorse or conscience. It is hilarious because Cag is so baaad, and it is chilling because of his ferocity. Importantly, you never see the shooting take place. It happens off camera, which is even for evocative. I am one who believes that far too much gratuitous violence, swearing and nudity takes place on screen. Cagney didn't need it; he was more than effective without it -- even if it had been allowed in 1931. The filming is curious and innovative, with Cagney being in the background in several chilling scenes, allowing the secondary characters to develop, which is a sure sign of a great flick. Public Enemy is one of the first pre-Code gangster films, where crime did pay, but Warner Brothers shows 3 disclaimers trying to dissuade anyone from thinking this film is anything but a public service contribution against the evils of crime. Pshaw -- you can't help but watch this film and root for Cagney as the beloved villain. I saw this movie when I was 12 and developed an immediate fixation on this actor and his character. I laughed and cheered and thought Cagney was totally cool, and I cried at the end. Warner Brothers knew exactly what it was doing, and it had nothing to do with public service. In fact Public Enemy was among the first films to usher in the gangster movie craze. See this film over and over. It'll become an immediate favorite.
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