Old Dude, Old Movies - "The Public Enemy"

I find pre-Hays Code movies astonishing.  The things movie makers got away with, compared to the mores of the times, really open my eyes. This movie is no exception.

Released in 1931, it shocked audiences of the day with its' brazen celebration of the gangster lifestyle. James Cagney made this lead role his own, and the movie changed his life. His role of "Tom Powers" was a little too graphic, too real for its' time.

Tom and his childhood buddy Matt (Edward Woods) start out as dirt-poor mischievous kids, working their way up to more daring crimes. Tom's older brother Mike (Donald Cook) tries to drag his kid brother to the straight-and-narrow, with no success. Tom aspires for the flashy life achieved with fast money. Eventually, they take up with local bootlegger Paddy Ryan (Robert Emmett O'Connor). As local "beer salesmen" during Prohibition, that fast money comes in short order. Tom and Matt carry on around town like a couple of swells, flaunting their new financial success.

The two gangsters have access to sharp wardrobes, flashy cars, the best clubs and pretty girls (Mae Clarke, Joan Blondell, Jean Harlow). I can imagine at that time in American history (during the Great Depression), numerous movie-goers focused on these scenes. I'll guess those movie-goers may have thought "wow, that is a good life".

For those movie buffs who have seen this before, the stand-out scenes are familiar. Mike punching Tom during a disagreement about Tom's lifestyle. Tom getting fitted for expensive suits, reflecting his move up in the world. Tom shoving a grapefruit in his girlfriend's face. The graphic ending, probably horrifying in '31.

This movie was stylish, seductive, brash and very violent. The Internet Movie Database cites that in the machine gun attack late in the film, real bullets were used (as was the custom of the day). Holy realism!

I liked it for what it represented - "crime does not pay". When you watch it, you get to see one of the key early movies depicting the flashy gangster, influencing generations of movies that followed. The gangster flies high for a while, but can it last? You get answers here.