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The Public Enemy (1931) ft. Sara Shea

  • Writer: Thomas Duncan
    Thomas Duncan
  • 15 hours ago
  • 3 min read

Guest:


Cast:

  • William Wellman, Director

  • Harvey F. Thew, Writer

  • Devereaux Jennings, Cinematography

  • David Mendoza, Music

  • Edward Michael McDermott, Editing

  • James Cagney as Tom Powers

  • Jean Harlow as Gwen Allen

  • Edward Woods as Matt Doyle

  • Joan Blondell as Mamie

  • Donald Cook as Mike Powers

  • Leslie Fenton as Nails Nathan

  • Beryl Mercer as Ma Powers

  • Robert O'Connor as Paddy Ryan

  • Murray Kinnell as Putty Nose


Background:

  • Based on Beer and Blood by John Bright and Kubec Glasmon, The Public Enemy opened on April 23, 1931.

  • On a budget between $150,000 - $230,000, The Public Enemy is said to have grossed $557,000 at the time.

  • The film was mostly well reviewed at the time, and, at the 4th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story, losing to The Dawn Patrol.

  • In 1998, The Public Enemy was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

  • In 2003, the character of Tom Powers was among the AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains, placing 42nd in the villain list.

  • In 2008, the film appeared on one of the AFI's 10 Top 10 lists—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres. The Public Enemy was listed as the eighth best in the gangster film genre.

  • In 2025, The Hollywood Reporter listed The Public Enemy as having the best stunts of 1930 to 1931.

  • The Public Enemy currently holds a 100% among critics on RT, an 80 score on Metacritic, and a 3.7/5 on Letterboxd.


Plot Summary: In The Public Enemy, James Cagney plays a small-time hood, Tom Powers, who rises through the ranks of organized crime during the Prohibition era. Alongside his partner, played by Edward Woods, he takes advantage of the illegal liquor trade to build power and wealth. As Powers becomes more violent and reckless, his success begins to unravel. His relationships—with women, rivals, and especially his law-abiding brother, played by Donald Cook—grow strained.


Did You Know:

  • On the set one day, James Cagney stared at Jean Harlow's nipples and asked, likely in perfect innocence and good humor, "How do you keep those things up?" "I ice them," Harlow said, before trotting off to her dressing room to do just that.

  • Edward Woods was originally hired for the lead role of Tom Powers and James Cagney was hired to play Matt Doyle, his friend. However, once director William A. Wellman got to know both of them and saw Cagney in rehearsals, he realized that Cagney would be far more effective in the star role than Woods, so he switched them.

  • Because of the infamous grapefruit scene, for years afterward when dining in restaurants, fellow patrons would send grapefruit to James Cagney, which--almost invariably--Cagney would happily eat.

  • Thanks to this film, Mae Clarke was asked "How did it feel to have a grapefruit shoved in your face?" for the rest of her life. She usually gave the same answer: "Wet."


Best Performance: James Cagney (Tom)

Best Secondary Performance: Donald Cook (Mike)/William Wellman (Director)

Most Charismatic Award: James Cagney (Tom)/Jean Harlow (Gwen)

Best Scene:

  • Putty Nose Setup

  • Gasoline Liquor

  • Welcome Home

  • Grapefruit

  • Shootout(s)

  • Tom's Demise

Favorite Scene: Welcome Home/Grapefruit/Killing Putty Nose/Killing the Horse

Most Indelible Moment: Tom's Demise/Final Title Card/Grapefruit


In Memorium:


Best Lines/Funniest Lines:

Tom Powers: Hey, Stupe, that's got gears. It ain't no Ford.


Matt Doyle: Gee, she's a honey. I could go for her myself.

Tom Powers: What do you mean, you could go for her yourself? You could go for an eighty-year-old chick with rheumatism.


Tom as a boy: [Tom grabs his pants just as his father is about to spank him] How do you want 'em this time, up or down?


Paddy Ryan: As far as Paddy Ryan's concerned, there are only two kinds of people - right and wrong. I think you're right. And you'll find out that I am.


Tom Powers: You're a swell dish. I think I'm going to go for you.


Tom Powers: Hiding behind Ma's skirts, like always.

Mike Powers: Better than hiding behind a machine gun.


Tom Powers: Why that dirty, no good, yellow-bellied stool. I'm gonna give it to him right in the head the first time I see him.


The Stanley Rubric:

Legacy: 5

Impact/Significance: 7.17

Novelty: 5.67

Classic-ness: 6

Rewatchability: 4.67

Audience Score: 7.95 (75% Google, 84% RT)

Total: 36.46


Remaining Questions:

  • What is the moral of this story?

  • Who killed Tom Powers?

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