Director : William Wellman

Stars :
James Cagney .... Tom Powers
Jean Harlow .... Gwen Allen
Edward Woods .... Matt Doyle
Joan Blondell .... Mamie
Donald Cook .... Mike Powers

Preparation :
Read the movie review at filmsite.org and the Hays Production Code (1930)

Historical/Social Significance :
Cagney's character was based on real-life Chicago mobster Earl "Hymie" Weiss and bootlegging mobster Charles O'Banion.

"Wellman brings a sociological bent to his depiction of their milieu, using old newsreel footage of the city (Chicago), carefully marking the passing of years and paying close attention to the particulars of the characters' working-class Irish surroundings"¹

"... the film as a whole deals fairly accurately with an event that is the source of much misunderstanding - Prohibition. It was made while Prohibition was still in force, and reflects a great deal of the cynicism toward the morality behind the imposition of Prohibition and the hypocrisy with which the Volstead Act was enforced."²

Synopsis :

Friends Tom and Matt go from small time to big time crime during prohibition. Starring James Cagney and Jean Harlow this is the movie with the famous scene of Cagney pushing a grapefruit into his girl friend's face.

Guided Questions for Viewing :
Assessment questions will be based on the following :
• "... the film also appeared to glamorize criminal activities such as bootlegging (although that was not the intent) and emphasized their high style of life with various floozies. Hence the film hastened efforts of Hollywood's self-imposed Production Code in the early thirties to strictly censor films (with criminal and sexual subject matter) that depicted undesirable social figures or sexual subjects in a sympathetic or realistic way."³ Do you feel Tom Powers was presented in a sympathetic way? Use scenes from the movie to support your argument.
• Do you think we need to again have a self-imposed censorship on our movies?
• The Public Enemy starts by telling its audience that it does not mean to glorify the criminals that it portrays. Do you think that the movie presents Tom Powers as a heroic character in spite of this claim?
• The grapefruit scene is without a doubt one of the most famous scenes in all of cinema. What did you think of it? Do you think men and women would view the scene differently?
• One prevailing theory is that Prohibition was imposed because the Protestant suburban middle class wanted to control the new lower class Catholic and Jewish immigrant groups. Comment on this with reference to the movie.