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Features: DVD, Mono Audio, English, French, Spanish, Subtitled
He was a streetwise ghetto kid, caught in the slum's web of poverty and violence. Then Prohibition came along...and Tom Powers saw a chance to make some real dough. The Public Enemy showcases James Cagney's powerful 1931 breakthrough performance as Powers--but only because production chief Darryl F. Zanuck made a late casting change. When shooting began, Cagney has a secondary role but Zanuck quickly recognized that Cagney dominated the screen and gave him the star part. From that moment, an indelible genre classic and an enduring star career were both born. Bristling with '20s style, dialogue and desperation under the masterful directorial eye of William A. Wellman,The Public Enemy is a virtual time capsule of the Prohibition era. It's taut, gritty, hard-hitting--even at breakfast when grapefruit is served.
"...put Cagney on the map, and deservedly so..." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
Editor's Note
In William Wellman's classic crime film THE PUBLIC ENEMY, James Cagney does a star turn as Tom Powers, a trouble-ridden individual who rises from the position of cheap thug to that of a powerful Prohibition gangster. When his best friend is murdered, Powers self-destructively seeks deadly retaliation. He picks fights. He slaps women around. He roughs up speakeasy owners and tells them whom they'll get their hooch from and how much they'll order. Fists, kisses, and guns are the only things Tom knows. He eventually gets promoted to become the muscleman of mobster Nails Nathan (Leslie Fenton). But Tom's violent acts are about to catch up with him. After Tom guns down a cop, he's on the run. Later, thugs dump him, beaten, on the doorstep of his estranged and horrified family. It's only then that Tom realizes his decision to live the gangster life has been an irrevocable and deadly choice. Known as the picture that launched Cagney into stardom, THE PUBLIC ENEMY doesn't hold back from exposing the violence and tedium underscoring this ostensibly sexy life of crime. The screenplay, based on a story entitled BEER AND BLOOD by John Bright and written by Harvey F. Thew, was nominated for an Academy Award.
Plot Summary
Tom Powers enjoys proving to others why he is the Prohibition era's public enemy number one. But things are about to change.
| Features | Audio Commentary By Film Historian Robert Sklar | | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono | | Interactive Menus | | Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night At The Movies With Newsreel, Comedy Short The Eyes Have It, Cartoon Smile, Darn Ya, Smile, And Theatrical Trailers | | New Featurette Beer And Blood: Enemies Of The Public | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 1/25/2005 |
| Running Time: 82 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1931 | | Catalog ID: 66906 | | UPC: 00012569690622 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: B&W |
Aspect Ratio | | Standard 1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew
| Memorable Quotes| "I ain't so tough."----Tom Powers (James Cagney) |
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| | Professional Reviews | Total Film
"...Cagney is magnificent, totally dominating the screen..." -- 4 out of 5 stars 03/01/2000 p.84Entertainment Weekly
"[S]eductively enthralling..." 01/28/2005 p.68 Los Angeles Times
"[Cagney] became a sensation with his searing performance as the streetwise gangster Tom Powers in this William Wellman classic." 01/23/2005 p.E10 The Motion Picture Guide 9 of 10
Frightening, obsessively fascinating... set the gangster genre for the 1930s, making a star of its p
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