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By
NICK ZEGARAC
William Wellman's "The
Public Enemy" (1931) remains the benchmark
achievement in crime cinema by which all
successors tip their hats. It stars James Cagney
in a breakout performance that established him as
one of Warner Bros. tough guys in their so called
"murderer's row" roster of heavies.
Here Cagney is Tom Powers, a deviant from the
wrong side of the tracks who refuses to mellow
with age. Together with his buddy, Matt Doyle
(Edward Woods), Tom becomes a one-man crime wave
-- taking his chances, living high and accosting
and abusing women along the way. His grapefruit in
Kitty's (Mae Clarke) kisser is justly remembered
as a violent and violating act against the fairer
sex. But Tom doesn't care. Life is cheap and
exciting.
In an early appearance, platinum bombshell, Jean
Harlow cuts a seedy swath as Gwen Allen. Joan
Blondell, as another toss away trollop -- but with
a knife in her -- adds to the raw tension of this
story. Only the congenial, Mike (Donald Cook)
pleads with Tom to mend his wicked ways. He is,
after all, Tom's only brother. Taut energy and the
enigmatic presence of Cagney (then on the verge of
international stardom) make "The Public Enemy"
enthralling and electric.
Warner's DVD transfer is justly an improvement
over previous video incarnations. Though age
related artifacts still exist the remastered print
elements are generally smooth and inviting.
Certain brief sections of the film appear to have
been duped in using second or third generation
film sources, leading to a considerable variation
in image quality. When it's good, the image
exhibits a sharp, nicely contrasted beauty not
found in previous releases of this film to video.
The grayscale has been impeccably rendered. There
are moments where film grain will appear more
excessive but this, again, is the fault of a 70
plus year old negative. The audio is mono and
exhibits a decided hiss, which is a limitation of
the old Warner Vitaphone process of sound
recording. No more could have been done by the
good people at Warners on this transfer. It is
head and shoulders above anything the film has
looked like in years. Extras include an engaging
audio commentary by film historian Robert Sklar, a
featurette and the return of Leonard Maltin,
hosting "Warner Night at the Movies." Highly
recommended. |
