This is an old film and it shows, some of the acting isn't that great either, but the dialogue is the epitome of the era "please don't slug me" etc haha and it is one of the first films where you end up rooting for the bad guy. Films like this probably influenced Tarrantino, it must have been pretty shocking at the time, anyhow Cagney is in usual shouty form and there's loads of old school gangster action, some of the story is a bit not believable but the ending is great - shocking and weirdly funny too.
Not one for people who like modern films but I really enjoyed this old time gangster stuff. Grab a brew and some pretzels and enjoy.
The Public Enemy remains a great mob films because of its pugnacious script, William Wellman's pacy, imaginative direction and James Cagney's dynamic, star making performance. He is a pitiless, ambitious Irish gangster who rises on the prohibition crimewave only to crash into a spray of rival bullets and then dumped in a bloody parcel on his mothers doormat.
Cagney delivers the tough dialogue brilliantly, and he is on a different level from the rest. He is utterly believable. The script gives him many startling, offbeat scenes to bring to life: when he steals his first gun; when he shoots his boss' racehorse; and most famously when he pushes a half grapefruit into the face of his moll (Mae Clarke).
The main weakness is the stiff acting of the support cast. In particular the strange performance of Jean Harlow as the high maintenance frou-frou the public enemy aspires after. She seems to be in a trance. But this is one of the great early sound films. The pacing is slick, the camera moves and the frame is filled with exciting action.
One of the surprises of The Public Enemy is how frank it is about how the gangs make their money and compete for dominance. The film looks like a guide for how to get into prohibition crime! And it's unusually liberal. OK, Cagney plays a psychopath, but the film implies that crime is a product of poverty and the slums. It blames prohibition for organised crime. It's a miracle how candid it is, despite the censorship.