James Cagney burns up the screen in this early gangster film, and I would say that The Public Enemy is a step above its counterpart, Little Caesar, made around the same time. This film is made better by Cagney's edgy, angry performance as a seemingly heartless thug (the breakfast scene with the grapefruit shoved into his girlfirend's face is a classic). It's not hard to see how this film made him a star. The story is also pretty adult, although some of the dialogue dates badly. There are a lot of sexual overtones that took me by surprise for a film made in the early Thirties. Jean Harlow plays one of Cagney's girlfriends, and she's a little stiff in what must have been one of her first films. The film moves well, with plenty of action, and it seems smoother than other early talkies. Cagney fans (and grapefruit lovers!) will want to check this film out.