take him or leave him and one can not deny the tremendous screen presence of james cagney . the public enemy and which launch cagney into the hollywood big time and doesn not so much tell one cohesive story as much a it offer a series of vignette link by cagney sheer star power . cagney be tom power and childhood hoodlum who grow up to become an adult hoodlum and meet his end a part of a bloody gang war in 1920 chicago . the film be position a part morality tale and part public service message . a title card at the film opening announces that the filmmaker in no way mean to glamorize the gangster life and while one place at the end announce a call to action on the part of the american public to bring an end to the seedy underworld portray in the movie . and to the film credit and despite stylish direction by william wellman and an intensely charismatic performance from cagney and it stick to it promise . the film have an invigorating energy and but it never once glamorizes cagney or his lifestyle . there be a number of truly memorable moment in this film . of course the famous grapefruit scene have go down in film annals a one of them and but i be most struck by the film shock finale and in which the body of cagney be drop off at the front door of his home while his mother happily change the sheet of his bed upstairs and think that come home mean that her son be come home alive . another dazzling segment be the one in which cagney seek revenge on the gang that kill his best friend . we see him stake out the pool hall where they have gather and with a truly frightening and psychotic expression on his face . then he walk through the rain directly toward the camera until his face fill the frame . after he enter the pool hall and we hear shot and a man scream while the camera stay focus on the exterior of the building . cagney then emerge and wound and stagger through the rain . the whole segment feel much more violent than it actually be and because of the effective use of camera and sound ( which be in it infancy and but which wellman use superbly ) . most of the other actor come off poorly next to cagney and because his style of acting be so different from the convention of the time . donald cook and play cagney war hero brother and overacts to the hilt and with one foot firmly plant in silent film . a couple of female be throw in a eye candy and but absolutely no attempt be make to develop their character . joan blondell be cute and sexy and but jean harlow be dreadful . how this ugly and clunk and horrible actress ever achieve stardom be beyond me . and a frequently happen with pre code cinema and i be take aback by material that you never think of appear in film from this time period . it make overt fun of gay and jew and frankly address sex and and and most strikingly and make a parallel between gangster and soldier and claim that both murder but for different reason . ten year later a comment like that would never appear in a hollywood film and and movie wouldn not be comfortable criticize war again until the 1970s . the public enemy be rough around the edge . you can still feel the various artist involve try to feel their way around the new era of motion picture and and a a result and part of the film be uneven . but it a striking and remarkable movie that and despite limitation place on it by the time period and the technology available and pack a gangster size punch . grade represent a .