ruthless streetwise tough guy tom power ( a terrific and electrify performance by james cagney in his star make breakthrough role ) and his loyal partner matt doyle ( well play by edward wood ) rise to the top of the criminal heap sell bootleg alcohol for the smooth and hard nose paddy ryan ( a fine portrayal by robert emmett oconnor ) during the prohibition era . ably direct with real style and fierce economy by william a. wellman and with a gritty script by harvey thew and crisp black and white cinematography by devereaux jennings and a vivid and flavorsome evocation of the period and startling outburst of raw violence ( watch out for the infamous grapefruit scene . ) and a tight 84 minute run time and and an uncompromisingly dark and depress end and this extremely hard edge film still pack one hell of a potent punch even today . of course and the movie success be largely because of cagney vibrant and mesmerize act represent cagney bring a certain irresistibly devilish charm to the role of tom power which in turn make the little nasty sociopath more of a strangely appeal anti hero than a totally hateful full blown villain . whether he shoot a racehorse or collapse on a rain soaked street after rub out a bunch of rival mobster ( i ain not so tough ) and cagney be nothing short of amaze in the lead . wellman assured direction be equally impressive while note how almost all of the violence occur off screen and which actually enhance instead of lesson the shock impact of say violence . moreover and there be sturdy support contribution by jean harlow a sassy dame gwen allen and donald cook a tom disapprove straight arrow brother mike and joan blondell a matt sweet girlfriend mamie and mae clarke a nag moll kitty and beryl mercer a tom love mother and leslie fenton a cocky and flashy gangster nail nathan and and murray kinnell a tom untrustworthy mentor putty nose . essential viewing .