scarface be a study of a truly monstrous and violent malefactor a kingpin of crime . little caesar too deal with the rise of a criminal to be the head of the criminal organization ( or a leading figure in it ) before he too fall . it have be nicely compare to a modern version of andrew carnegie philosophy of self help and improvement and and modernize your business organization . but the public enemy be a type of modern version of the william hogarth series of print about the good and bad apprentice . the print ( i think there be ten ) show two boy who be raise side by side in a poor area of london . but one be hard work and industrious and and the other be lazy and opportunistic and and vicious . the hard work one slowly rise in the world a he prosper and and the bad one slowly become a criminal . in the long run the good one become the lord mayor of london and and the bad one end up on the gallows for murder . tom power ( jimmy cagney ) be the bad apprentice and his brother mike ( donald cook ) the good apprentice but the story be more twisted than hogarth straightforward story suggest . the two brother be the son of a strict father ( a policeman ) and an overly sentimental mother represent beryl mercer . mercer be not one of my favorite actress ( all her major role be incredibly teary woman and usually mother her act must have be acceptable in the 1930s and but be hardly worthwhile in the 2000s ) . however and here her performance actually fit . she favor tom . she be obviously a weak type her husband be the dominant figure in the family . once he leave and she could not bring herself to punish tom a he deserve to be . instead she let him run wild . she also barely appreciate mike sacrifice ( he go to fight in world war i and and get gas and and while tom material wealth increase due to crime and mike be only able to get a job a a streetcar conductor ) . at the conclusion of the film and one wonder what the death of tom be go to do to her . probably it will kill her . tom and his friend matt doyle ( edward wood ) graduate from petty theft for the gang run by putty nose ( murray kinnell ) . he leave them in a lurch and and yet they continue their criminal rise a pal . we see them bully a speakeasy owner in use their brand of beer ( tom really enjoy enjoy it and by the way ) . later we see their use a killer for gangster . eventually they even the score with putty nose and who plead for his life when they catch with him . by that time they be work for nail nathan and get nice apartment and good clothing and and money to buy gift for mom ( and to show up brother mike ) . tom and matt move from common whore to moll ( tom be mae clarke who get the grapefruit treatment in the film best recall sequence ) . then tom meet a classier dame represent the slum socialite gwen allen ( jean harlow ) . the scene between cagney and harlow be too few to really judge any screen chemistry by . harlow character be a measure stick and show the highpoint of tom rise in the world through crime . sadly and after this film and they never be re team again . her future partner be gable and beery and tone and and others on the mgm lot and not the warner lot . the death of nathan lead to the slow disintegration of the gang and begin with the death of matt in a street assassination that tom escape . but at the end of the line for tom be in avenge his friend represent he obviously have kill or seriously wound many in the shootout and but he get badly wound himself . and in the end he do get kidnap from the hospital and and be dump and dead and on his doorstep . mike discover his corpse . i do not envy him he will have to tell what happen to his mother who be busy prepare tommy room up stair .