The film is about the rise and fall of two young hoodlums in Chicago who become top-tier gangsters during the early days of Prohibition only to find themselves in a gang war with rival mobsters. It is a film with a simple premise that plays into two men who work as hoodlums since they were boys for a local boss only to grow up as men who would work for another boss as they would rise and make money through bootlegging alcohol. The film’s screenplay by Harvey F. Thew is based on an unpublished screenplay by John Bright and Kubec Glasmon is straightforward as it spans 15 years from 1905 to 1920 when Prohibition begins. The protagonists in Tom Powers (James Cagney) and Matt Doyle (Edward Woods) are two Irish-American men who would do small jobs and rise the ranks working for a local hood in Putty Nose (Murray Kinnell). After an incident that made Nose flee, the two would work for the more prominent Paddy Ryan a few years after World War I had ended.
Once Prohibition begins, Powers and Doyle get rich while remaining loyal to Ryan as they also get women and all the good things in life. The script also plays into conflict between Powers and his older brother Mike (Donald Cook) who is a strait-laced man that does everything expected in society including joining the marines in World War I as he would struggle to make ends meet for himself and the family despite Powers giving their mother (Beryl Mercer) money. It would play into tension where Powers knows he is not an honorable man but does not tell his mother what he really does yet he shoots back at his brother for what he has done while at war. Powers would eventually cope with the chaos of conflict following the death of a colleague as it plays into the intensity of violence that occurs during Prohibition.
William A. Wellman’s direction is engaging in the way he captures a period that are the early days of Prohibition just a few years before it ends. Shot on location at the Warner Brothers studio backlot at Burbank, California along with additional locations in Los Angeles, Wellman does create an atmosphere of a world that is finding itself in a new century though some struggle to get by with Powers and Doyle doing things for this local hood as they live in the poor side of Chicago with their families. Wellman’s direction does have some wide and medium shots to get a scope of the locations in in its 1:37:1 aspect ratio. Even as he would do unique camera movements in a medium shot during a conversation while also using close-ups in a few scenes to play into the drama and suspense. Wellman also play into the way bootleggers steal from breweries before they close and how they transport alcohol in secrecy as well as the lifestyle the gangsters have. There are also moments that are violent though Wellman chooses to shoot scenes involving the intense violence by having it be shown offscreen.
The usage of sound is a key element in the offscreen violence while the death of a friend of Powers and Doyle would also be shown offscreen as it would mark the fall for both men. The film’s third act is one filled with suspense and drama as it plays into Paddy Ryan becoming concerned for everyone around him as he also knows he is a target from rival gangs. Its climax would involve Powers with an aftermath in which his brother realizes the severity of what his brother had been trying to do as well as the danger. The final image is shocking as it plays into the world of gang violence as well as it is followed by a postscript that explains the futility of the gangster life and the failures of Prohibition. Overall, Wellman crafts a gripping and intoxicating film about two young men who rise into the gangster world during the early days of Prohibition.
Cinematographer Devereaux Jennings does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography in the way the exterior scenes at night are lit as well as the usage of shadows for some of the nighttime interior scenes. Editor Edward Michael McDermott does excellent work with the editing with its rhythmic cuts to play into the drama and suspense along with some lively cutting for some of the energetic scenes. Art director Max Parker does amazing work with the look of the nightclub Powers and Doyle go to as well as the family home of the former and the hotel suite the two men live in with their partners.
Costume designer Edward Stevenson does fantastic work with the costumes in the suits the men wear as well as additional wardrobe designed by Earl Luick in the dresses that the women wear. The sound work of Oliver S. Garretson is superb for the sound effects in how gunfire sounds as well as the way natural sound is presented on set. Title music by David Mendoza is wonderful in its orchestral piece to play into the air of suspense and drama while its music soundtrack features music from that period that is performed by the Vitaphone Orchestra.
The casting by Rufus Le Maire is remarkable as it feature some notable small roles from Mia Marvin as Paddy Ryan’s girlfriend Jane who would seduce Powers late in the film, Dorothy Gee as Nathan Nails’ girlfriend, Frank Coughlan Jr. as the young Powers, Frankie Darro as the young Doyle, Beryl Mercer as Powers’ mother, Mae Clarke as Powers’ first girlfriend Kitty, and Murray Kinnel as Powers and Doyle’s first boss in the hood Putty Nose. Robert O’Connor is superb as Paddy Ryan as a boss for Powers and Doyle who treats them like his children as well as be someone that is rational as he is aware of the intensity of the gang wars that is happening. Leslie Fenton is fantastic as Nathan Nails as a fellow gangster whom Powers and Doyle would befriend as he would get them some connections as well as some influence for them as well as for Paddy Ryan. Joan Blondell is excellent as Doyle’s girlfriend/future wife Mamie who would help and support Doyle at home while also being the one person to give Doyle stability despite his criminal activities.
Jean Harlow is brilliant in a small role as Powers’ second girlfriend Gwen Allen whom he would meet while driving with Doyle and later become someone that loves the lifestyle as well as giving him an idea of a future. Donald Cook is amazing as Powers’ older brother Mike who is a straitlaced man who is not fond of his brother’s criminal activities as well as lying to their mother where he is later forced to realize his own faults and the danger that his brother is in. Edward Woods is great as Powers’ friend Matt Doyle as a man who knows what he wants while is more low-key in his pursuits where he wants to make money to have a good life for himself and Mamie. Finally, there’s James Cagney in a tremendous performance as Tom Powers as this young gangster who likes to live the life of a criminal with all its rewards where Cagney displays charisma in every moment as he brings an energy that is insatiable to watch. Even as he knows he is a flawed man and does not apologize for it while is also someone that any crime boss or friend can count on as it is one of Cagney’s finest performances.
The Public Enemy is a phenomenal film by William A. Wellman that features an iconic performance from James Cagney. Along with its supporting cast, story of ambition and danger, its gripping presentation, and a fun music soundtrack. It is a pre-Code gangster film that is quite daring for its time in its presentation of violence as well as its approach in not glamorizing a world that is dark for its time. In the end, The Public Enemy is a spectacular film by William A. Wellman.
© thevoid99 2025
The film revolves around three men who fought in World War I as they would deal with its aftermath as well as being part of the world of bootlegging and crime through different means during the era of Prohibition. It is a film is an exploration into the three different journeys of three men who would find some success during the era of Prohibition only for one of them to fall spectacularly towards its end and aftermath. The film’s screenplay is straightforward though it features narration by John Deering who talks about the events that these characters would endure with its focus on the film’s protagonist in Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney). Bartlett was a soldier for the Army in World War I as he found himself in a foxhole with another soldier in George Hally (Humphrey Bogart) and later a younger soldier in Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn) as they would survive the war but Bartlett stayed behind in Europe for more than a year as he returned home without a job or any prospects except for being a cab driver thanks to the help of a friend in Danny Green (Frank McHugh).
During one of his cab trips, he is asked to deliver some liquor to a club owner in Panama Smith (Gladys George) where he gets into trouble despite Lloyd’s help to get him release yet Smith realizes Bartlett’s worth as they collaborate with each other in running their own bootlegging operation. With Lloyd serving as an attorney for Bartlett, Bartlett also reconnects with a young woman in Jean Sherman (Priscilla Lane) whom he had corresponded with during the war as he got her a job as a singer for Smith’s speakeasy club. Bartlett hopes to be with Jean although she is more interested in Lloyd as a conflict with another bootlegger in Nick Brown (Paul Kelly) has Bartlett and his crew stealing a shipment where he reunites with Hally who works with Bartlett to anger Brown. However, the conflict between Bartlett and Brown starts to boil over where Hally starts to take charge against Bartlett’s wishes leading to trouble with Lloyd wanting out of the business. The script is filled with some unique dialogue that plays into the period of the times as well as the drama and some of the dark moments in the film with some dark humor involved as well.
Raoul Walsh’s direction has elements of style yet much of his direction is grounded in a world that was decadent and violent as it plays into a time where everyone doing illegal things was the norm until the end of Prohibition. Shot on location on the studio lots at Warner Brothers in Hollywood, California, Walsh maintains this atmosphere of a world where war veterans find themselves disconnected with life at home as Bartlett is unable to get back his old job as a mechanic. Walsh’s direction does have some wide shots of the locations as well as the space of a room or a club while much of his direction is based on the usage of close-ups and medium shots in the way characters interact with one another. Even in the way Walsh catches a reaction such as Bartlett’s first meeting with Jean only to learn she is underage as well as the scenes in the nightclub years later when Jean meets Lloyd for the first time. The way Walsh create these simple shots display the sense of emotion and euphoria that happens as well as the way he presents some foreshadowing such as an early scene of Bartlett, Hally, and Lloyd hearing the news of the armistice as it reflects on the direction they would take in their lives.
Walsh also plays into this growing powerplay between Bartlett and Hally with the latter feeling like he has become a lackey for the former as he would do what he can to rise and take over. Even as Bartlett starts to cope with the decisions, he has made that would alienate both Jean and Lloyd, the film’s third act plays into the stock market crash of 1929 where Bartlett’s fortunes dwindle to the point that he makes a deal with Hally that would end up being bad for him. It also plays into this period of post-Prohibition where the aftermath of Bartlett’s fall forces him to see reality as well as realize what he must do to make things right. Especially towards those who really did care about him where Walsh creates an exhilarating sequence that plays into a man that is trying to find some redemption as well as break a pact that they made during the war. Overall, Walsh crafts a compelling and chilling film about the rise and fall of a bootlegger and the people he meet during his journey.
Cinematographer Ernie Haller does brilliant work with the film’s black and white cinematography as it plays into the dark atmosphere of nighttime exterior scenes to the more vibrant look of the daytime interior/exterior scenes as well as some of the club scenes. Editor Jack Killifer does excellent work with the editing as it has some style in its usage of transition wipes as well as some straight cuts to play into the suspense and action. Art director Max Parker does amazing work with the look of the sets such as the interiors of the clubs as well as a factory that stored some liquor during a heist. Wardrobe designer Milo Anderson does fantastic work with the look of the suits as well as the dresses and gowns the women wear.
The special effects work of Edwin du Par and Byron Haskin do terrific work with some of the film’s minimal photographic effects to play into some of the montages. The sound work of Everett Alton Brown is superb for its sound work in the way tommy guns sound as well as the atmosphere of a location and other sparse sounds. The film’s music by Ray Heindorf and Heinz Roemheld is wonderful for its orchestral score mixed in with elements of the jazz music of the time as well as songs that were part of that period that features musical direction by Leo F. Forbstein in selecting some of the traditional songs that were performed during those times.
The casting by Steve Triller is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Vera Lewis as Bartlett’s old landlord, Elliott Sullivan as a cellmate of Bartlett following his first arrest for liquor distribution, Joseph Crehan as Bartlett’s old boss, Abner Biberman as Hally’s right-hand man Lefty, Joseph Sawyer as a former army sergeant that Hally hates, and Elisabeth Risdon as Jean’s mother whom Bartlett and Danny meet early in the film. Paul Kelly is superb as a rival bootlegger in Nick Brown whom Hally was working for until he reunited with Bartlett as he is someone that does not like Bartlett’s methods prompting him to wage war on Bartlett. Gladys George is fantastic as Panama Smith as a club owner who teams up with Bartlett to create an empire of their own while she becomes concerned about his decisions as well as harboring her own feelings for him. Frank McHugh is terrific as Bartlett’s friend/roommate Danny Green who helps find Bartlett a job as well as help him distribute liquor though he becomes concerned for some of the things they are doing in the film’s second act.
Jeffrey Lynn is excellent as Lloyd Hart as a young army soldier that Bartlett and Hally meet in a foxhole as he is also a law student that eventually becomes Bartlett’s lawyer until things become out of control. Priscilla Lane is amazing as Jean Sherman as a young woman that Bartlett was corresponding with during the war as he would later meet her again while distributing liquor at a show where he hopes to win her over except that she finds herself falling for Hart while also caring for Bartlett. Humphrey Bogart is phenomenal as George Lally as a soldier that Bartlett meets as he is also a bootlegger that also has ambitions yet feels like he is being slighted when he can do so much more to the point that he would do things to usurp Bartlett. Finally, there’s James Cagney in a tremendous performance as Eddie Bartlett as a soldier who returns home from the war only to become unemployed as he finds money through delivering liquor and bootlegging where he becomes ambitious but also starts to question everything once things fall apart as it is a performance full of charm and wit as well as a vulnerability in how he deals with his losses and regrets.
The Roaring Twenties is a spectacular film by Raoul Walsh that features a great leading performance from James Cagney as well as an incredible supporting performance from Humphrey Bogart. Along with its ensemble cast, dazzling look, energetic tone, and story of ambition and chaos during the days of Prohibition. It is a film that manages to be much more than a gangster and crime film as it is a study of a period in which everything was wild until things got darker with those trying to pick up the pieces. In the end, The Roaring Twenties is a sensational film by Raoul Walsh.
© thevoid99 2024
