“The Public Enemy” made in 1931 was directed by William Wellman and starred James Cagney and Jean Harlow. The film was one of the first gangster films and is regarded as one of the top three films of the genre next to “Little Caesar” and “Scarface” which were all made within a span of two years, leading to its status as a classic film.
The film begins with a look at the main character’s childhoods showing what most likely lead to their eventual careers as gangsters. Many parts of the film are based in reality, such as Tom surviving the machine gun ambush just as Earl "Hymie" Weiss had and Tom hitting his girlfriend with half a grapefruit is based on the real life event of Weiss hitting his girlfriend with an omelette. The grapefruit scene became infamous and there are differing accounts on whether Mae Clark was aware she was going to be hit in the face. The decision to use a grapefruit instead of an omelette was made by the director as he felt an omelette would be too messy.
“The Public Enemy” made in a month with a budget of $151,000. The film was released at about the same time as “Little Caesar” but was more violent, tougher and more realistic than “Little Caesar” was. The film helped to set the tone for the other gangster films that were to come during the depression.
“The Public Enemy” is a classic due to its realistic violent, and gritty portrayal of real life events spun into a fictional narrative. The film, along with “Scarface” and “Little Caesar” created the genre of gangster films as they are known today.
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