James Cagney Recommendation #1
The Public Enemy (1931)- 1 hr 36 mins
In his breakout performance, Cagney scintillates as the volatile Tom Powers. The prototype for all tough-guys and all future films of the genre, The Public Enemy has it all. There’s Cagney as the boy who desires to break free from his poor and troubled childhood and forge a better life. Instead he’s torn down by those same desires when they threaten to destroy him and everything he loves. In one of her earliest roles, Jean Harlow (Red Dust) stars as the moll. Beryl Mercer (All Quiet on the Western Front) is the rough but lovable mom. The list could go on.
At its center is Cagney who, had it not been for director William Wellman (Wings) seeing the daily rushes, might not have had his breakthrough performance. Once Wellman saw the footage from the previous day’s shooting, he realized that Cagney - who had originally been cast as the good guy to Edward Wood’s Tom Powers - belonged in the titular role. His unique vitality makes this performance one for the books!
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The Public Enemy (1931)