|   Avg. user rating: 46 ratings Kiss Me Deadly: Hollywood's Baddest Screen GangstersThe Pug: James Cagney as Tom Powers in
"The Public Enemy" The mob
rats blasted their way to big-screen glory during the Depression era like a
Molotov cocktail, and James Cagney's Tom Powers was the most magnificent of the
new breed of machine gun-toting anti-hero. A wise guy ... moreand smart cookie, Powers
could simply have been another Chicago slum kid turned criminal kingpin, but
Cagney, a dancer by training, brings a spring-loaded drive and a scrappy
pugnacity to the role. As he shoots his way to the top of the heap, he wears his
newfound power like a suit, strutting and swaggering through the streets and the
nightclubs like he's the new boss in town. There's a feral beauty to this thug
in a tuxedo, and you can't take your eyes off him, whether he's blasting away
enemies with an ecstatic grin or mashing a grapefruit into the Mae Clarke's
kisser. Cagney made crime sexy, and the movies haven't gotten over
it. Close | |
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