The Public Enemy. 1931. Directed by William A. Wellman

Film

Fri, Jan 8, 2016, 7:00 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

The Public Enemy. 1937. USA. Directed by William A. Wellman. Image courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures/Photofest

The Public Enemy. 1931. USA. Directed by William A. Wellman. 83 min.

Screenplay by Kubec Glasmon, John Bright, Harvey Thew. With James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Joan Blondell. Tom, a petty thief who’s feeling the heat from his family and the police, seeks better fortunes with a mobster named “Nails” Nathan. Quickly becoming a successful bootlegger, Tom finds himself “successful” with the ladies as well; when his girlfriend Kitty complains once too often, Tom shoves half a grapefruit in her face. This iconic scene between Cagney and actress Mae Clark has become one of cinema’s most well known. This print represents the shortened, post-censor version.

This film accompanies Modern “Matinees”: Fashionably Late.

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