MovieChat Forums > The Public Enemy (1931) Discussion > Does anyone feel sorry for Putty Nose wh...

Does anyone feel sorry for Putty Nose when Tom kills him?

posted 17 years ago by mlraymond
19 replies | jump to latest

Tom and Matt's anger at Putty Nose for running out on them is understandable, but as the scene continues, it gets more disturbing the way he pleads for his life and Tom just seems amused. Matt begins to look a little uncertain as Putty Nose begs him for mercy, and he even seems a little shocked at Tom's callousness. I get the feeling he was considering intervening, but Tom was the stronger of the two.

What do people think? Did Putty Nose deserve to die? It seems pretty clear that Nails Nathan actively urges Tom on by making fun of him, and hinting that he would be impressed if Tom did kill Putty Nose.

And when he crossed the bridge, the phantoms came to meet him

[–] kronos251 17 years ago

"Did Putty Nose deserve to die?"

yes... and... no... I'll explain what I mean:

A crook shoots another crook -- kind of pointless. But I get what Tom was getting at.

It really depends on any other charges Putty Nose was guilty of - was he guilty of murder, etc...? Anyway, sure enough though, Putty started out as one among many who bummed around, and of his own choice, he led the wrong path. He was the type of fellow who just didn't take life seriously and just let two innocents basically flush their lives down the toilet

However, Tom had no right ending the life of someone who more or less looked out for him and his friend in their youth. Putty Nose - as the name suggests - was somewhat a petty criminal compared to Tom and Nails Nathan. And like all criminals, he was guilty of saving his own skin first before thinking of anything, much less the welfare of others.

So in other words, Putty Nose did not deserve to be killed by Tom, but Putty should be answerable to his actions that involved so many young lives.

Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.

[–] slokes 17 years ago

Putty Nose had to die because the producers needed to show Tom Powers wasting someone on his own, to better get across the message that he was a "public enemy". Otherwise, it's a pretty strange and wanton killing.

Putty Nose cuts Tom loose after Tom bungles a burglary and a cop and an accomplice are both shot dead. Years later, Tom decides he wants revenge.

Huh?

Tom wasn't betrayed to the cops. He didn't get stiffed on his take of the stolen goods (there were no stolen goods to divvy up since Tom botched the job by shooting a stuffed bear).

The motive is presented as something more complex. Tom and Matt seem to harbor resentment about the course their lives have taken, and blame Putty Nose. "We could have been streetcar operators" Tom says, which given the way he glories in all his ill-gotten loot, seems to come out of left field.

We may blame Putty Nose for the course of Tom and Matt's lives, though not the direction, which Tom and Matt decided for themselves. Seeing Putty Nose die in such a sad way cements our dislike for Tom at a critical interval of the film, just as things are going well and Tom has fallen in with some good bad guys who treat him and Matt square.

[–] labread 16 years ago

yes AND no??? Nice input.

I say NO.

[–] exodus_laughing 16 years ago

I felt bad.. I would have felt worse if he had groveled better and less ridiculously... "remember when you was kids!!" uhh.. guy is threatening to kill you.. and youre talking about how you played him funny songs when he was a kid.. yep.

[–] vice69 16 years ago

i didn't feel bad at all...i like it when characters show just how gritty they can get...like in 'air force one' when oldman threatened to shoot the chick and he did...tom didn't pull any of that hollywood "i'll just threaten but not follow through" garbage..hell nah, he shot ol' putty without a blink...real tough guy...

-I'm The Police Chief, I Know Everything-

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Lucky-Linky 16 years ago

could have put a spoiler warning in the title of the topic!

"The world is quite here"

[–] Woodyanders 16 years ago

The killing of Putty Nose was pretty cruel and unnecessary. Sure, he betrayed Tom by leaving him hanging, but he still didn't deserve to die for that.

"We're all part Shatner/And part James Dean/Part Warren Oates/And Steven McQueen"

[–] montrossboc-1 12 years ago

I believe Putty Nose got what he deserved, and Putty Nose knew he deserved it.

[–] NotoriousRio 15 years ago

The best thing about Putty Noses death is Matt Doyle's reaction to it. Even though most of the off camera deaths were forced, I think it added a larger dramatic affect to it, a shame modern films dont take note.

http://www.cagneyonline.co.uk/

[–] dyahrmarkt 13 years ago

I can't help but think of "Miller's Crossing" during this scene and think it's pretty probably the Coen Brothers were tipping their hat to Wild Bill Wellman.

Please nest your IMDB page, so you respond to the correct person.

[–] montrossboc-1 12 years ago

Putty Nose got what he deserved.

[–] jtyroler 12 years ago

If Putty Nose had not been killed by Tom, the Snitz Edwards character would not have had a reason to contact Schemer Burns about where they were holed up. I think Putty Nose and Snitz had moved up in the world by getting in with the Burns mob - the way they were dressed at the nightclub was too good for a fence for petty thefts done by teenagers.

[–] maestro7PL 11 years ago

NO! Putty got what he deserved. Remember that Matt and Tommy were on their first big job and were really "kids" when Putty ran out on them, leaving them to possibly get caught. Remember, he promised them that he would look after them if there was trouble. He was a liar and a thief. He deserved to die at the hands of the person he betrayed!

[–] xdayton 10 years ago

"Lizzy Jones, big and fat, slipped on the ice and broke her..."

BANG! BANG! BANG!

..."haaat."

Funniest scene in movie.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] telegonus 10 years ago

I felt sorry for Putty Nose due mostly to Murray Kinnell's excellent performance in the role. Putty Nose was a man in danger, knew it, was trying every trick in the book, begging not to be killed, even started to sing that silly song. The actor's ability to convey the character's feelings of desperation was masterful. Compared to, say, Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, who died a far grislier death, Putty Nose wasn't a violent man, to the best of my recollection didn't kill anyone, was paternal with the boys he was teaching to become petty criminals. He was a small timer. Sonny Corleone was a vicious gangster. I was shocked by the way he died, felt nothing for him as a person. Putty Nose wasn't in Sonny's league. Ne was a small time crook. I don't thing he deserved to die the way he did.