MovieChat Forums > The Public Enemy (1931) Discussion > Cagney seemed kinda prissy to me

Cagney seemed kinda prissy to me

posted 14 years ago by bhobnine
12 replies | jump to latest

Came off as more 'DOODLE DANDY' than tough guy. Seemed to be wearing eyeshadow, threw a punch with a waggy wrist, and went down wayyy too fast when his brother or whoever smacked him. The whole grapefruit thing? Only a wuss smacks a woman in the face with a grapefruit and then makes a face like that. She shoulda b!tch slapped him back, he probly woulda fallen on the floor!
I did like Nails Nathan however, though he seemed to have the same make-up stylist ( eyeshadow and pancake) Heard he was the guy who directed Streets of Laredo. Though this movie is interesting as an example of early 'second wave movie craft', ( first wave being silent) it just did'nt do much for me, other than the... " WHAT WAS UP WITH THAT DAVID LYNCH-IAN ENDING SHOT????"
"Pffft, my suspension of disbelief has higher standards than that"

[–] daedalus1337 14 years ago

Really?

Well, this was one of his earliest films so he definitely looked younger and more boyish than he did in 'Angels with Dirty Faces' and 'White Heat', for example. But he definitely came off as a hardass, no? He spits beer in that guy's face, threatens plenty of people, robs stores and womanizes. You might be mistaking his giddy, sardonic facade. It made him seem all the worse because he had so much fun tormenting people!

[–] bradford-1 14 years ago

The ending should be more properly referred to as a "William Welmanish ending," considering the fact that he was directing pictures before Lynch was born.

"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."

[–] vicksykate 14 years ago

Seriously?

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[–] dyahrmarkt 13 years ago

Tom just may agree with you, OP. After the shootout he intones, "I ain't so tough....."

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

[–] Badwolf57 13 years ago

Men usually did wear makeup in the 30s, a practice left over from silent cinema used to contrast with the black/white film medium

[–] kartoon-1 13 years ago

Yes the heavy eye-makeup was to give him a sinister, shifty-eyed look.
Makeup became more sophisticated as time went on to make it look less like makeup and more like real skin tone.

[–] jtyroler 12 years ago

Lighting also improved after the early 30s.

[–] netshopper-2 13 years ago

He did look to be wearing eyeliner but he was anything but a pris.

[–] franzkabuki 12 years ago

Yeah, he came across as a bully rather than someone with "steel in his balls", to quote Frank Lopez.

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] AssetsonFire 12 years ago

That was the point.

~.~
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[–] gerrywos 11 years ago

totally agree with you,the weakest "tough guy" ive ever seen.A gust of wind would knock him down.Cant handle his booze,gets date-raped by a woman.Shoots a horse for god sake,that scene was ridiculous.A wimp with a gun,thats all

[–] MayoGalway 11 years ago

Checkout the trivia pg. the horse scene is based on a real event.