Doctor X/The Public Enemy

Doctor X (1932)

Runtime: 76 minutes

Directed by: Michael Curtiz

Starring: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Lee Tracy, Preston Foster

From: First National Pictures (a subsidiary of Warner Brothers)

The Public Enemy (1931)

Runtime: 84 minutes

Directed by: William A. Wellman

Starring: James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Joan Blondell, Donald Cook

From: Warner Brothers

Last night on TV I saw the former and earlier tonight I watched on the DVD I have in my collection. I explain the plots to both films in my Letterboxd reviews so I'll skip right to those.

First, Doctor X, which I rated 3 stars:

This was a movie that was on Turner Classic Movies late last night so I figured I would give it a watch; its horror plot, two strip technicolor, and stylish ways made it sound interesting.

In short, it's about a head of a college (Doctor Xavier) which happens to have a bunch of eccentric weirdos in its science department and he's convinced by the cops that one of those professors is a serial killer of women who leaves his mark only during a full moon... oh, and the killer's a cannibal too. Via a Rube Goldbergian process the Dr. tries to experiment and figure out who the killer is. A newspaper reporter (who, while having some amusing moments, is more often “odious comic relief”) and the Doctor's daughter (Fay Wray) also figure into the proceedings.

Like I said this is filmed in an early version of Technicolor, which is definitely not refined like what we're familiar with, but it gives the movie a unique look. It has a pretty good atmosphere, cool makeup from Max Factor, really nice sets from Anton Grot (a lot of the action takes place in an old Gothic mansion, which does help in the atmosphere department) and nice usage of light and shadow. Unfortunately it does drag at times despite it being only 76 minutes long and that odious comic relief... it's a shame.

At least the movie has memorable moments (including tense ones) and a pretty rad finale in particular due to its ghoulish and wacky nature.

Now, The Public Enemy, which I rated 4 1/2 stars:

I have seen this movie before but that was years ago and it was long overdue for me to revisit this classic gangster tale that made James Cagney a star.

This chronicles the rise and downfall of the greatly named Tom Powers, a bootlegging gangster during the Prohibition Era. You first see him pal Matt Doyle as kids, and they were troublemakers, especially Tom. Then, as they grew up Tom's straitlaced brother Mike joined the Marines during World War I and became respectable while Tom fell in with the gangster crowd and enjoyed the spoils of that; this resulted in a feud where their poor “ma” was caught in the middle.

Originally Tom Powers was going to be played by Edward Woods and Cagney was to be Matt Doyle, the loyal pal. However, as they rehearsed they realized it'd be best if they did the switcheroo so the two actors traded roles and history was made.

That was really for the best as old James does a tremendous job as the antihero, someone who is willing to smash a grapefruit in the face of a dame he's grown tired of, or get revenge for grudges from long ago, and yet the character is so captivating, and Cagney's performance so magnetic, you almost root for him to succeed despite his bad ways and a personal life that's actually a mess. It's no surprise this role launched him into acting superstardom.

But, the rest of the film is great in general also. You have a well-filmed tale, nice stock sets, quality performances from the rest of the cast (whether they're part of the menagerie of colorful gangster characters or the more innocent parties; the most charming of the former was Nails Nathan) and an always fast-paced and entertaining story with plenty of tough moments. It is also aided by its Pre-Code nature and some rather suggestive scenes.

Like I said I was long overdue to see this again and now I wish I wouldn't have waited so long for the repeat viewing.

I'll return tomorrow night.