Absolute best Old Hollywood era gangster picture, bar none!
'Nuff said!
Okay folks, show's over, nothing to see here!
If I remember this movie right, James Cagney goes back to where he worked before enteringt the army to get his old job back and his boss, although saying he was glad to see him, said he was out of luck and he had no opening for him and blew him off. He had hired someone else to replace him and said it would not be fair to put Cagney back on and fire the other guy since he said Cagney had been partying in the Army. He had promised Cagney his old job but now he was SOL. I heard from my dad that a lot of guys came back from WWI and could not get their jobs back so that is why laws were passed after WW2 to enable veterans to not have to do this. Since Cagney could not get a job, he fell into crime. I am not one for "message movies" and want to be entertained and not be lectured to but maybe this movie wanted to send a message about that issue.
Was this the movie also where Humphrey Bogart was a sniper and deliberately shot an enemy soldier after hearing about the Armistance so he could say he got the last shot in? I remember the scene well since the other men looked at him with a look of utter disgust but nothing was done about it since they all wanted to go home and put the war behind them. If I am wrong about this and the earlier paragraph, please feel free to correct me.
Cagney and Bogart were a good pair and both certainly moved on to successful careers.
The Armistice and cease fire was not yet called when George (Bogie) fired the last shot. Yes, George was completely rotten to the core.
As for "messages" in movies that's pretty inescapable most of the time but at least the narrative isn't preachy. It needed to be explained how decent men like Eddie Bartlett (Cagney) stumbled into a life of crime. Eddie Bartlett and his rise and fall are based on accounts of similar individuals in real life.
Eddie Bartlett and Rocky Sullivan (Angels With Dirty Faces) were not born criminals. They fell into crime due to their environment or social conditions of the times. As Pat O'Brien tells the Dead Eng Kids in Angels With Dirty Faces; "Lets say a prayer for a boy who couldn't run as fast as I could."
On the other hand, Cagney's criminals in "Public Enemy", "White Heat" and "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" were born criminals who enjoyed their work. Well, maybe not "White Heat". Cody Jarrett was mentally ill and his mother was a bad influence.