To me this is just as hard to decide as The godfather and godfather part 2. But if you forced me, I would have to say the public enemy, because i think cagney is tougher and carries himself better than Eddy G. and can't forget the grapefriut scene. But story wise I think hey are equal.
TELL ME WHICH ONE YOU PREFER???
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I love these old classic gangster movies both have similar storys small time hood makes big but James Cagneys charismatic performance and the charming Jean Harlow & Joan Blondell gives The Public Enemy the edge
shareThe Public Enemy, because in my opinion James Cagney is a better actor, and the ending is more shocking. Still, both are excellent gangster movies with great direction, stories and actors.
shareI love the interior set decoration and cinematography of Little Caesar, plus the plot is a little more involving, but The Public Enemy has a lot more shock value, with some truly memorable scenes, and James Cagney's a lot scarier than Edward G. Robinson, even though they're both equally great "tough-guy" actors.
share"Public Enemy" by knock out.
Edward G Robinson was great in "little Ceasar", but as I as said on a post for "White Heat", "Cagney was like a devil in a suit, on a blood path of destruction and money in "The Public Enemy". You could see it in his eyes in this flick. I didn't see that in "Little Ceasar".
After careful consideration, my own personal opinion is it's a dead heat between the two films. "The Public Enemy" gets high marks for a better moving story, the legendary performance by the charismatic Cagney, his rain-soaked revenge against Schemer Burns, Jean Harlow (it's obvious why she had so many guys in an uproar in the 30's) and it's ending is still shocking after 74 years. But Edward G.'s performance in "Little Caesar" is outstanding. Despite Rico having few admirable traits, I can't help rooting for the guy, especially after his tragically muttered dying declaration. "Caesar" also gets points for being the only movie of the pair to feature the infamous Thompson submachine gun.
One of the opening scenes in "Caesar" at the roadside diner reminds me of one in the 2002 film "Road to Perdition" with Tom Hanks and Jude Law, which took place right around the same time "Caesar" would have been in the theater.
Another scene in "Public Enemy" is ripped from real life, when Matt is mowed down by tripod machine guns, very similar to the murder of Chicago gang leader Earl "Hymie" Weiss in 1926.
Overall, I like both equally. So much so, I always watch them together, like a double feature. While others lesser known films may have preceded them, they are America's first real gangster films.
Little Caesar.
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"I made a newspaperman out of ya, Hildy!"
"Exactly! I'm going some where I can be a woman!"
"The Public Enemy" is the better film as a whole.
James Cagney is amazing and charismatic. He makes the screen come to life and powers the story. The film moves along at a brisk pace and is hardly ever dull. Also, the twist ending is to die for.
"Little Caesar" has an incredible performance from a young, charismatic Edward G. Robinson, who is really jaw-droppingly great in this movie. Problem with it is that the story is not told as compellingly as it could be, to match the awesome Robinson performance. It's a bit choppy and uneven, but still a very excellent movie.
It's remarkable how similar Edward G. Robinson's pudgy face is to that of Alphonse. And when he dresses snorky like Capone dressed, he becomes a dead ringer with his white Fedora hat and his cigar and his scar, to the gangster icon. Add that to his city street dialect and he becomes Italian instead of Jewish and badass instead of a gentleman like E.G.R. actually was in real life. His Johnny Rocco character in Key Largo made him out as a virtual double to Al Capone, a veritable twin. His mannerisms are crafted after those of the Chicago don so it's no accident that the similarities are so striking.
shareEasily The Public Enemy. While both films are primarily, and justly, remembered for the dynamite starmaking performances of their leads, Little Caesar really has litle to recommend it beyond that performance. In particular, the dramatic pacing is quite poor. It seems that Robinson becomes king of the underworld in couple of days, about two hours later, gangland pays obeisance to him at a testimonial diner, and hs downfall occurs about an hour afterwards. Although The Public Enemy is now obviously dated in many ways, that film tells a far more compelling, and dramatically better paced, story than Little Caesar. In particular, the dynamic and exciting direction by William Wellman still holds up pretty well. It must have been almost as startling to 1931 audiences as Cagney's performance.
shareGotta be "The Public Enemy". I watched "Little Ceaser" about 2 years ago and can only remember the ending and that famous last line. This movie had more memorable moments and of course the performance that made Cagney a "tough guy" in the public eye.
shareThe Public Enemy, hands down. Little Ceasar feels too stagey and too Hollywood to be real gangsterism, Public Enemy is more realistic and more gritty and there's more memorable scenes thanks to Cagney.
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