Yuting LiThe Public Enemy (1931) directed by William A. Wellman is a pre-code crime film about how an Irish American mobster Tom Powers (James Cagney) emerged in the underworld in the era of prohibitionism as an antihero who despite authority and finds respectability suffocating. Although he is a womanizer and a gangster, Tom is loyal to his mother and her male associates. Despite the disclaimer at the beginning of the film that states it "honestly depicts the environment that exists today in certain strata of American life, rather than glorifying the thug or the criminal", The Public Enemy appears to glorify Tom's criminal behaviors and his high responsibilities. lifestyle, depicting Tom in a sympathetic yet realistic way, which violates the 1930 Motion Picture Production Code. All of the murder scenes, however, strictly comply with the code and take place off-screen. Even though it is a crime film, the murders in The Public Enemy all take place off-screen. The Motion Picture Production Code of 1930 states that "brutal murders should not be presented in detail" (328), and the film strictly adheres to this principle. As the camera pans from Putty Nose (Murray Kinnell) playing the piano to Matt (Edward Woods) at the side, the audience imagines Tom's murder of Putty Nose from Matt's stunned facial expression and the incongruous sound of the piano. Furthermore, we see Tom angrily pay the groom and enter the stable, but the killing of the horse is not shown but inferred. Finally, Tom's retaliation against Matt against his rival gang also takes place off-screen, as the camera remains outside the building where the murder takes place and shots and screams of the wounded can be heard from inside. However, the film subverts the Code in another way. ..... middle of paper ......ed" (326). While the sex part is only suggested, with Jane turning off the lights for Tom as he walks towards her, the seduction part is more detailed. Jane puts a drunk Tom to bed, unties his clothes, talks to him in a low voice, cuddles him like a mother, says, "I want to do things for you, Tommy. You don't think I'm old, do you, Tommy? You like me, don't you, Tommy?" and kisses him. The reasoning behind this restriction is to uphold the sanctity of marriage and the home. Although Warner Brothers claims not to glorify the criminal, The Public Enemy appears to glamorize criminal behavior such as bootlegging and the high lifestyle by depicting Tom, a gangster in a sympathetic yet realistic way, violating the 1930 Motion Picture Production Code. The film, however, adheres to the code with all the murder scenes occurring outside - screen.