The Washington times., 1931-05-11
A GANGSTER'S
ADVENTURES
AT EARLE
BY ANDREW r. KELLEY

Quite the most brutally realistic
Of the Hollywood crime series is
at the Earle Theater this week
the celluloid portrait of a gang
Ster's rise and fall, another
chapter in the story of beer and
bullets.
If you are up on your racket
eering history it Is possible to
trace the parallel between Ger.
tain exciting adventures in the
life of Tom Powers as portrayed
in The Public Enemy" and Incl
dents which have crept on to the
front page from Chicago and
environS.
Unappealing Rough
AS visualized by Actor James
Cagney this latest Napoleon OF
the machine guns is the least
appealing in the recent gallery
of screen rogues. He is a ruth
less killer, a vicious and brutal
menace to peace, without, so far
as I could detect, a redeeming
quality. The authors have at
tempted to accentuate his faults
by contrasting him with his good
brother, the latter rather
sanctimonious war veteran whose
goodness, it seemed to me, was
too painfully upright to be
strictly genuine.
Apart from that the scenes in
this episode story Of young
hoodlum who advances from
petty thievery through the
various grades to a gang over
lordship are moving and credible
and daubed at the finish with
the last word in crime horror.
Begin As Boys
You watch Tom Powers and
his pal, Matt, from the time
that they steal trifles from the
counters of the neighborhood
stores. haunt poolrooms and
shady clubs, become express
thieves and then take the more
dangerous and sensational gun
road to easy riches.
Even without the epilogue
screen sermon which stresses the
moral that the gangster is the
real public enemy and that an
ignominious finish must be his
final reward, I doubt if Tom
Powers and his pal ever ap-
proach heroic stature with the
most susceptible. They are, as
the screen paints them, contemp
tible and cold-blooded rats who
batter around their women and
pistol those who dispute their
sway.
A HideOuS Finish
The last chapter of Tom Powers
is such pure horror it is calcu-
lated to make even the blase
shudder. The gangster'S family
is notified he is coming home
from the hospital and respond
ing to the bell, open the door to
have the CHASTITY form of the
tough tumbled into the hallway,
a mute message from rival thugs
that his rule is at an end.
I could have spared the maud
lin weeping at a gangSter'S coffin
and the vicious brutality which
inspired these cutthroats to bullet
a. horse who accidentally killed
one of their chieftainS, the last
incident registering as. unconvinc-
ing bravado.
Cagney Wins HOnOrs
James Cagney, whose film
chores hitherto have been minor,
addresses himself with zeal to
the task of making Tom Powers
thoroughly reprehensible. He is
an excellent actor since he &C.
complished his purpose 100 per
cent with a minimum of effort.
Edward Woods was his pal and
Beryl Mercer, as the mother of
the gunman, made her. role ir-
rltatingly sweet. Joan Blondell,
Jean Harlow and Mae Clarke
play the girl roles acceptably.
On the stage Bob Hope and
his Antics of 1881 headline a
good show, well spiced with
comedy. Burke and Durkin, the
Three Lordens and Maxine DOYLE
contribute. The newsreel, Freddy
Clarke'S music and another of
the Bobby Jones golf shorts COM
plete an Al program.