The age old debate of "heredity vs. environment" as being the prime mover of Human Character has long been seen as fodder for film. Long before Eddie Murphy, Dan Akroyd and co. hit the screen in TRADING PLACES (Cinema Group Ventures/Paramount, 1983), the 3 Stooges had already used the premise in at least 3 films. Mr. George Bernard Shaw's famous play of the same social debate was filmed at least twice; the first being as its own, original title of PYGMALIAN (Gabriel Pascal Prod./MGM, 1938). It featured Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller. The next time around, it was adapted from the Broadway Musical adaption of the original play. As MY FAIR LADY (Warner Brothers-First National Pictures, 1964), with Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison and whole boat load of neato Showtunes! The Prohibition Ea of the 1920's and Early 1930's proved to be a fertile field for social themes like the Heredity vs. Environment debate. Even those films other than those previously mentioned 2 Reelers starring Messers Howard, Fine & Howard; we saw some really outstanding film. We were delighted with the Hollywood adaptation of Sydney Kingsley's story of New York City slum life. DEAD END (Samuel Goldwyn/United Artists, 1937), took a day in the poverty and crime stricken tenements, and gave a demonstration of the evolution of a hardened criminal, from cradle to grave.<br /><br />The second 1930's example is our today's "selection for dissection"; THE PUBLIC ENEMY (Warner Brothers & The Vitaphone Corporation, 1931) gave us a dramatization of the affects of "the Noble Experiment", National Prohibition on the working class.<br /><br />Often hailed as being the movie that put James Cagney on the Map, THE PUBLIC ENEMY was one of those stories which took many bits and pieces from real life; which, of course, made for a realistic scenario with believable characters. The setting was a poor, predominantly Irish neighborhood, which bordered on the front side of Chicago's Union Stockyards. Having roots there myself, it's safe to say that this would be the old section known as "Canaryville" in Chicago.* OUR STORY……….WE open with a vast, sweeping montage of people of the neighborhood, working, working, working. Adults and kids alike would go down to the local tavern, returning with Pails (Tavern Pails) filled with beer for the men who worked basically in the nearby "Yards". (But the Police Department, Fire Department and the Chicago Junction Railroad were top choices, also). We are drawn in to the lives of 2 young men, Tom Powers (Mr. Cagney) and Matt Doyle ( Edward Woods).<br /><br />As young boys (being portrayed by Tom=Frank Coughlan, Jr. & Matt=Frankie Darrow), the two got into plenty of boyish trouble, but they evolved into young street punk gangsters. Joining up with a disreputable youth social club, with a set-up right out of Dickens.<br /><br />After the local "Fagin", known as "Putty Nose" double crosses them, leaving them out in the street following a burglary gone bad (Putty had set them up with the burglary job, and then when a Beat Cop got killed in the process by the young hoods, old Putty locked his door on them). The two later killed him in his own pad, yet.<br /><br />The two next hook up with Gangster Paddy Ryan (Robert Emmett O'Connor) who gets them into the muscle end of pushing bootleg beer. This leads to more and more ca$h in their pockets and to some real "nice" girls. Joan Blondell, Mae Clarke and Jean Harlowe all get into the act along the way. (It was Mae Clarke who got the now famous "grapefruit in the face.") During this time they also got acquainted with some big time organized crime bosses, including Westside Outfit guy, "Nails" Nathan. This led to the famous scene in which Tom Powers first purchased, and then shot the horse that had fatally thrown Nathan while riding the Bridle Path in Lincoln Park.<br /><br />In the end, they get caught up in Gangland Turf warfare. The film ends with a highly poignant, memorable and hauntingly piercing scene. It involves Tom's mother, a home made layer cake, a recording of Steven Foster's "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" and Tom's homecoming.<br /><br />As for our original reference to the old "Heredity vs. Environment" argument, we believe we have a prime example here. The boys, after all, have families. In these families all others seem to be law-abiding, hard working citizens. Tom's brother, Mike Powers (Donald Cook) is the most visible and obvious counterbalance to the hoodlumism of his brother, Mike was a veteran of World War I and has worked his way through night school, while working on the street cars; Case Closed.<br /><br />On February 14th, a Trial was held in the Cook County Circuit Court, in and for the City of Chicago. In a moment we will have the results of that Trial.<br /><br />In the Case of "Heredity vs. Environment", it is Environment that is found to be the culprit! Is anyone really surprised? NOTE: * As I said, Canaryville is one subject that I know first hand. Our Dad, Clement J. Ryan (1914-74) was born and raised there during the very period that our story deals with. In 1934, he met a German girl from the Fuller Park neighborhood, immediately east of Canaryville. In 1940, he and the lovely Frauline, Miss Bertha Fuerst, married. Our family lived in Fuller Park at 4402 S. Shields Ave. for about a dozen years before the folks bought a house at 65th & Damen in the West Englewood Neighborhood in 1952.<br /><br />We still have cousins in the old neighborhood to this very day.