Top 10 movie gangsters

James Cagney as Tom Powers, “The Public Enemy”

Later films would give us gangsters of far greater calculation (“Casino”) and complexity (“The Godfather”), but the vision set forth in 1931’s “The Public Enemy” was captivating precisely for its unmitigated brutality. Tom Powers was a raging force of nature—a man who finds all variety of twisted ways to put his thumb in the other guy’s eye. He pushes a grapefruit into a girl’s face when he gets fed up, spits a mouthful of beer at a bar owner for using a competitor’s product and seems willing to take on—and take out—just about anyone when the night’s booze unleashes his inner demons. He’s a vicious guy, made worse by alcohol and easily provoked—a menace on society who truly seems unstoppable. And he inspired every gangster to follow.