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Title: The Public Enemy (1931)
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Edit
Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| James Cagney | ... | Tom Powers | |
| Jean Harlow | ... | Gwen Allen | |
| Edward Woods | ... | Matt Doyle | |
| Joan Blondell | ... | Mamie | |
| Donald Cook | ... | Mike Powers | |
| Leslie Fenton | ... | Samuel 'Nails' Nathan | |
| Beryl Mercer | ... | Ma Powers | |
| Robert Emmett O'Connor | ... | Paddy Ryan (as Robert O'Connor) | |
| Murray Kinnell | ... | Putty Nose | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
Tom Powers and Matt Doyle are best friends and fellow gangsters, their lives frowned upon by Tom's straight laced brother, Mike, and Matt's straight laced sister, Molly. From their teen-aged years into young adulthood, Tom and Matt have an increasingly lucrative life, bootlegging during the Prohibition era. But Tom in particular becomes more and more brazen in what he is willing to do, and becomes more obstinate and violent against those who either disagree with him or cross him. When one of their colleagues dies in a freak accident, a rival bootlegging faction senses weakness among Tom and Matt's gang, which is led by Paddy Ryan. A gang war ensues, resulting in Paddy suggesting that Tom and Matt lay low. But because of Tom's basic nature, he decides instead to take matters into his own hands. Written by Huggo
Taglines:
All his life he took what he wanted...Why not women? (Print Ad- Sarasota Herald, ((Sarasota, Fla.)) 16 June 1931)Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
15 May 1931 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Beer and Blood See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Brunswick Radios Used Exclusively)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
Edit
Gwen Allen: Yes. But, I'm not accustomed with riding with... eh... strangers.
Tom Powers: We're not going to be strangers.
See more »
(1913) (uncredited)
Music by Charles Gabriel
Played by a Salvation Army Band
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
This film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 30 critic reviews. See more »Goofs
As Tom and Matt leave the fur warehouse after their abortive robbery attempt early in the film, Matt is clearly seen throwing down his gun on the roof of the building; but after they slide down the drainpipe and run to freedom through the alley both Tom AND Matt throw their guns onto a nearby roof, even though we have already seen Matt discard his. See more »Quotes
Tom Powers: How goes it, babe? Going south?Gwen Allen: Yes. But, I'm not accustomed with riding with... eh... strangers.
Tom Powers: We're not going to be strangers.
See more »
Crazy Credits
It is the ambition of the authors of "The Public Enemy" to honestly depict the environment that exists today in a certain strata of American life, rather than glorify the hoodlum or the criminal. While the story of "The Public Enemy" is essentially a true story, all names and characters appearing herein, are purely fictional. See more »Alternate Versions
For the theatrical release in 1931, the New York censors made the following cuts:- The scene where Putty Nose hands Tom and Matt a gun.
- All scenes of the warehouse robbery.
- Scenes showing the boys getting their payoff from the government liquor heist.
- Most of the scene where Tom kills Putty Nose.
- The seduction of Tom by Paddy's girl and the subsequent scene where Tom slaps her.
Soundtracks
Brighten the Corner Where You Are(1913) (uncredited)
Music by Charles Gabriel
Played by a Salvation Army Band
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
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"Public Enemy" brought two things to the screen: the little tough guy, fast-talking, unscrupulous gangster characterization by James Cagney which was to follow him throughout his entire screen career, and the grapefruit scene
Though "Public Enemy" created the Cagney image, he had already appeared in two other gangsters films for Warners, as a murderer prepared to let someone else pay for his crime in "Sinner's Holiday," and as a double-crossing hoodlum in "Doorway to Hell."
"Public Enemy," however, was a bigger-budget production, directed by William Wellman, and it contained all the elements of success It is the story of two brothers who become Chicago booze barons in the Twenties... One was Cagney, the other Edward Woods
It is sometimes claimed that the story of "Public Enemy" is based on that of "Little Hymie" Weiss, leader of the North Side Chicago gang after the murder of Dion O'Banion by the Capones in 1924 What is more likely is that the Cagney characterization is based on "Little Hymie"; the plot itself is pure fiction
When Cagney, in his striped pajama, sat opposite Mae Clarke at breakfast and decided he had had enough of this boring broad, he wasted no time He picked up half a grapefruit and planted it full into Clarke's face It was a piece of screen action which has lasted down the years as the ultimate in violence from the gangster to his moll
Of course, it isn't it just seems that way Since then gir1s have been slapped, kicked, beaten up, run over, shot, stabbed and raped, all in the tradition of mobster violence
But at the time this scene was daring, and the more daring because it was totally unexpected We remember Mae Clarke in "Public Enemy," yet forget that Jean Harlow was in it, too There may have been good reason The New York Times, reviewing the film in 1934, commented: "The acting throughout is interesting, with the exception of Jean Harlow, who essays the role of a gangster's mistress."
Cagney made violence and a life of crime magically seductive, and "Public Enemy" made him Warners' number 2 gangster, second only to Edward G. Robinson