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The Public Enemy

  • 19311931
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
21K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
James Cagney and Jean Harlow in The Public Enemy (1931)
A young hoodlum rises up through the ranks of the Chicago underworld, even as a gangster's accidental death threatens to spark a bloody mob war.
Play trailer0:46
1 Video
62 Photos
  • Crime
  • Drama
An Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.An Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.An Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
21K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • William A. Wellman
  • Writers
    • Kubec Glasmon(by)
    • John Bright(by)
    • Harvey F. Thew(screen adaptation)
  • Stars
    • James Cagney
    • Jean Harlow
    • Edward Woods
Top credits
  • Director
    • William A. Wellman
  • Writers
    • Kubec Glasmon(by)
    • John Bright(by)
    • Harvey F. Thew(screen adaptation)
  • Stars
    • James Cagney
    • Jean Harlow
    • Edward Woods
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 157User reviews
    • 73Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 win & 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 0:46
    Official Trailer

    Photos62

    James Cagney in The Public Enemy (1931)
    James Cagney, Donald Cook, Rita Flynn, and Beryl Mercer in The Public Enemy (1931)
    James Cagney, Joan Blondell, and Edward Woods in The Public Enemy (1931)
    James Cagney and Lee Phelps in The Public Enemy (1931)
    James Cagney, Donald Cook, and Beryl Mercer in The Public Enemy (1931)
    James Cagney, Robert Emmett O'Connor, and Edward Woods in The Public Enemy (1931)
    James Cagney and Edward Woods in The Public Enemy (1931)
    James Cagney, Jean Harlow, and Edward Woods in The Public Enemy (1931)
    James Cagney and Edward Woods in The Public Enemy (1931)
    James Cagney, Beryl Mercer, and Edward Woods in The Public Enemy (1931)
    James Cagney, Jean Harlow, and Edward Woods in The Public Enemy (1931)
    James Cagney, Murray Kinnell, and Edward Woods in The Public Enemy (1931)

    Top cast

    Edit
    James Cagney
    James Cagney
    • Tom Powersas Tom Powers
    Jean Harlow
    Jean Harlow
    • Gwen Allenas Gwen Allen
    Edward Woods
    Edward Woods
    • Matt Doyleas Matt Doyle
    Joan Blondell
    Joan Blondell
    • Mamieas Mamie
    Donald Cook
    Donald Cook
    • Mike Powersas Mike Powers
    Leslie Fenton
    Leslie Fenton
    • Samuel 'Nails' Nathanas Samuel 'Nails' Nathan
    Beryl Mercer
    Beryl Mercer
    • Ma Powersas Ma Powers
    Robert Emmett O'Connor
    Robert Emmett O'Connor
    • Paddy Ryanas Paddy Ryan
    • (as Robert O'Connor)
    Murray Kinnell
    Murray Kinnell
    • Putty Noseas Putty Nose
    Lev Abramov
    • Goonas Goon
    • (uncredited)
    Clark Burroughs
    • Dutchas Dutch
    • (uncredited)
    Mae Clarke
    Mae Clarke
    • Kittyas Kitty
    • (uncredited)
    Frank Coghlan Jr.
    Frank Coghlan Jr.
    • Tom as a Boyas Tom as a Boy
    • (uncredited)
    George Daly
    • Machine Gunneras Machine Gunner
    • (uncredited)
    Frankie Darro
    Frankie Darro
    • Matt as a Boyas Matt as a Boy
    • (uncredited)
    Snitz Edwards
    Snitz Edwards
    • Milleras Miller
    • (uncredited)
    Rita Flynn
    Rita Flynn
    • Molly Doyleas Molly Doyle
    • (uncredited)
    Dorothy Gee
    • Nails' Girlas Nails' Girl
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • William A. Wellman
    • Writers
      • Kubec Glasmon(by)
      • John Bright(by)
      • Harvey F. Thew(screen adaptation)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      James Cagney based his performance on Chicago gangster Charles Dion O'Bannion and two New York City hoodlums he had known as a youth.
    • Goofs
      The opening scenes of the movie supposedly takes place in Chicago in 1909. Yet the streets are full of automobiles. At the time, a private car was a rare luxury, and most of the vehicles in the street would have been horse drawn wagons or carriages or electric trolleys.
    • Quotes

      Tom Powers: [Tom shuffles to the breakfast table in his pajamas. He's just finished a demanding call with Nails Nathan] Ain't you got a drink in the house?

      Kitty: Well, not before breakfast, dear.

      Tom Powers: [immediately annoyed] ... I didn't ask you for any lip. I asked you if you had a drink.

      Kitty: [sheepishly] I know Tom, but I, I wish that...

      Tom Powers: ...there you go with that wishin' stuff again. I wish you was a wishing well. So that I could tie a bucket to ya and sink ya.

      Kitty: Well, maybe you've found someone you like better.

      [Tom is enraged and disgusted by her implication. He grimaces and shoves a grapefruit in her face as he leaves the table]

    • 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.
    • Alternate versions
      For a 1941 re-release, three scenes in "The Public Enemy" were censored to comply with the Production Code. These censored segments (including an extended edit of the scene involving the gay tailor) were restored for the 2005 DVD release.
    • Connections
      Edited into Three on a Match (1932)
    • Soundtracks
      I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
      (1919) (uncredited)

      Music by James Kendis, James Brockman and Nat Vincent

      Played at various times throughout the film

    User reviews157

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Powerful portrait of the rise and fall of a nasty gangster extraordinarily performed by James Cagney
    This is one of the great early talkies and still a highly watchable movie ; it results to be one of the great mobsters pictures, and an expertly directed film that made James Cagney a superstar . A young and vicious hoodlum named Tom (James Cagney based his performance on Chicago gangster Dean O'Bannion, and two New York City hoodlums he had known as a youth) along with his fellow Matt (Edward Woods) rise up through the ranks of the Chicago underworld. From their teen-aged years into young adulthood, unredeemable Tom and obstinate Matt have an increasingly lucrative life , bootlegging during the Prohibition era. Tom's bad way of life is constantly set up against his brother Mike's (Donald Cook) . Meanwhile Tom falls in love with a gorgeous girl named Gwen Allen (Jean Harlow , though Louise Brooks was offered this role in this film) . Tom turns more stubborn and cruel against those who either disagree with him or cross him . Even as a gangster's accidental death threatens to spark a bloody mob war .

    Classic gangster movie contains top-notch performances , unpretentious familiar drama, thrills , fast-paced , action , and a shocking final . Magnificent James Cagney in the title role as a snarling and ominous gangster . Edward Woods was originally hired for the lead role of Tom Powers and James Cagney was hired to play Matt Doyle, his friend . However, once director William A. Wellman got to know both of them and saw Cagney in rehearsals, he realized that Cagney would be far more effective in the star role than Woods, so he switched them . Very good support cast formed by known actresses who subsequently would have an important career as Jean Harlow , Joan Blondell and Mae Clarke including her infamous grapefruit scene that caused women's groups around America to protest the on-screen abuse of Mae Clarke . As several versions exist of the origin of the notorious grapefruit scene, but the most plausible is the one on which James Cagney and Mae Clarke agree: the scene , they explained, was actually staged as a practical joke at the expense of the film crew, just to see their stunned reactions ; there was never any intention of ever using the shot in the completed film , filmmaker Wellman, however, eventually decided to keep the shot, and use it in the film's final release print . Atmospheric and appropriate musical score , Scorsese says that Wellman's use of music in the film influenced his own first gangster picture, Mean Streets (1973) .

    Wellman was an expert in all kind of genres as Gangster, drama , Film Noir , Western and adept at comedy as he was at macho material , helming the original ¨ A star is born ¨(1937) (for which he won his only Oscar, for best original story) and the biting satire ¨Nothing sacred¨ (1937) , both of which starred Fredric March for producer David O. Selznick . Both movies were dissections of the fame game, as was his satire ¨Roxie Hart¨ (1942), which reportedly was one of Stanley Kubrick's favorite films. During World War Two Wellman continued to make outstanding films, including ¨Ox-Bow incident¨ (1943) and ¨Story of G.I.Joe¨(1945), and after the war he turned out another war classic, ¨Battleground¨ (1949). In the 1950s Wellman's best later films starred John Wayne, including the influential aviation picture ¨The hight and the mighty¨ (1954), for which he achieved his third and last best director Oscar nomination. His final film hearkened back to his World War One service, ¨The Lafayette squadron¨ (1958), which featured the unit in which Wellman had flown . He retired as a director after making the film, reportedly enraged at Warner Bros.' post-production tampering with a movie that meant so much to him .

    ¨The Public enemy¨ , rating : Well worth watching , above average ; the picture will appeal to classic cinema buffs and James Cagney fans . It ranked #8 on the American Film Institute's list of the 10 greatest films in the genre "Gangster" .
    helpful•15
    3
    • ma-cortes
    • Jun 9, 2012

    FAQ2

    • Gun Cagney Uses---Did Bogart & Cliff Robertson Use Same Gun Later?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 15, 1931 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Beer and Blood
    • Filming locations
      • Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,011,520
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,214,260
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 23 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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