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The Public Enemy

1931 film by William A. Wellman

Film · TMDB

7.3

Two young Chicago hoodlums, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle, rise up from their poverty-stricken slum life to become petty thieves, bootleggers and cold-blooded killers. But with street notoriety and newfound wealth, the duo feels the heat from the cops and rival gangsters both. Despite his ruthless criminal reputation, Tom tries to remain connected to his family, however, gang warfare and the need for revenge eventually pull him away.

Released: 1931-04-2384 minDir: William A. WellmanCrime, Drama

Cast

James Cagney as Tom Powers
Jean Harlow as Gwen Allen
Edward Woods as Matt Doyle
Joan Blondell as Mamie
Donald Cook as Mike Powers
Leslie Fenton as Samuel 'Nails' Nathan

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Key facts

Directed by: William A. Wellman
Written by: Kubec Glasmon John Bright
Screenplay by: Harvey F. Thew
Based on: Beer and Blood , by John Bright Kubec Glasmon
Produced by: Darryl F. Zanuck
Starring: James Cagney Jean Harlow Edward Woods Joan Blondell
Cinematography: Devereaux Jennings
Edited by: Edward Michael McDermott
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date: April 23, 1931 ( 1931-04-23 )
Running time: 83 minutes
Country: United States
Language

Internet Archive

texts

Public enemy number one, the Barkers

Read online at Internet Archive →

via archive.org

Key dates

Published: 1 January 1931

via Wikidata · CC0

Wikidata facts

Instance of: film
Part of: National Film Registry
Genre: mystery film
Country of origin: United States
Original language: English language
Main subject: organized crime
Movement: Pre-Code Hollywood
Director: William A. Wellman
Cast member: Sam McDaniel
Producer

Article

The Public Enemy (Enemies of the Public in the UK) is a 1931 American pre-Code gangster film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film was directed by William A. Wellman, and starring James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Donald Cook and Joan Blondell. The film relates the story of a young man's rise in the criminal underworld in Prohibition-era urban America.

Supporting actors include Beryl Mercer, Murray Kinnell, and Mae Clarke. The screenplay is based on an unpublished novel—Beer and Blood by two former newspapermen, John Bright and Kubec Glasmon—who had witnessed some of Al Capone's murderous gang rivalries in Chicago.