File:The_Public_Enemy_1931_Poster.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
OverviewAI-generated
The Public Enemy is a 1931 American black-and-white drama and crime film directed by William A. Wellman. Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck for Warner Bros. Entertainment, the movie stars James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, and Joan Blondell. Kubec Glasmon wrote the screenplay, which focuses on organized crime within the narrative setting of Chicago. The production is associated with the Pre-Code Hollywood movement and features Devereux Jennings as the director of photography.
The film has a runtime of approximately 83 to 84 minutes and was released in the United States. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Entertainment and Netflix, and is available via video on demand. The Public Enemy is part of the National Film Registry and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story. Critical assessments include a Bechdel test evaluation and various review scores, such as 8.3, 100%, and 7.6 out of 10.
Synthesized by Vinony from 38 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, TMDb, IMDb. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film · TMDB
7.2Two 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.
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
Themes
- gangster
- anti hero
- tragedy
- organized crime
- best friend
- juvenile delinquent
- pre-code
- grapefruit
This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
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
- English
- Budget
- $151,000 or $230,000
- Box office
- $557,000
via Wikipedia infobox
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
- Darryl F. Zanuck
- Cinematographer
- Devereux Jennings
- Narrative location
- Chicago
- Duration
- 83
- FilmAffinity ID
- 420205
- Distribution format
- video on demand
- Image
- James Cagney in The Public Enemy.jpg
Show 8 more facts
- publication date
- 1931-01-01
- title
- The Public Enemy
- nominated for
- Academy Award for Best Story
- color
- black-and-white
- distributed by
- Netflix
- Commons category
- The Public Enemy
- assessment
- Bechdel test
- review score
- 7.6/10
Sources (10)
via Wikidata · CC0
~15 min read
Encyclopedic overview
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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “The Public Enemy” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.