File:The_Public_Enemy_1931_Poster.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
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
Internet Archive
textsPublic enemy number one, the Barkers
Read online at Internet Archive →via archive.org
Wikidata facts
- Duration
- 83
- FilmAffinity ID
- 420205
- Image
- James Cagney in The Public Enemy.jpg
Show 4 more facts
- publication date
- 1931-01-01
- title
- The Public Enemy
- Commons category
- The Public Enemy
- review score
- 7.6/10
Sources (10)
via Wikidata · CC0
~15 min read
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 The screenplay is based on an unpublished novel—Beer and Blood by two former newspapermen, John Bright and Kubec Glasmon—who had witnessed some of Al Capone's murderous gang rivalries in Chicago.