Fresh
There's no lace on this picture. It's raw and brutal. It's low-brow material given such workmanship as to make it high-brow.
Variety Staff, Variety
The Public Enemy
All his life he took what he wanted...Why not women?
1931 · 1h 24m · Passed
Crime, Drama
Directed by
William A. Wellman
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The Public Enemy
Overview
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.
Director and cast
- William A. Wellman Director
- 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 Nails Nathan
- Beryl Mercer as Ma Powers
- Robert Emmett O'Connor as Paddy Ryan
- Murray Kinnell as Putty Nose
- Clark Burroughs Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
100%
Tomatometer
Fresh
Cagney's energy and Wellman's gutsy direction carry the day, counteracting the moralistic sentimentality of the script and indelibly etching the star on the memory as a definitive gangster hero.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Fresh
James Cagney's portrayal of a bootlegging runt is truly electrifying (he'd made five films, but this one made him a star), and Jean Harlow makes the tartiest tart imaginable.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
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