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.

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Kubec Glasmon (by), John Bright (by)

Stars:

James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
James Cagney	...	Tom Powers
Jean Harlow	...	Gwen Allen
Edward Woods	...	Matt Doyle
Joan Blondell	...	Mamie
Donald Cook	...	Mike Powers
Leslie Fenton	...	Samuel 'Nails' Nathan
Beryl Mercer	...	Ma Powers
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Paddy Ryan (as Robert O'Connor)
Murray Kinnell	...	Putty Nose

Storyline

Tom Powers and Matt Doyle are best friends and fellow gangsters, their lives frowned upon by Tom's straight laced brother, Mike, and Matt's straight laced sister, Molly. From their teen-aged years into young adulthood, Tom and Matt have an increasingly lucrative life, bootlegging during the Prohibition era. But Tom in particular becomes more and more brazen in what he is willing to do, and becomes more obstinate and violent against those who either disagree with him or cross him. When one of their colleagues dies in a freak accident, a rival bootlegging faction senses weakness among Tom and Matt's gang, which is led by Paddy Ryan. A gang war ensues, resulting in Paddy suggesting that Tom and Matt lay low. But because of Tom's basic nature, he decides instead to take matters into his own hands.

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Plot Keywords:

tragedy | violence | anti hero | criminal | organized crime | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 May 1931 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beer and Blood

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Brunswick Radios Used Exclusively)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Further connection to the Charles Dion O'Bannion reference is that the rival gang in the film are led by "Schemer Burns", an obvious reference to the real-life "Schemer Drucci", who was part of the North Side Gang led by O'Bannion.

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Goofs

Opening the scene where the building is bombed we see two individuals standing up in an open car preparing to throw the bombs that will destroy the building. They throw the bombs and as the car pulls away both of the bombs have bounced off the building and can be seen rolling in the street immediately behind the car as it accelerates out of the frame and the building blows up anyway.

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Quotes

Tom Powers: So beer ain't good enough for you, huh?
Mike Powers: Do you think I care if there was just beer in that keg? I know what's in it. I know what you've been doing all this time, how you got those clothes and those new cars. You've been telling Ma that you've gone into politics, that you're on the city payroll. Pat Burke told me everything. You murderers! There's not only beer in that jug. There's beer and blood - blood of men!
[...]

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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 fictional.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Smarty (1934)

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Soundtracks

Brighten the Corner Where You Are
(1913) (uncredited)
Music by Charles Gabriel
Played by a Salvation Army Band

User Reviews

the prototype for gangster films to follow

"The Godfather" trilogy and "Goodfellas" owe a lot to this gangster film that preceded them both by at least fifty years. "The Public Enemy" was perhaps one of the first mob films that followed the rise and fall of a gangster and showed not only the implication of his actions on himself but on his family as well.

The film is far from perfect. The first ten minutes of the film in which we are shown a glimpse into the characters' childhood are jerky at best and feel as if much of it was left on the cutting room floor. The movie's incessant fast pace thereafter don't allow for much to sink in, but Cagney saves the day with an absolutely fiery performance. Not one person is spared from his bubbling anger and ferocious delivery.

Finally, the ending will leave you gasping - even by today's standards.

"The Public Enemy" is a must see for any true fan of the mob movie genre.