Public Hero #1 starts out as a conventional prison yarn, then switches to sophisticated screwball comedy, then back to shoot 'em up melodrama. Perhaps it is the way the cast handles the crackling dialogue by J Walter Reuben and Wells Root that makes this mixed-genre film so entertaining. It never sinks into torpidity, thanks in part to the introduction of Jean Arthur and Lionel Barrymore well into the proceedings. Until then it is up to Chester Morris to hold our interest, which he does robustly, as an undercover federal agent posing as a convict to trap bad guy Joseph Calleia and his gang. Barrymore, however, steals the show as a pickled-to-the-gills alcoholic mob doctor - the great ham at his hammiest. Calleia contributes a nicely textured portrait of a hardened but still human criminal. All in all, an energetic if contrived gangster story spiked with laughs, fun plot twists and colorful characters. The final moment is interesting. It's as if Chester Morris was itching to wrap and go home that day, didn't like the way the fade out was written, so he recklessly improvised the last line and the last blocking bit and then the director gave in and allowed it. See for yourself!
20 Reviews
A 1935 Gem of a Classic Film
whpratt124 January 2007
Always enjoyed the great acting of Lionel Barrymore, (Dr. Josiah Glass) "Key Largo" along with Chester Morris,(Jeff Crane) "Ghost Ship". This film is about the gangster era in the Mid-West, namely: Chicago, Milwaukee, and Racine, Wisconsin. The boss of the mobsters is Joseph Calleia who is a brother to Jean Arthur "Peter Pan" 1950 on Broadway NYC, who has not seen her brother for many years. Jeff Crane is an FBI agent and winds up getting deeply involved with Jean Arthur who follows him every where he goes; Jeff has no idea that the gangster he is after is Jean Arthur's brother. There is a great supporting cast of Paul Kelly,(Special Agent, James Duff) who is Jeff Crane's boss and tries to caution him that getting involved with Jean Arthur is going to be big trouble. Paul Kelly in real life served a prison sentence in San Quentin, Calif., and made a big come back into the movie industry. This is truly a gem of a picture with a great look back at old automobiles, furniture and crazy looking clothes and plenty of hats on both men and women.
The gang's all here
MikeMagi20 January 2014
"Public Hero #1" is a relatively little known, continually entertaining gangster thriller that veers from prison mellerdrama to quirky romance to bullet-riddled shoot-out. Okay, so the plot has enough holes to drive a getaway car through -- like the unexpected "meet cute' encounter, during a flash flood, of a government agent disguised as a hold-up man with the sister of the crime czar he's tracking. But Chester Morris as the plucky, love-stricken fed, Jean Arthur who still loves her brother despite his homicidal tendencies, Lionel Barrymore as a boozy doctor and Joseph Calleia as the underworld kingpin who doesn't seem bright enough to rob a candy store are all fun to watch. And darn near believable. At no point, as the tale gallops through various genres, does it bog down. Wish the same could be said of quite a few more modern movies. Credit director J. Walter Ruben with doing a first-rate job on one of the final films he would helm prior to his premature death at the age of 43.
Great Performances
Michael_Elliott20 June 2008
Public Hero #1 (1935)
*** (out of 4)
Extremely strange film from MGM starts off as a prison drama then moves to a screwball comedy and then goes back to gangster action. An undercover cop (Chester Morris) gets inside of a prison where he befriends a gangster (Joseph Calleia) and soon the two bust out but the gangster gets shot. Near death, the undercover cops goes out to find the gangster's drunken doctor (Lionel Barrymore) but due to a storm they are forced to stay at a hotel where the cop falls for a young woman (Jean Arthur) who turns out to be the gangster's sister. After hearing the news, the cop must try to find a way to bring the gangster down without hurting the sister. This film is pretty much all over the map but it's still a greatly entertaining film that works on ever level that it tries. The prison stuff early on is very entertaining as is the gangster stuff at the end. There's a big shootout at the end, which ranks among the best I've seen from any of these early gangster films. Normally screwball laughs wouldn't fit into a film like this but Barrymore does a terrific job in the comedy department as the drunken doctor. The highlight has to be the scene where he accidentally gets dressed in Arthur's robe due to how drunk he is. Barrymore's comic timing is terrific throughout the film. Arthur is also very strong in her role and delivers a very memorable character and performance. The real star is Morris who is simply wonderful all the way through. He has a lot of roles to play here from the tough guy trying to enter the gang to the cop trying to bring down the bad guy but he also does a great job in the romantic department with Arthur. Calleia, Paul Kelly, Lewis Stone and George E. Stone add nice support as well. It's also worth noting that the film seems partially influenced by the John Dillinger case who of course was murdered after watching MGM's Manhattan Melodrama the previous year and that includes the ending here, which has been slightly changed but still takes place outside a theater.
*** (out of 4)
Extremely strange film from MGM starts off as a prison drama then moves to a screwball comedy and then goes back to gangster action. An undercover cop (Chester Morris) gets inside of a prison where he befriends a gangster (Joseph Calleia) and soon the two bust out but the gangster gets shot. Near death, the undercover cops goes out to find the gangster's drunken doctor (Lionel Barrymore) but due to a storm they are forced to stay at a hotel where the cop falls for a young woman (Jean Arthur) who turns out to be the gangster's sister. After hearing the news, the cop must try to find a way to bring the gangster down without hurting the sister. This film is pretty much all over the map but it's still a greatly entertaining film that works on ever level that it tries. The prison stuff early on is very entertaining as is the gangster stuff at the end. There's a big shootout at the end, which ranks among the best I've seen from any of these early gangster films. Normally screwball laughs wouldn't fit into a film like this but Barrymore does a terrific job in the comedy department as the drunken doctor. The highlight has to be the scene where he accidentally gets dressed in Arthur's robe due to how drunk he is. Barrymore's comic timing is terrific throughout the film. Arthur is also very strong in her role and delivers a very memorable character and performance. The real star is Morris who is simply wonderful all the way through. He has a lot of roles to play here from the tough guy trying to enter the gang to the cop trying to bring down the bad guy but he also does a great job in the romantic department with Arthur. Calleia, Paul Kelly, Lewis Stone and George E. Stone add nice support as well. It's also worth noting that the film seems partially influenced by the John Dillinger case who of course was murdered after watching MGM's Manhattan Melodrama the previous year and that includes the ending here, which has been slightly changed but still takes place outside a theater.
Undercover Fed
bkoganbing18 October 2018
As in White Heat a G-Man is planted in a cell with known criminal Joseph Calleia
who is part of the infamous Purple Gang with the intention of letting him escape
and leading him to the rest of the gang.
In Public Hero Number 1 it's just the name of the Purple Gang is used. In real life that group's main concern was in Prohibition they were the main suppliers in the Detroit area of bootleg hooch. They did diversify in their hoodlum careers, but this story takes the name of the Purples and uses John Dillinger's exploits as a basis for the story with Calleia as the Dillinger type character.
Chester Morris is the undercover Fed and he really lays it on thick as this punk with an attitude and a temper. But the problem is that he meets Calleia's sister Jean Arthur and that kind of leads him astray in his mission for a bit.
Stealing the film in every scene he's in is defrocked doctor Lionel Barrymore like I haven't seen him in any other film. He's now a medic to the crime community when he draws a sober breath or three. Also note Paul Kelly in a strong performance as Morris's FBI handler.
I did have a problem believing Joe Calleia and Jean Arthur as brother and sister. They really don't bear the slightest resemblance to each other.
Outside of that a nice action though not in the class of White Heat.
In Public Hero Number 1 it's just the name of the Purple Gang is used. In real life that group's main concern was in Prohibition they were the main suppliers in the Detroit area of bootleg hooch. They did diversify in their hoodlum careers, but this story takes the name of the Purples and uses John Dillinger's exploits as a basis for the story with Calleia as the Dillinger type character.
Chester Morris is the undercover Fed and he really lays it on thick as this punk with an attitude and a temper. But the problem is that he meets Calleia's sister Jean Arthur and that kind of leads him astray in his mission for a bit.
Stealing the film in every scene he's in is defrocked doctor Lionel Barrymore like I haven't seen him in any other film. He's now a medic to the crime community when he draws a sober breath or three. Also note Paul Kelly in a strong performance as Morris's FBI handler.
I did have a problem believing Joe Calleia and Jean Arthur as brother and sister. They really don't bear the slightest resemblance to each other.
Outside of that a nice action though not in the class of White Heat.
"This is practically the end of a beautiful friendship".
classicsoncall30 August 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I debated watching this one on Turner Classics this morning, but after fifteen minutes into the picture I was hooked. A pre-Boston Blackie Chester Morris makes his mark in a dual role as an undercover detective working a mob connection from inside prison. He's trying to learn the whereabouts of Sonny Black's (Joseph Calleia) headquarters and the rest of the Purple Gang. The reason for that name was never explained, so I was left wondering about it the rest of the story.
You generally don't think of a gangster picture as having comedy relief elements, but Lionel Barrymore worked effectively here as the inebriated doctor of choice for the mobsters. Leaving his medical kit at a local gin mill as collateral, Doc Glass had about the finest nose for liquor in film history. On top of that, he always seemed to have a back up stash of the hard stuff in convenient locations just in case the glass he was working on got pinched.
Jean Arthur is effective as the good girl who falls for Jeff Crane (Morris), and of course the twist with her character is that she's convict Black's sister. She makes a continuous running play for Crane in the early going, even after she learns he broke out of prison with her brother. That sets up the film's emotional conflict for the finale, as Terry (Arthur) must resolve her feelings for the man who wants to bring her brother to justice.
The other performance of note in the picture is Paul Kelly's portrayal of Special Agent Duff, laying it out right on the line for Crane before he gets in too deep with Sonny Black's sister. Fortunately, that tug of war ends on a harmonious note at the closing bell, as Crane and Terry end the picture in a clinch, presumably on the way to the altar. On the way there though, you have a climactic shoot 'em up that leaves all the mobsters on the short end of staccato machine gun fire, courtesy of the era's penchant for closing out such stories with a healthy dose of law and order.
You generally don't think of a gangster picture as having comedy relief elements, but Lionel Barrymore worked effectively here as the inebriated doctor of choice for the mobsters. Leaving his medical kit at a local gin mill as collateral, Doc Glass had about the finest nose for liquor in film history. On top of that, he always seemed to have a back up stash of the hard stuff in convenient locations just in case the glass he was working on got pinched.
Jean Arthur is effective as the good girl who falls for Jeff Crane (Morris), and of course the twist with her character is that she's convict Black's sister. She makes a continuous running play for Crane in the early going, even after she learns he broke out of prison with her brother. That sets up the film's emotional conflict for the finale, as Terry (Arthur) must resolve her feelings for the man who wants to bring her brother to justice.
The other performance of note in the picture is Paul Kelly's portrayal of Special Agent Duff, laying it out right on the line for Crane before he gets in too deep with Sonny Black's sister. Fortunately, that tug of war ends on a harmonious note at the closing bell, as Crane and Terry end the picture in a clinch, presumably on the way to the altar. On the way there though, you have a climactic shoot 'em up that leaves all the mobsters on the short end of staccato machine gun fire, courtesy of the era's penchant for closing out such stories with a healthy dose of law and order.
Is This the End of Dinkie?
utgard147 December 2013
Interesting mash-up of genres from MGM: part prison/crime drama and part romantic comedy. Two convicts (Chester Morris and Joseph Calleia) escape from prison and one is wounded. The other goes for help and comes back with a drunkard doctor (Lionel Barrymore) and a girl (Jean Arthur), who turns out to be Calleia's sister! Starts out as a fairly typical but enjoyable prison flick. Then there's a twist. I admit I didn't see the twist coming but in retrospect I should have. Others might peg it right away or see it in some plot descriptions. Anyway it changes gears once Jean Arthur enters the picture and becomes a sort of romcom for a little while, before returning to being a crime picture.
Terrific cast really makes it worth seeing. In addition to Morris, Arthur, Barrymore, and Calleia, there's Lewis Stone, Paul Kelly, Paul Hurst, and George E. Stone. Ladies will appreciate a shirtless Barrymore washing his moobs in a bath. Spectacularly violent shoot-out between cops and criminal gang. Calleia's fate was obviously inspired by how John Dillinger met his end. Eliminate the final scene between Morris and Arthur and I might have bumped this up to a 7. Hated that part. Remade in 1941 as The Getaway with Robert Sterling and Donna Reed.
Terrific cast really makes it worth seeing. In addition to Morris, Arthur, Barrymore, and Calleia, there's Lewis Stone, Paul Kelly, Paul Hurst, and George E. Stone. Ladies will appreciate a shirtless Barrymore washing his moobs in a bath. Spectacularly violent shoot-out between cops and criminal gang. Calleia's fate was obviously inspired by how John Dillinger met his end. Eliminate the final scene between Morris and Arthur and I might have bumped this up to a 7. Hated that part. Remade in 1941 as The Getaway with Robert Sterling and Donna Reed.
Good story, original and varied 1930s plot about fighting violent crime
SimonJack26 September 2021
"Public Hero Number 1" is a good film with an original plot and interesting twists. This is in the vein of the type of hard-hitting crime movies that Hollywood was cranking out during and shortly after prohibition. Only this one has some nice twists to it, along with a top cast of prominent actors of the day.
All of the cast give good performances, with Lionel Barrymore and Jean Arthur in superb roles. This is a more dramatic role for Arthur, but she gets to use some of her comedic charm as well -- that she shows in her later comedies. And, she plays the serious part very well. Chester Morris is very good as Jeff Crane, the fed who was willing to go to prison and sit three weeks in solitary confinement. All to bring down the Purple Gang that had been pulling big time robberies around the Middle West of the day, and often killing innocent people.
This film has some very good scenes and all around good production for its day. Here are some favorite lines.
Maria Theresa O'Reilly, "I thought you had a grin in your system somewhere."
Theresa, "You grabbed me like a seal grabs fish."
Jeff Crane, "What's your name?" Theresa, "Maria Theresa O'Reilly." Jeff, nodding, "Cook me some, too." Theresa, "That's my name and I've had enough trouble with it from wise guys. My father was Irish and my mother was Italian and it's not my fault."
Jeff, "Because, when I get around to it, I'm gonna see a lot of you. And if I started in now, you might get tired of me by that time." Theresa, "Well, that doesn't make sense. Besides, the demand's awfully big for me. I might get tied up."
All of the cast give good performances, with Lionel Barrymore and Jean Arthur in superb roles. This is a more dramatic role for Arthur, but she gets to use some of her comedic charm as well -- that she shows in her later comedies. And, she plays the serious part very well. Chester Morris is very good as Jeff Crane, the fed who was willing to go to prison and sit three weeks in solitary confinement. All to bring down the Purple Gang that had been pulling big time robberies around the Middle West of the day, and often killing innocent people.
This film has some very good scenes and all around good production for its day. Here are some favorite lines.
Maria Theresa O'Reilly, "I thought you had a grin in your system somewhere."
Theresa, "You grabbed me like a seal grabs fish."
Jeff Crane, "What's your name?" Theresa, "Maria Theresa O'Reilly." Jeff, nodding, "Cook me some, too." Theresa, "That's my name and I've had enough trouble with it from wise guys. My father was Irish and my mother was Italian and it's not my fault."
Jeff, "Because, when I get around to it, I'm gonna see a lot of you. And if I started in now, you might get tired of me by that time." Theresa, "Well, that doesn't make sense. Besides, the demand's awfully big for me. I might get tied up."
Maria Theresa 'Terry' O'Reilly
aimless-4623 January 2007
Is a fine Irish-American girl whose strangely Italian (?) brother (named Sonny "Dinkie" Black) runs Detroit's Purple Gang. At least they are both Catholic. Beginning inside a prison, the film introduces the immortal Chester Morris as an undercover FBI agent who infiltrates the gang and falls for Terry (played by Jean Arthur).
They have a slick prison break sequence and a fair amount of action, romantic comedy, and Hollywood's on-going campaign to make G-Men public heroes. John Dillinger had been killed a few months before "Public Hero #1" went into production, they change the names and the city but recreate the events of his apprehension outside a theater.
Forgotten actor Joseph Calleia plays the gang boss and brother. He has the most challenging role and does a fine job portraying a multi-dimensional character. Lionel Barrymore gets to overact nicely as a perpetually drunk mob doctor.
"Public Hero #1" is a surprisingly good film. It's mix of genres is as strange as it sounds but that works in its favor if you like to get away from standard formula stories. While it lacks overall unity, the disparate pieces are quite well done and are very entertaining inside their own little compartments.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
They have a slick prison break sequence and a fair amount of action, romantic comedy, and Hollywood's on-going campaign to make G-Men public heroes. John Dillinger had been killed a few months before "Public Hero #1" went into production, they change the names and the city but recreate the events of his apprehension outside a theater.
Forgotten actor Joseph Calleia plays the gang boss and brother. He has the most challenging role and does a fine job portraying a multi-dimensional character. Lionel Barrymore gets to overact nicely as a perpetually drunk mob doctor.
"Public Hero #1" is a surprisingly good film. It's mix of genres is as strange as it sounds but that works in its favor if you like to get away from standard formula stories. While it lacks overall unity, the disparate pieces are quite well done and are very entertaining inside their own little compartments.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
The purple gang strikes again!
mark.waltz21 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
But the government is striking back. They send an agent, Chester Morris, to prison to become close to one of their murderous members (Joseph Calleia) and plan an escape so they can infiltrate the gang and bust it up. En route, Morris encounters drunken doctor Lionel Barrymore and feisty Jean Arthur during a huge rainstorm (one of the most horrifying ever shown on film) and they are left stranded at a roadside inn where doctorr Barrymore treats Calleia. of course, romance blooms between Morris and arthur, but he must keep his identity secret so he can infiltrate the gang without interference.
MGM goes down Warner Brothers territory in this above average programmer that gives Barry Moore a juicy role to sink his teeth into, emulating his brother John more than other characters that he's played. But Morris is truly the star, giving a convincing performance but being a little over the top in opening scenes at the prison where he attempts to be really tough to make him feared. Those scenes are ridiculously written and it nearly influenced me to give this a lower rating.
Fortunately the film does get better after those prison scenes with a little mix of comedy and gangster violence, and good supporting performances by Paul Kelly as Morris's agent boss and the future Pa Hardy (Lewis Stone) as the prison warden, determined to rehabilitate his prisoners and doing his best to convince the board that his ways of running the prison will work. but that's a minor plot point of the opening sequence which is forgotten by the time Barrymore and Arthur enter the picture. Enjoyable and fast-moving, it's been overshadowed by the "Little Caesars" and "Public Enemies" of Warner Brothers but deserves rediscovering.
MGM goes down Warner Brothers territory in this above average programmer that gives Barry Moore a juicy role to sink his teeth into, emulating his brother John more than other characters that he's played. But Morris is truly the star, giving a convincing performance but being a little over the top in opening scenes at the prison where he attempts to be really tough to make him feared. Those scenes are ridiculously written and it nearly influenced me to give this a lower rating.
Fortunately the film does get better after those prison scenes with a little mix of comedy and gangster violence, and good supporting performances by Paul Kelly as Morris's agent boss and the future Pa Hardy (Lewis Stone) as the prison warden, determined to rehabilitate his prisoners and doing his best to convince the board that his ways of running the prison will work. but that's a minor plot point of the opening sequence which is forgotten by the time Barrymore and Arthur enter the picture. Enjoyable and fast-moving, it's been overshadowed by the "Little Caesars" and "Public Enemies" of Warner Brothers but deserves rediscovering.
Mixed genres
drjgardner8 December 2013
"Public Hero No. 1" is part of the FBI public relations program to make G-men into heroes and replace the gangster as the box office attraction (e.g., "G-Men" with Jimmy Cagney, "Bullets or Ballots" with Edward G. Robinson). After all, in the early 30s, it's the gangster who got the big box office bucks – "Little Caesar", "Public Enemy", etc.
Chester Morris plays the undercover G-man who infiltrates the notorious Midwest Purple Gang by breaking the gang leader (Joseph Calleia) out of prison. Along the way he meets the mob doctor (Lionel Barrymore) and falls in love with the mobster's sister (Jean Arthur).
The first third of the film is a standard prison film with a pretty exciting prison break sequence, although it wouldn't make my top 10 list ("Cool Hand Luke", "Each Dawn I Die", "Papillion", "Midnight Express", "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Escapist", "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang", "Escape from New York", "Stalag 17", "The Great Escape"). No sooner do we get comfortable with the prison genre, the film dramatically changes tone and becomes a classic 30s screwball comedy with Jean Arthur exchanging verbal bullets with fast talking Chester Morris, and a very animated Lionel Barrymore overplaying his role as a drunken physician. When it returns to the crime drama with star crossed lovers, the film begins to wobble a bit, but eventually it moves to the happy ending expected in the mid 30s, with a Dillinger-esque shootout to cap it off.
It's a fast paced film, but there are far better crime films and screwball comedies from this era. Still, the performances are uniformly good, so if you're a fan of Morris, Callelia, Barrymore, George E. Stone, Paul Kelly, et al you'll enjoy the film
Chester Morris plays the undercover G-man who infiltrates the notorious Midwest Purple Gang by breaking the gang leader (Joseph Calleia) out of prison. Along the way he meets the mob doctor (Lionel Barrymore) and falls in love with the mobster's sister (Jean Arthur).
The first third of the film is a standard prison film with a pretty exciting prison break sequence, although it wouldn't make my top 10 list ("Cool Hand Luke", "Each Dawn I Die", "Papillion", "Midnight Express", "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Escapist", "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang", "Escape from New York", "Stalag 17", "The Great Escape"). No sooner do we get comfortable with the prison genre, the film dramatically changes tone and becomes a classic 30s screwball comedy with Jean Arthur exchanging verbal bullets with fast talking Chester Morris, and a very animated Lionel Barrymore overplaying his role as a drunken physician. When it returns to the crime drama with star crossed lovers, the film begins to wobble a bit, but eventually it moves to the happy ending expected in the mid 30s, with a Dillinger-esque shootout to cap it off.
It's a fast paced film, but there are far better crime films and screwball comedies from this era. Still, the performances are uniformly good, so if you're a fan of Morris, Callelia, Barrymore, George E. Stone, Paul Kelly, et al you'll enjoy the film
Ticks all the boxes
Philipp_Flersheim1 August 2022
'Public Hero Number 1' is certainly not the greatest gangster flick ever, but the film is hugely entertaining: fast-paced, suspenseful and fun. The acting is excellent throughout: Joseph Calleia is a convincing ruthless crime boss, Chester Morris the undercover agent on his tracks, Lionel Barrymore the permanently plastered doctor who caters to the underworld, and Jean Arthur the estranged sister of the gangster boss who falls for the police agent. There is a clear division of labour: Calleia and Morris are responsible for generating suspense while Barrymore and Arthur take care of the laughs. For me, 'Public Hero Number 1' ticks all the boxes. Have a look - it's worth it!
Don't read anything, just let the plot unfold
HotToastyRag29 December 2019
I wasn't sure what to expect from Public Hero Number 1, since the plot synopsis I'd read online wasn't very clear. Turns out, I was really glad I didn't learn too much, since the plot was so intriguing and fast-moving.
Chester Morris stars as a prisoner who doesn't like to be contained. He starts a riot, loses his temper, and tries to cozy up to a notorious gangster Joseph Calleia. How is prison warden Lewis Stone going to handle him? Believe it or not, Chester's big secret gets revealed pretty early on, but since it's so much fun to see it as it plays out, I won't even tell you that much of the plot. All you need to know is that he's hiding something, and this part is a pretty big tour-de-force for the 1930s actor. He only had about ten years in the spotlight, so if you like him, be sure and check this movie out.
Along the way, Chester and Joseph escape from prison and try to escape the cops. Jean Arthur, who's hiding a secret of her own, feels an instant connection to Chester, but with all the deception, will they find a happy ending? Or is this drama, with Lionel Barrymore as a drunken, disreputable doctor in the supporting cast, too much of a drama for a normal romance? You'll have to rent it, which I suggest you do during the next rainy afternoon, to find out.
Chester Morris stars as a prisoner who doesn't like to be contained. He starts a riot, loses his temper, and tries to cozy up to a notorious gangster Joseph Calleia. How is prison warden Lewis Stone going to handle him? Believe it or not, Chester's big secret gets revealed pretty early on, but since it's so much fun to see it as it plays out, I won't even tell you that much of the plot. All you need to know is that he's hiding something, and this part is a pretty big tour-de-force for the 1930s actor. He only had about ten years in the spotlight, so if you like him, be sure and check this movie out.
Along the way, Chester and Joseph escape from prison and try to escape the cops. Jean Arthur, who's hiding a secret of her own, feels an instant connection to Chester, but with all the deception, will they find a happy ending? Or is this drama, with Lionel Barrymore as a drunken, disreputable doctor in the supporting cast, too much of a drama for a normal romance? You'll have to rent it, which I suggest you do during the next rainy afternoon, to find out.
Purple Gang where you at?
marbu-4294029 October 2018
I won't go into the comedy, fine acting or shoot 'em up thrills. This is not Detroit or the purple Gang by all accounts. The gang was a bunch of mainly jewish guys that bootlegged, robbed, extorted and even freaked Al Capone out. Being from motor City I was hoping for a little biography here but this a story about something else. Not a bad story but it's also not about the purple Gang from Detroit.
Poor choices and wasted lives
jarrodmcdonald-17 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The billing is a bit deceptive. Lionel Barrymore is top-billed, but he should really be third-billed. Chester Morris, who is third-billed, should be top-billed since he is in nearly every scene of major importance. Jean Arthur, borrowed from Columbia, gets second billing, above Morris even though she doesn't appear on screen until 28 minutes into the story.
Chester Morris had previously played a convict in THE BIG HOUSE (1930) for MGM, so he is revisiting his old stomping grounds behind bars, so to speak. Only the twist here is that he's a G-man pretending to be a thief, in order to gain the confidence of a ruthless gangster (Joseph Calleia) who happens to be his cellmate.
Morris will help Calleia escape, in order to be led to the rest of the infamous Purple Gang. If this set up sounds a lot like Edmond O'Brien pretending to be a con in WHITE HEAT to befriend James Cagney in prison, then you can probably assume the writers and producers of that later Warner Brothers picture were inspired by PUBLIC HERO NUMBER 1.
Another twist involves Miss Arthur's character, whom Morris meets on the road after he and Calleia have broken out. Calleia has been shot. Morris has just reported to his boss (Paul Kelly), that he needs to locate a mob-friendly doctor (Barrymore) to treat Calleia. Along the way, he meets Arthur and a group of passengers on a bus, who have skidded off the road in a storm. Arthur is actually Calleia's sister and while she understands her brother has made poor choices in life, she is unaware that he is a killer and that Morris and the feds are using him to reel in the rest of his violent gang.
I sort of feel that Arthur is better at this type of dramatic material than she is in her more well-known screwball comedies. She projects the right amount of fragility, which is so necessary for the character of Theresa that she is playing in this movie. We believe in her sincerity to help her crooked sibling, and we sympathize when she falls for Morris, who is going to end up taking Calleia's life in a dramatic shoot-out at the end.
I don't think we're really rooting for any specific character, because even Morris, the hero of the title, tells lies and does what he has to do in order to help Kelly and the other feds carry out justice. The ends tend to justify the means for everyone in this story, regardless of what side of the law they may be on.
Barrymore's character provides some humorous moments as an incorrigible drunk who has spent the last nine years treating gangsters before they end up getting plugged with lead by the cops that catch them. We cannot be sure why Barrymore's character has fallen in with such unsavory men, perhaps he thought he could save them physically and spiritually. But then he realized how futile such efforts are. Some of these men are just too far gone to help, and in a way that is the most important message of the film...how poor choices can lead to wasted lives.
Chester Morris had previously played a convict in THE BIG HOUSE (1930) for MGM, so he is revisiting his old stomping grounds behind bars, so to speak. Only the twist here is that he's a G-man pretending to be a thief, in order to gain the confidence of a ruthless gangster (Joseph Calleia) who happens to be his cellmate.
Morris will help Calleia escape, in order to be led to the rest of the infamous Purple Gang. If this set up sounds a lot like Edmond O'Brien pretending to be a con in WHITE HEAT to befriend James Cagney in prison, then you can probably assume the writers and producers of that later Warner Brothers picture were inspired by PUBLIC HERO NUMBER 1.
Another twist involves Miss Arthur's character, whom Morris meets on the road after he and Calleia have broken out. Calleia has been shot. Morris has just reported to his boss (Paul Kelly), that he needs to locate a mob-friendly doctor (Barrymore) to treat Calleia. Along the way, he meets Arthur and a group of passengers on a bus, who have skidded off the road in a storm. Arthur is actually Calleia's sister and while she understands her brother has made poor choices in life, she is unaware that he is a killer and that Morris and the feds are using him to reel in the rest of his violent gang.
I sort of feel that Arthur is better at this type of dramatic material than she is in her more well-known screwball comedies. She projects the right amount of fragility, which is so necessary for the character of Theresa that she is playing in this movie. We believe in her sincerity to help her crooked sibling, and we sympathize when she falls for Morris, who is going to end up taking Calleia's life in a dramatic shoot-out at the end.
I don't think we're really rooting for any specific character, because even Morris, the hero of the title, tells lies and does what he has to do in order to help Kelly and the other feds carry out justice. The ends tend to justify the means for everyone in this story, regardless of what side of the law they may be on.
Barrymore's character provides some humorous moments as an incorrigible drunk who has spent the last nine years treating gangsters before they end up getting plugged with lead by the cops that catch them. We cannot be sure why Barrymore's character has fallen in with such unsavory men, perhaps he thought he could save them physically and spiritually. But then he realized how futile such efforts are. Some of these men are just too far gone to help, and in a way that is the most important message of the film...how poor choices can lead to wasted lives.
Excellent first half...then it bogs down a bit.
planktonrules29 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I liked the first portion of this film--it was a bit clichéd but very entertaining. You see a very brash crook (Chester Morris) having difficulty adjusting to being locked up in prison. He can't help but be noticed by everyone, as he leads prison riots and makes a nuisance of himself. Eventually, he and his cell-mate (Joseph Calleia) manage to escape and Calleia is badly injured in the process. So, it's up to Morris to get a doctor--and unfortunately the only one who will treat him without informing the police is a drunkard (Lionel Barrymore--in a very vivid and atypical sort of role). Along the way, Morris just happens to pick up a girl (Jean Arthur) who just happens to turn out to be Calleia's sister! Little does she or Calleia know that Morris is actually a government agent--sent to infiltrate the Purple Gang (of which Calleia is the boss).
Up to this point, it's a highly improbable but entertaining film. However, making Arthur and Morris fall in love just seemed a bit too much--as did making Morris throw away the MONTHS and MONTHS of undercover work for her. This tended to slow down the film but despite this, it was still fun to watch. Not great but fun--in a mindless sort of way. Also, note the theater ending--obviously an attempt to cash in on the way they caught up with John Dillinger the previous year.
By the way, this is a very, very close remake of "The Getaway" (1941). If you've seen either, it probably isn't worth seeing the other. Also, it's pretty ironic that Chester Morris plays this undercover agent, as one of the gang members that he betrays (and gets killed at the end) is George E. Stone--the same guy who played Morris' best-friend and sidekick in the Boston Blackie film series!!
Up to this point, it's a highly improbable but entertaining film. However, making Arthur and Morris fall in love just seemed a bit too much--as did making Morris throw away the MONTHS and MONTHS of undercover work for her. This tended to slow down the film but despite this, it was still fun to watch. Not great but fun--in a mindless sort of way. Also, note the theater ending--obviously an attempt to cash in on the way they caught up with John Dillinger the previous year.
By the way, this is a very, very close remake of "The Getaway" (1941). If you've seen either, it probably isn't worth seeing the other. Also, it's pretty ironic that Chester Morris plays this undercover agent, as one of the gang members that he betrays (and gets killed at the end) is George E. Stone--the same guy who played Morris' best-friend and sidekick in the Boston Blackie film series!!
The film was actually banned in Sweden
kapelusznik1831 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** Wild and violent, even by Hollywood standers, crime flick about a ruthless gang-"The Purple Gang"-of escaped convicts headed by Sonny "Dinky" Black, Joseph Calleia,who's been infiltrated by undercover G-Man the squared jawed Jeff Crane,Chester Morris, posing as a petty stick up artist as well as champion of prisoners rights. It's Crane who helped "Dinky" in being his cell-mate break out of the big house-Prison-and expose or rat out the rest of his on the loose gang members! It's non-other then one of Sonny's gang members the only black man of the group Morse played by Sam Baker who was the famous "Missing Link", in the 1927 silent movie of the same name, who "Dinky" knocked off when he was about to turn him in, for a $5,000.00 reward,to the police.
With "Dinky" badly wounded during the escape he seeks out disbarred criminal Doctor Josiah Glass, Lionel Barrymore, to patch him up despite the Doc having a serious drinking problem. It's our hero Jeff Crane who later gets involved when the local highway is washed out in a hurricane with "Dinky's" sister Maria O'Reilly-Small world isn't it-played by the sweet wholesome and feisty Jean Arthur who has no idea that her brother "Dinky" is an escaped convict. Marie wants "Dinky " to move in with her in a farm left to him by one of their relatives and start a new and free from crime life.
***SPOILERS*** Undercover G-Man Crane soon falls in love with Marie and has trouble setting up a trap for her brother "Dinky" who he tried to get her the have him peacefully surrender to the police as well as FBI that would prevent him from being executed but given a life sentence,with free room and meals as we'll as well as medical aid,behind bars. Facing dismissal from the FBI for being too soft in getting "Dinky" apprehended, in order not to turn off his girlfriend Marie, by his boss chief inspector Duff, Paul Kelly, Crane with the help of the drunken doctor Glass,finds out where "Dinky's" hiding and has a trap set to catch him that backfires as well as have Marie, in Crane setting her brother up, walk out on him.
Crane exonerates himself, to his Boss Duffy and the FBI, at the end of the film by finally getting the elusive "Dinky" gunned down in a John Dillinger-style ambush outside the Bijou Theater, Where Marie was working as a cashier, that he himself got wounder in the crossfire. As for Marie she all but forgave Crane of having her brother "Dinky" iced-Gunned down-in her realizing that he'll never give himself up to the police anyway! And that's like John Dillinger before him by "Dinky" swearing never to be taken alive going down in a blaze of glory and ending up-Like Dillinger did in real life-on a slab at the city morgue!
With "Dinky" badly wounded during the escape he seeks out disbarred criminal Doctor Josiah Glass, Lionel Barrymore, to patch him up despite the Doc having a serious drinking problem. It's our hero Jeff Crane who later gets involved when the local highway is washed out in a hurricane with "Dinky's" sister Maria O'Reilly-Small world isn't it-played by the sweet wholesome and feisty Jean Arthur who has no idea that her brother "Dinky" is an escaped convict. Marie wants "Dinky " to move in with her in a farm left to him by one of their relatives and start a new and free from crime life.
***SPOILERS*** Undercover G-Man Crane soon falls in love with Marie and has trouble setting up a trap for her brother "Dinky" who he tried to get her the have him peacefully surrender to the police as well as FBI that would prevent him from being executed but given a life sentence,with free room and meals as we'll as well as medical aid,behind bars. Facing dismissal from the FBI for being too soft in getting "Dinky" apprehended, in order not to turn off his girlfriend Marie, by his boss chief inspector Duff, Paul Kelly, Crane with the help of the drunken doctor Glass,finds out where "Dinky's" hiding and has a trap set to catch him that backfires as well as have Marie, in Crane setting her brother up, walk out on him.
Crane exonerates himself, to his Boss Duffy and the FBI, at the end of the film by finally getting the elusive "Dinky" gunned down in a John Dillinger-style ambush outside the Bijou Theater, Where Marie was working as a cashier, that he himself got wounder in the crossfire. As for Marie she all but forgave Crane of having her brother "Dinky" iced-Gunned down-in her realizing that he'll never give himself up to the police anyway! And that's like John Dillinger before him by "Dinky" swearing never to be taken alive going down in a blaze of glory and ending up-Like Dillinger did in real life-on a slab at the city morgue!
Unique underrated film recommended
kellisean-2423922 October 2020
I wasn't sure what to think of this one. It appears to be a very obscure film that not many have seen for some reason.
I knew Lionel Barrymore (as the drunken Doctor) in it I had to see it. He takes a comedic yet tragic turn in this one. Lionel was versatile enough to play anything. I disagree he overacts here. What else are you going to do with a role like that? On a side line I have read he had personal issues going on while this was filmed. His wife was dying and his severe arthritis left him exhausted. And what a splendid job he did here. He steals every scene he is in!
Impressive Chester Morris and Jean Arthur are key characters here. Strange unlikely romance going on. I wasn't particularly happy with the ending. And my favorite Doctor was killed off. But how else could it end?
The Great Jean Arthur...
Dr. Ed27 November 2000
stars in this quirky yet unsuccessful comedy-drama about an undercover cop (Chester Morris) and the plot to capture a gang leader (Joseph Calleia) who happens to be Jean Arthur's brother. Lionel Barrymore is along for the ride as a drunken doctor (a nice comic turn). But it doesn't all come together; even Miss Arthur's beauty and fine comic timing can't save this one.
It's all about versatility
jamesjustice-923 December 2022
"Public Hero Number 1" was made by an unknown director with actors who were also mostly unknown to the big audience (except for Jean Arthur and Lionel Barrymore in the supporting roles) but I definitely want this movie to be known because it is great!
Started out as a simple gangster flick it showed me some violence that I never expected from a 1935 post-code movie but after half an hour it changed its direction and showed me comedy, with the great help of Miss Arthur and Mr Barrymore. That's what I love the most about the movies in general - that they could be versatile and deep in meaning. 90 minutes shot like a bullet through my head and left me impressed to the bottom of my heart.
Started out as a simple gangster flick it showed me some violence that I never expected from a 1935 post-code movie but after half an hour it changed its direction and showed me comedy, with the great help of Miss Arthur and Mr Barrymore. That's what I love the most about the movies in general - that they could be versatile and deep in meaning. 90 minutes shot like a bullet through my head and left me impressed to the bottom of my heart.
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