The Public Enemy (1931)

Directed by

William A. Wellman

Genre

drama film, film noir, action film, crime film, mystery film, suspense film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 23m

Rated

NR

Rating

7.2 of 10 from 392 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

The film follows a young man who rises through the criminal ranks during Prohibition in an American city. It shows his violent progress and the consequences of his choices.

grittytensebleakfast-paceddarkatmospherichardboiledcynical

What happens

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 The screenplay is based on an unpublished novel—Beer and Blood by two former newspapermen, John Bright and Kubec Glasmon—who had witnessed some of Al Capone's murderous gang rivalries in Chicago. In 1998, The Public Enemy was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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