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.
Cast and Information
Directed By: William A. Wellman
Written By: John Bright, Kubec Glasmon
Starring: Joan Blondell, James Cagney, Donald Cook, Mae Clarke, Leslie Fenton, Jean Harlow, Beryl Mercer, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Snitz Edwards, Murray Kinnell, Edward Woods
Country: USA
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The Public Enemy belongs to 42 collections
1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (collaborative: moderated by kozan26 - 232 stars)
2. Features under 91 minutes (collaborative: moderated by epiphany - 56 stars)
3. New York Times' The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made (collaborative: moderated by theficionado - 31 stars)
4. National Film Registry (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 30 stars)
5. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 30 stars)
6. Passed the Bechdel Test (collaborative: moderated by geohawk - 29 stars)
7. Academy Award - Oscar - ALL Best Picture, Directing, Acting & Screenplay Nominees (collaborative - 22 stars)
8. The Story of Film: An Odyssey (collaborative: moderated by rant1229 - 20 stars)
9. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)
10. Edgar Wright 1000 Favorite Movies (Aug 2016) (collaborative: moderated by Aron Ericson - 16 stars)
11. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 13 stars)
12. Doubling The Canon (collaborative - 13 stars)
13. films101.com's 5 star films (collaborative: moderated by ppinocchio - 11 stars)
14. International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 11 stars)
15. Cinema Discusso Yearly Consensus (2008) (public: PeaceAnarchy - 10 stars)
16. 1,000 Noir Films: They Shot Dark Pictures, Didn't They? (collaborative: moderated by lisa- - 9 stars)
17. David Thomson's 1000 Films (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 7 stars)
18. Pre-Code (collaborative: moderated by edsu - 7 stars)
19. List: Taschen (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 6 stars)
20. Best of Classic Old Hollywood (pre-70s) (collaborative: moderated by 90sCoffee - 6 stars)
21. Gangster (collaborative: moderated by djross - 5 stars)
22. Doubling The Canon (2010 update) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 5 stars)
23. Films referenced in Histoire(s) du cinéma (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 5 stars)
24. Filmsite.org - Sex in the Movies, An Illustrated History (collaborative: moderated by afx237vi - 5 stars)
25. The Films Mentioned In American Grindhouse (2010) (collaborative: moderated by Coheed - 3 stars)
26. Rise and Fall (collaborative: moderated by mattorama12 - 3 stars)
27. AFI - 10 Top 10 Gangster (collaborative: moderated by CCLZA - 2 stars)
28. They Shoot Pictures: Noir Precursors (Pre-1940) (public: afx237vi - 2 stars)
29. A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (public: xinet - 2 stars)
30. AFI 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains (collaborative: moderated by iceblox - 1 star)
31. Chicago (collaborative: moderated by djross - 1 star)
32. Doubling the Canon (2011 update) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 1 star)
33. Doubling the Canon (2012 update) (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 1 star)
34. AFI - 10 Top 10 (All) (collaborative: moderated by Phantom Nook - 1 star)
35. Djross best gangster movies (public: djross - 1 star)
36. Pickpocket inaccurate PSI (public: Pickpocket - 1 star)
37. Every Film Nominated For An Oscar (public: cayh - 1 star)
38. The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: The Gangster Film (collaborative: moderated by RoyalB)
39. Djross seen at the cinema (public: djross)
40. Big-time Hollywood gangster movies (public: djross)
41. Tom's Movies (public: tomwalsh)
42. Forrest Watch List (public: ForrestQ)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 4 |  |
MartinTeller | 65 26th |
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I seriously have nothing to say about this. It's got some characters and they do some stuff, and it ends. It's a movie. Not that boring, not that exciting. You watch it and say "well, that was okay" and forget about it.
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| 3 |  |
Farzan | 78 72nd |
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James Cagney turns in a great performance as Tommy Power. The film may be quite dull at times, but there is no denying the influence the Public Enemy has had on gangster films for generations to come. It is quite a gruesome look at the gangster lifestyle, especially given the time period. Definitely worth watching to see where gangster films have sprouted from.
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| 2 |  |
glumpy_99 | 87 76th |
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Inevitably dated in terms of its approach and some characterisations (the recurring motif of wailing mothers becomes silly at certain points), but this is still a powerful and impressive depiction of Cagney’s vicious lead; with an epic scope to rival GOODFELLAS (in nearly half the screentime), this remains never less than captivating, highlighted by Cagney’s extraordinary force-of-nature performance (the iconic grapefruit scene still stings, even spoiled by decades of memes).
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| 1 |  |
JohnnyZombie | 90 83rd |
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In between Cagney falling in the gutter and his "return home" (those of you who have seen this will know why I use quotation marks), the movie falls incredibly flat. I would have liked to see more, but what is there is very good. And, of course, Jimmy Cagney is awesome.
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| 1 |  |
djross | 80 91st |
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Cagney gives a remarkably animated and kinetic performance.
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| 1 |  |
Pickpocket | 4 35th |
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Overrated movie that has really bad pacing issues and has aged pretty poorly.
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| 1 |  |
Nathan S | 3 45th |
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It's hard to take this film's moralizing bookends seriously when Cagney is so awesome. Otherwise it's a little dated, with a few wonderful scenes scattered about its brief but awkwardly paced runtime.
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| 1 |  |
PeaceAnarchy | 73 36th |
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Good, but surprisingly underwhelming. The storytelling is so stilted the film plays as a huge montage and the acting comes off as mediocre in part due to the somewhat primitive sound editing. Cagney makes something out of it and the final scene is great but I expected a lot more.
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| 1 |  |
joseywales | 65 44th |
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Dull and meandering,
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| 1 |  |
caiman | 88 87th |
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The Public Enemy is a classic in every sense, paving the way for a now well-covered genre. Its pre-code production allows for a decent amount of grit and violence as well. James Cagney gives this movie such a cool and menacing vibe. You love him one minute and hate him the next. My only complaint is that the movie could have been about 30 minutes longer, giving time to flesh out a few of a scenes. But that's a minor quibble. Overall, this is great stuff.
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| 1 |  |
Stain | 50 33rd |
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I'm surprised at myself at how not excited I was by this film
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| 1 |  |
Icarus | 70 41st |
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Cagney's quiet boil of a performance, along with a number of distinctive visual elements, make this worth watching even today. That said, the moralizing tone of the piece as well as the flat performances from the supporting cast keep the film from being more memorable than an enjoyable Saturday afternoon gangster picture.
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| 1 |  |
stepsideways | 95 91st |
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Sure this has the grapefruit, but witness Cagney's little jig upon meeting Jean Harlow, whose brief performance is simultaneously wooden and magnetic.
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| 1 |  |
jswinder | 91 96th |
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After watching James Gandolfini in The Sopranos, it is obvious that he took acting lessons from James Cagney. It is so obvious, that show paid tribute to this very film. The magnetic eyes, fixed, and the combustive words that sputter out like a starting engine, it's Cagney. Jimmy was the first of his kind, and this film is truly a classic that will remain testament to the incredible violence during the golden age of organized crime. "Sure, we mighta been ding ding's on a street car." Ha ha ha
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| 1 |  |
chemical404 | 60 59th |
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As most of the early talkies it suffers from the pacing issues. And because of that it gets quite dull at the times. What makes this film special, i think, is superb performance by James Cagney. He looks so natural, I can't imagine American gangster from prohibition era in any other way.
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| 1 |  |
fenixdown | 68 31st |
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Life and times of a jerkface. Excuse me, not a jerkface, but a PROBLEM for the American public to SOLVE!
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| 1 |  |
wetwillies | 75 26th |
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Definitely not the searing drama it must've been when it first released, but The Public Enemy has enough gangster charm to sustain its brief running time and the final moments are especially poetic. Cagney is great.
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| 1 |  |
karamazov. | 45 60th |
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Cagney really is dynamite.
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| 1 |  |
Hawkins | 72 49th |
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Cagney lives up to the hype. It's preachy, but after a century of people taking the worst messages from gangster flicks I like that this has a disclaimer of moral intent.
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| 1 |  |
JonnyHalftab | 86 61st |
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How could everybody tell that was a grapefruit?
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| Average Percentile 62.05% from 681 Ratings |  |