An Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.An Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.An Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
- Paddy Ryan
- (as Robert O'Connor)
- Goon
- (uncredited)
- Dutch
- (uncredited)
- Kitty
- (uncredited)
- Tom as a Boy
- (uncredited)
- Machine Gunner
- (uncredited)
- Matt as a Boy
- (uncredited)
- Miller
- (uncredited)
- Molly Doyle
- (uncredited)
- Nails' Girl
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOn the set one day, James Cagney stared at Jean Harlow's nipples and asked, likely in perfect innocence and good humor, "How do you keep those things up?" "I ice them," Harlow said, before trotting off to her dressing room to do just that.
- GoofsThe "Foreword" mentions that the movie is to depict "a certain strata of American life." "Strata" is the plural form of "stratum." The phrase should have been written "a certain stratum of American life."
- Quotes
Tom Powers: [Tom shuffles to the breakfast table in his pajamas. He's just finished a demanding call with Nails Nathan] Ain't you got a drink in the house?
Kitty: Well, not before breakfast, dear.
Tom Powers: [immediately annoyed] ... I didn't ask you for any lip. I asked you if you had a drink.
Kitty: [sheepishly] I know Tom, but I, I wish that...
Tom Powers: ... there you go with that wishin' stuff again. I wish you was a wishing well. So that I could tie a bucket to ya and sink ya.
Kitty: Well, maybe you've found someone you like better.
[Angered, Tom grimaces and shoves a piece of grapefruit in her face as he leaves the table.]
- Crazy creditsIt 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 purely fictional.
- Alternate versionsFor 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.
- ConnectionsEdited into Three on a Match (1932)
- SoundtracksI'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
(1919) (uncredited)
Music by James Kendis, James Brockman and Nat Vincent
Played at various times throughout the film
There was no production code at the time, but even for 1931, this film is jarringly violent. Tom Powers (Cagney) is shown growing up in Chicago with a brutal father, a moralizing older brother, and an enabling doormat of a mother. Not finding any role models at home, Powers and his childhood friend Matt find them - and easy money - by befriending the neighborhood gangsters. They also find early betrayal - a score they settle later. When Prohibition becomes law, the real money and the real violence begin. Meanwhile, Tom's brother has returned from war a broken man, just reinforcing Tom's view that his brother is a chump. The violence escalates to the shocking conclusion. And all I can say is that you'll never listen to the song "Forever Blowing Bubbles" quite the same again.
One leg of the plot that just seems rather wedged in, but is interesting and even amusing today is Jean Harlow as Tom's love interest. This is before she went to MGM for the remainder of her career and short life. She just doesn't have her trademark screen persona down yet and strangely enough she is supposed to be a ....Texan???? She sounds like somebody from Brooklyn who was being voice coached to sound like the Queen of England, but she can't quite make the jump.
This film would probably be just a 5 or 6 out of 10 without Cagney - an interesting and adequate precode. Seeing Cagney explode on the screen for the first time in the lead makes it jump to an 8/10.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Beer and Blood
- Filming locations
- Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, California, USA(convertible ride with Jean Harlow)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,011,520
- Gross worldwide
- $1,214,260
- Runtime1 hour 23 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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