Poster

The Public Enemy ()

Reference View | Change View
An Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.
Director:
Writers:
Stars:
Awards:
Reviews:

Photos and Videos

74 photos | 1 video

Cast verified as complete

Edit
...
Tom Powers
...
Gwen Allen
...
Matt Doyle
...
Mamie
...
Mike Powers
...
Samuel 'Nails' Nathan
...
Ma Powers
...
Paddy Ryan (as Robert O'Connor)
...
Putty Nose
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lev Abramov ...
Goon (uncredited)
Clark Burroughs ...
Dutch (uncredited)
...
Kitty (uncredited)
...
Tom as a Boy (uncredited)
George Daly ...
Machine Gunner (uncredited)
...
Matt as a Boy (uncredited)
...
Miller (uncredited)
...
Molly Doyle (uncredited)
Dorothy Gee ...
Nails' Girl (uncredited)
...
Assistant Tailor (uncredited)
...
Little Girl (uncredited)
Ben Hendricks Jr. ...
'Bugs' Moran as a Boy (uncredited)
...
Officer Pat Burke (uncredited)
...
Joe - Headwaiter (uncredited)
...
Brewery owner (uncredited)
Mia Marvin ...
Jane (uncredited)
...
Headwaiter (uncredited)
...
Tailor (uncredited)
...
Man playing cards (uncredited)
...
Little Girl (uncredited)
Lee Phelps ...
Steve - Bartender (uncredited)
...
Bartender (uncredited)
...
Officer Powers (uncredited)
Nanci Price ...
Little Girl (uncredited)
...
Pool player (uncredited)
...
Doctor (uncredited)
William H. Strauss ...
Pawnbroker (uncredited)
...
Mug (uncredited)
...
Mrs. Dalton (uncredited)
...
Mrs. Doyle (uncredited)

Directed by

Edit
William A. Wellman

Written by

Edit
Kubec Glasmon ... (by) and
John Bright ... (by)
 
Harvey F. Thew ... (screen adaptation) (as Harvey Thew)

Produced by

Edit
Darryl F. Zanuck ... producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by

Edit
Devereaux Jennings ... (photography) (as Dev Jennings)

Editing by

Edit
Edward M. McDermott ... (edited by) (as Edw. M. McDermott)

Casting By

Edit
Rufus Le Maire ... (uncredited)

Art Direction by

Edit
Max Parker

Costume Design by

Edit
Edward Stevenson ... (uncredited)

Makeup Department

Edit
Perc Westmore ... makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management

Edit
William Koenig ... production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

Edit
Louis Marlowe ... second assistant director (uncredited)
Dolph Zimmer ... assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department

Edit
Albin ... sound crew
J. Thompson ... sound crew
Alf Burton ... sound crew (uncredited)
Oliver S. Garretson ... sound (uncredited)

Stunts

Edit
Harvey Parry ... stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department

Edit
Irving Glassberg ... assistant camera (uncredited)
Frank Kesson ... assistant camera (uncredited)
Nelson Laraby ... director of photography: additional photography (uncredited)
William Reinhold ... assistant camera (uncredited)
Al Roberts ... camera operator (uncredited)
William Schurr ... assistant camera (uncredited)
Harry L. Underwood ... assistant camera (uncredited)
Willard Van Enger ... camera operator (uncredited)
Robert H. Wagner ... camera operator (uncredited)
Sidney Wagner ... director of photography: second unit (uncredited)
Scotty Welbourne ... still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

Edit
Earl Luick ... wardrobe
Eugene Joseff ... costume jeweller (uncredited)

Location Management

Edit
William Guthrie ... location manager (uncredited)

Music Department

Edit
David Mendoza ... conductor: Vitaphone Orchestra / composer: title music (uncredited)

Additional Crew

Edit
Dillingham ... production assistant (uncredited)
Newitt ... production assistant (uncredited)
Clem Peoples ... technical advisor (uncredited)
Rule ... production assistant (uncredited)
Whitmore ... production assistant (uncredited)
Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

Edit

Distributors

Edit

Special Effects

Edit

Other Companies

Edit

Storyline

Edit
Plot Summary

Tom Powers and Matt Doyle are best friends and fellow gangsters. Their lives are frowned on by Tom's straitlaced brother Mike and Matt's straitlaced sister Molly. From their teenage years into young-adulthood, Tom and Matt have an increasingly-lucrative life, bootlegging during the Prohibition era. But Tom becomes more and more brazen in what he is willing to do and becomes more obstinate and violent against those who disagree with 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. Written by Huggo

Plot Keywords
Taglines All his life he took what he wanted...Why not women? (Print Ad- Sarasota Herald, ((Sarasota, Fla.)) 16 June 1931) See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

Edit
Also Known As
  • Beer and Blood (United States)
  • Enemies of the Public (United Kingdom)
  • L'ennemi public (France)
  • Der öffentliche Feind (Germany)
  • El enemigo público (Spain)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 83 min
Official Sites
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross $1,214,260

Did You Know?

Edit
Trivia On 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. See more »
Goofs The "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." See more »
Movie Connections Edited into Three on a Match (1932). See more »
Soundtracks I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles See more »
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 purely fictional. See more »
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.
[Tom is enraged and disgusted by her implication. He grimaces and shoves a grapefruit in her face as he leaves the table]
See more »
Getting Started | Contributor Zone »

Contribute to This Page


Clear your history

Recently Viewed