The People's Enemy (1935) User Reviews

The defense attorney becomes the target...of his own client!

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 16 September 2014]

It doesn't matter that defense attorney Melvyn Douglas has gotten racketeer Preston Foster off almost three dozen times for various crimes, but when he is sentenced to nine years in prison for tax evasion (a la Al Capone), Foster wants revenge when he finds out that Douglas has been romancing his estranged wife (Lila Lee) with whom he has a child. It doesn't matter that Lee left him long before he was sent to prison; Foster wants revenge, and after successfully escaping, makes his way back to New York to confront the man who committed a lot of amoral acts to have earlier kept him out of prison.

This fast moving crime drama is unique not only in the fact that it paralleled recent history but showed an actual criminal trial where there was no jury, only a judge (Charles Coburn in his feature film debut) presided. Once he gets to prison, Foster is bombarded by unwanted pressures from stuttering prisoner Roscoe Ates telling him of his own issues with his defense attorney. This of course, leads to his desperate move to escape and of course a very dramatic confrontation at the end.

While some may consider this nothing more than an extended variation of MGM's "Crime Doesn't Pay" series, this is brisk and powerfully gripping. There's never any doubt how this will end, but performances are excellent and the script doesn't milk the audience by adding unnecessary plot developments. Overall, a nice little find and one worth watching again.

What Remains Is Excellent

[boblipton · 7/10 · 22 April 2024]

There's about fifteen minutes cut out of the copy of this movie that I looked at, and it's a shame. I was expecting very little, and then I looked at the credits and realized that director Crane Wilbur had called in a lot of favors as a member of the Tyrone Power dynasty. Not only is Charles Coburn present in his second film -- he would not begin his regular appearances in the movies for another three years -- but Joseph Ruttenberg is the cameraman, and Preston Foster and Melvyn Douglas give very strong performances.

Lawyer Douglas has gotten gangster Foster out of a lot of beefs with the law, but he can't do anything against the Feds, and so Foster goes up for a long time. Douglas continues to represent him fairly and honestly, and even makes a strong plea for parole, but Foster's kid brother, William Collier Jr. Threatens another lawyer, who talks the parole board out of letting Foster go. Collier blames Douglas, and Foster slowly goes mad in prison.

But Foster slowly starts to reform, almost certainly under the influence of Foster's abandoned wife, Lila Lee, and his child. It makes no difference to Foster, who breaks out of prison.

Ruttenberg handles the camera with his wonted excellence, the script is a lot stronger than you'd expect out of Poverty Row producer Burt Kelly releasing through RKO at this stage of his career. Kelly would eventually go to Columbia for some of the later BLONDIE movies to end his career. He would die in 1983 at the age of 84.

I do suspect it was majorly trimmed.

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 1 September 2021]

Sometimes the running times listed on IMDB are wrong. For example, I've seen quite a few films that were longer than the time listed on the site. However, in many cases, the running times listed are longer...and often this means that the film was trimmed...often to make it fit TV time slots. In the case of "People's Enemy" the film is listed at 70 minutes but the copy I saw ran 55...but it seemed like parts had been excised from the original print. In particular, much of the plot involving Falcone's ex-wife seem conspicuously absent.

When the story begins, a long-time hood, Vince Falcone (Preston Foster) is in court on tax evasion charges. While his lawyer, 'Traps' Stuart (Melvyn Douglas) tried his best, the evidence is all against him...and he's sentenced to nine years. Falcone makes Traps promise to find Falcone's family he abandoned long ago...mostly because he wants to bring this ex-wife and child to future parole hearings to make it look good...as if they are waiting for Falcone to come home! Unfortunately, the wife wants nothing to do with him...and Traps is infatuated with her and wants her for himself.

During Falcone's time in prison, he becomes even more bitter and nasty...and blames Traps for him being there! He also learns that the ex-wife and Falcone are an item (which is true) and he assumes Traps has turned on him. When his parole is denied, Falcone is even more convinced Traps is his enemy...and he escapes in order to settle the score.

This is a decent film but because of the butchered condition, it feels cheap and missing important stuff...which, I can only assume is true. Worth seeing? Maybe, but I'd try to see if you can find a 70 minute copy...if it still exists.

Hair trigger mobster

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 20 September 2019]

I only got to see about 55 minutes of the 70 minutes running time of The People's Enemy.. It was butchered for TV viewing. As it was an independent production and most likely one of the first films acquired by TV for viewing I doubt we'll see a director's cut.

What we did see is longtime racketeer sent up for a tax evasion rap who apparently is not all that bright and thinks with his trigger finger. Preston Foster is someone I could hardly believe rose to the top in his profession. Next to him is William Collier, Jr. who makes Foster look like a Greek philosopher.

Foster becomes convinced that his lawyer Melvyn Douglas sold him out. No, but he's easily convinced of the fact. Douglas is rethinking representing mob figures. It pays well, buy........

One place he is double crossing Foster is that he's taken up with his long estranged wife Lila Lee. That could and does cause problems.

Big mistake making Foster the lead character. The People's Enemy should have had Douglas as the lead. I think a major studio might have recognized that.

This had some potential, but butchered on the cutting room floor.