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The Public Enemy
The Public Enemy
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The Public Enemy

The Public Enemy

1931
Drama, Crime
1h 23m
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.

Directed by:

William A. Wellman

Screenwriter:

John Bright, Kubec Glasmon

Starring:

Mae Clarke, Joan Blondell, Donald Cook, Jean Harlow, Snitz Edwards, James Cagney, Edward Woods, Leslie Fenton, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Beryl Mercer, Murray Kinnell, Sam McDaniel

Genres:

Drama, Crime, Action

Country:

USA

Language:

English
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The Public Enemy

1931
Drama, Crime
1h 23m
Your probable score
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer
Avg Percentile 62.27% from 695 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

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martintellerMartinTeller
Rated 28 Feb 2007
65
25th
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.
Rated 28 Feb 2007
farzanFarzan
Rated 20 Jun 2009
78
72nd
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.
Rated 20 Jun 2009
glumpy99glumpy_99
Rated 21 Oct 2022
87
78th
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).
Rated 21 Oct 2022
hawkinsHawkins
Rated 02 Jul 2022
72
50th
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.
Rated 02 Jul 2022
lintonmyroxylintonmyroxy
Rated 31 Dec 2020
86
61st
How could everybody tell that was a grapefruit?
Rated 31 Dec 2020
karamazovkaramazov.
Rated 10 Aug 2020
45
60th
Cagney really is dynamite.
Rated 10 Aug 2020
wetwillieswetwillies
Rated 05 Aug 2014
75
26th
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.
Rated 05 Aug 2014
fenixdownfenixdown
Rated 13 Sep 2013
68
30th
Life and times of a jerkface. Excuse me, not a jerkface, but a PROBLEM for the American public to SOLVE!
Rated 13 Sep 2013
icarusIcarus
Rated 16 Jun 2012
70
40th
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.
Rated 16 Jun 2012
peaceanarchyPeaceAnarchy
Rated 14 Dec 2010
73
36th
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.
Rated 14 Dec 2010
barthalenBarthalen
Rated 10 Sep 2010
69
51st
Some of the acting is pretty spotty and most of the characters are one-dimensional as all hell, but it's still a decent watch thanks to Cagney's performance and a pretty bleak ending. Might have liked it a bit more if I hadn't seen the far superior (but very similar) The Roaring Twenties beforehand.
Rated 10 Sep 2010
chemical404chemical404
Rated 08 Sep 2009
60
59th
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.
Rated 08 Sep 2009
caimancaiman
Rated 31 Jul 2009
88
87th
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.
Rated 31 Jul 2009
joseywalesjoseywales
Rated 14 Jun 2009
65
44th
Dull and meandering,
Rated 14 Jun 2009
johnnyzombieJohnnyZombie
Rated 28 Apr 2009
90
83rd
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.
Rated 28 Apr 2009
jswinderjswinder
Rated 25 Jan 2009
91
96th
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
Rated 25 Jan 2009
pickpocketPickpocket
Rated 22 Oct 2008
4
35th
Overrated movie that has really bad pacing issues and has aged pretty poorly.
Rated 22 Oct 2008
nathan_sNathan S
Rated 03 Jan 2008
3
45th
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.
Rated 03 Jan 2008
stepsidewaysstepsideways
Rated 13 Nov 2007
95
91st
Sure this has the grapefruit, but witness Cagney's little jig upon meeting Jean Harlow, whose brief performance is simultaneously wooden and magnetic.
Rated 13 Nov 2007
stainStain
Rated 24 Aug 2007
50
33rd
I'm surprised at myself at how not excited I was by this film
Rated 24 Aug 2007
djrossdjross
Rated 14 Aug 2007
80
92nd
Cagney gives a remarkably animated and kinetic performance.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
twincinematwincinema
Rated 12 Nov 2023
75
64th
There is a reason the classics are the classics. The second half of this film is so strong, ending with a haunting visual. The first half feels like scenes from the Little Rascals. You can see the influence this film has over literally ever gangster film after this. Last night, after watching this, my last thought before slumber was, "man, that beer would have tasted like warm piss." I don't understand the mechanics of keeping it cold in the 1920s.
Rated 12 Nov 2023
yiannosYiannos
Rated 28 Sep 2023
63
54th
Cagney is good, but it doesn't have the layers of Scarface or the cinematic value of Hawks' landmark effort.
Rated 28 Sep 2023
doyler29doyler29
Rated 12 Sep 2023
100
96th
There's a lot of THINGS I like about this film, and other cast members are great, especially Jean Harlow and Joan Blondell, but really ... this is just Cagney's film. He's a force of nature.
Rated 12 Sep 2023
heliophageHeliophage
Rated 16 Mar 2023
70
87th
Cagney brings the charm to what's ultimately a fairly thought-through character piece of the "biographical vignette" variety, with its fair share of memorably-staged moments.
Rated 16 Mar 2023
mrarnmrarn
Rated 29 Mar 2021
55
69th
This film is not the best gangster movie, but it may be the most copied.
Rated 29 Mar 2021
picklemanPickle_Man
Rated 08 Nov 2020
85
67th
I ain't so tough.
Rated 08 Nov 2020
nathanbatesNathanBates
Rated 22 Oct 2020
80
78th
This comes across as pretty preachy, with a gangster's life shown with women and money now available as he turns more violent, but with a slow toll on his family. Cagney is excellent; the rest of the cast don't really get a lot of places to shine. Has one of the best "entrances" in filmdom.
Rated 22 Oct 2020
darrenDarren
Rated 07 Jun 2019
65
36th
Wasn't really feeling it. A precursor to all those later gangster movies obviously. But it has the pathos to actually work. You can feel the humanity in a way that most Wellman movies are.
Rated 07 Jun 2019
beardobaldobeardobaldo
Rated 01 Feb 2018
50
15th
I know you gotta respect this movie for what it is: a classic gangster film, starring Cagney (including the famous grapefruit scene), that inspired years of actors and filmmakers to come blah blah blah... but seriously, this movie could have undergone some serious editing... there were TONS of superfluous lines, shots, scenes, characters, and plot devices. 1 hour and 25 minutes never seemed so long.
Rated 01 Feb 2018
walkearthwalkearth
Rated 21 Aug 2017
65
72nd
Wow what an ending. The grapefruit scene with Mae Clarke is also shockingly good, even more so because of the unexpected nature of the scene - it felt so unaligned with the film's feel and with the character development, but still emphasised by the actors' on the screen, that it was genuinely amusing and invigorating. Some generic populist dialogue, contrived and mechanically executed at parts, is evidently showing the film to be a studio effort most of all. Still Entertaining though.
Rated 21 Aug 2017
schnofelschnofel
Rated 14 Feb 2017
60
53rd
"I ain't so tough", says Cagney as he goes to his knees. And there's worse yet to come.
Rated 14 Feb 2017
closedmouthclosedmouth
Rated 26 May 2016
80
69th
Kinda surprised at how entertaining I found this. Compelling, creatively interesting direction, great pacing, and Cagney is just a blast to watch. Apart from the unsurprising but still eyebrow-raising casual bigotry, and the thudding moral lesson of the last ten minutes, it's a real fun time.
Rated 26 May 2016
cosmicmonkeyCosmicMonkey
Rated 08 Nov 2015
75
49th
Overall a superior film to the similarly-themed Little Caesar, released earlier the same year. The writing is better, and the directing and acting are better too, however every film, no matter how good, will automatically be made worse by the inclusion of Jean Harlow. Every line she delivers grates at my ears and makes me roll my eyes. Still, her aside it makes for a decent crime film that paved the road for many others. Cagney's performance is memorable, if not subtle.
Rated 08 Nov 2015
auhasarderikauhasarderik
Rated 23 Oct 2015
8
80th
This is no A picture, but Cagney's energy and presence is incredible, and it's a good example of many visual ideas that will be associated with noir dramas.
Rated 23 Oct 2015
itbspodcastITBSPodcast
Rated 22 Oct 2015
100
0th
"Warners worked best for his temperament and the kind of pictures he wanted to make." http://illusionpodcast.blogspot.com/2014/07/episode-20-william-wellman-1929-1934.html
Rated 22 Oct 2015
luna6ixLuna6ix
Rated 15 Oct 2013
70
34th
This may be one of the first gangster movies, but surely it is not the best. Cagney overacts, but that's a hallmark of early talkies. I'm sure that at the time the plot seemed novel, but eighty years later it's slow and simple.
Rated 15 Oct 2013
glm01glm01
Rated 20 Sep 2013
89
97th
88.500
Rated 20 Sep 2013
ofterdingenOfterdingen
Rated 18 Feb 2013
80
93rd
Straightforward, great characters and hard as nails.
Rated 18 Feb 2013
punqPUNQ
Rated 23 Dec 2012
80
99th
While somewhat slow moving at times, it's still a powerful movie and no doubt a very important movie in the history of the gangster genre. James Cagney was awesome and this features some killer scenes like the one everyone talks about. The grapefruit one, but also the shootin' in the rain and the gloomy end. Cagney was made for these kind of films and this made his name.
Rated 23 Dec 2012
moraesfelipemoraesfelipe
Rated 02 Jun 2012
80
85th
The Public Enemy might sound a bit dated, but it's still a good ride, elevated by Cagney's greatness on the screen. The source of every gangster film we have already watched or that we are eager to watch is right here.
Rated 02 Jun 2012
wayofthegunwayofthegun
Rated 11 Feb 2012
85
78th
Great early gangster classic from which a lot of genre films over the years have borrowed. Strong performance from Cagney and a great ending.
Rated 11 Feb 2012
myfavchordsmyfavchords
Rated 22 Dec 2011
82
85th
This film has James Cagney rising up to top form. This is a good early gangster flick. This movie is worth seeing for the classic "grapefruit scene" alone. The ending is also a nice touch.
Rated 22 Dec 2011
kadrianKadrian
Rated 18 Nov 2011
50
34th
Not the best ganster film out there but this movie is very early in the game. Even though presented as a "public service announcement," James Cagney is a shining example of a dirty rat. The image of Tommy Power dropping dead at the end is a shocker. I loved it.
Rated 18 Nov 2011
pilgermannpilgermann
Rated 07 Dec 2010
65
41st
Not a bad flick, but I feel like I could take it or leave it. It's possible I'll revisit it one day but it'll be many years before that happens.
Rated 07 Dec 2010
dinamitadinamita
Rated 10 Oct 2010
60
40th
solid character piece. cagney does a great job here portraying a simple story of an unlikable guy with sympathetic qualities. would have done a bit better with more exploration of cagney's mindset after the climax.
Rated 10 Oct 2010
jazzalohaJazzaloha
Rated 02 May 2010
71
72nd
The forefather of *Goodfellas* and other gangster film. What's remarkable is that Cagney's intensity and viciousness still has an impact.
Rated 02 May 2010
billkerwinbillkerwin
Rated 29 Jan 2010
90
83rd
The picture itself shows its age a little, but Cagney's vitality still leaps from the screen.
Rated 29 Jan 2010
mechatiggerMechatigger
Rated 09 Dec 2009
86
74th
A classic with Cagney exploding onscreen with his kinetic Irish gangster portrayal. A dynamite opus -- and catch that famous "grapefruit" scene.
Rated 09 Dec 2009
ratinenjratinenj
Rated 26 Sep 2009
83
44th
It's incredible how James Cagney seems to update the form of movie acting in this classic crime film. He is viral, intesive and explosive and totally opposite of then common theater -based acting style. The movie itself is somewhat dated but Cagney mesmerizes viewer in every scene he is in.
Rated 26 Sep 2009
moribunnyMoribunny
Rated 27 Jul 2009
65
65th
Very nice early gangster flick with some iconic moments. Maybe it was a mistake that I watched it right after seeing Scarface (1932), to which it is inferior in every way. The pacing seems so off, often sluggish, and I apologize to Cagney's fan base but even though he's in top form here, he has nothing on Paul Muni.
Rated 27 Jul 2009
lphovercraftLPhovercraft
Rated 19 Mar 2009
86
80th
This movie, with a snarling, unredeemable Cagney in the title role, is still a highly watchable gangster film. Wellman expertly directed this fast-paced and unpretentious portrait of the rise and fall of a vicious hoodlum.
Rated 19 Mar 2009
krmrkrmr
Rated 06 Dec 2007
63
17th
See FitFortDanga's review.
Rated 06 Dec 2007
tonydaltonydal
Rated 01 Oct 2007
85
88th
Yikes--one of the bleaker endings you'll ever see (sort of like The Harder They Come cranked up a couple notches).
Rated 01 Oct 2007
cerebrusCerebrus
Rated 14 Aug 2007
70
61st
Cagney's performance alone merits this score, in an otherwise slightly above-average movie.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
thedicemanTheDiceman
Rated 02 Mar 2007
55
49th
Classic.
Rated 02 Mar 2007

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