Public Enemy (The)
- Director: William A. Wellman
- Writer: Kubec Glasmon; John Bright
- Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck
CGiii Comment
Tom Powers and Matt Doyle are best friends and fellow gangsters, their lives frowned upon by Tom's straight laced brother, Mike, and Matt's straight laced sister, Molly. From their teen-aged years into young adulthood, Tom and Matt have an increasingly lucrative life, bootlegging during the Prohibition era. But Tom in particular becomes more and more brazen in what he is willing to do, and becomes more obstinate and violent against those who either disagree with him 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.
Trailer...
Cast & Characters
James Cagney as Tom Powers;
Jean Harlow as Gwen Allen;
Edward Woods as Matt Doyle;
Joan Blondell as Mamie;
Donald Cook as Mike Powers;
Leslie Fenton as Samuel 'Nails' Nathan;
Beryl Mercer as Ma Powers;
Robert Emmett O'Connor as Paddy Ryan;
Murray Kinnell as Putty Nose;
Clark Burroughs as Dutch;
Mae Clarke as Kitty;
Frank Coghlan Jr. as Tom as a Boy;
George Daly as Machine Gunner;
Frankie Darro as Matt as a Boy;
Snitz Edwards as Miller