The Public Enemy
“All his life he took what he wanted...Why not women?”
Two young Chicago hoodlums, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle, rise up from their poverty-stricken slum life to become petty thieves, bootleggers and cold-blooded killers. But with street notoriety and newfound wealth, the duo feels the heat from the cops and rival gangsters both. Despite his ruthless criminal reputation, Tom tries to remain connected to his family, however, gang warfare and the need for revenge eventually pull him away.
Genres
Crime, Drama
Studio
The Vitaphone Corporation
Language
en
Status
Released
How The Public Enemy performed
Budget
$151,000
Worldwide Gross
$557,000
Gross Profit
$406,000
Return
3.7× budget
Opening Wknd (est.)
$94K
Source: TMDB. Domestic/international split (~48/52, genre-typical) and the opening-weekend figure (35% of the domestic run, typical for Crime) are MoviesRankd estimates. Profit is gross revenue minus production budget and excludes marketing — studios typically need ~2–2.5× budget to break even.
Where to Watch
Cast
Tom Powers
James Cagney
Tom Powers
Gwen Allen
Jean Harlow
Gwen Allen
Matt Doyle
Edward Woods
Matt Doyle
Mamie
Joan Blondell
Mamie
Mike Powers
Donald Cook
Mike Powers
Samuel 'Nails' Nathan
Leslie Fenton
Samuel 'Nails' Nathan
Ma Powers
Beryl Mercer
Ma Powers
Paddy Ryan
Robert Emmett O'Connor
Paddy Ryan
Putty Nose
Murray Kinnell
Putty Nose
Dutch (uncredited)
Clark Burroughs
Dutch (uncredited)
Kitty (uncredited)
Mae Clarke
Kitty (uncredited)
Tom as a Boy (uncredited)
Frank Coghlan Jr.
Tom as a Boy (uncredited)
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