The Public Enemy
A ruthless Chicago drifter climbs from street thugs to kingpin, but his hunger for power pits him against relentless lawmen and blood‑thirsty rivals who threaten everything he’s built.
“All his life he took what he wanted...Why not women?”
Synopsis
Two young men from Chicago's slums, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle, rise from poverty to become petty thieves, bootleggers, and cold-blooded killers. As their criminal activities bring them notoriety and wealth, they face increasing pressure from both the police and rival gangs. Although Tom attempts to maintain ties with his family, the escalating gang warfare and his desire for revenge ultimately drive him further into the criminal underworld.
Credits
Related titles
No curated related titles yet. Use the edit affordance to add "More from this director", "Same franchise", or "Adaptation source material" entries — every change goes through the wiki review queue.
How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 42+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Edward M McdermottShot by Devereaux Jennings
Box Office
1931 · Box office
✅ Made its money back — grossed 3.7× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$557K
Also known as
- Der öffentliche Feindde
- Enemies of the Publicen
- El enemigo públicoes
- L'Ennemi publicfr
- Nemico pubblicoit
Community tags
Be the first to tag this page — tags appear right away. Try a theme, capability, or subject (e.g. WWII, heist, slow burn, time travel, A24).
Help complete this page
We’re missing mpaa rating. Sign in to add what you know.
Cast & Crew
42 unique people credited
Top billed cast
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
Lev Abramov
as Goon
Clark Burroughs
as Dutch (uncredited)
Mae Clarke
as Kitty (uncredited)
Supporting cast
24Frank Coghlan Jr
as Tom as a Boy (uncredited)
George Daly
as Machine Gunner (uncredited)
Frankie Darro
as Matt as a Boy (uncredited)
Snitz Edwards
as Miller (uncredited)
Rita Flynn
as Molly Doyle (uncredited)
Dorothy Gee
as Nails' Girl (uncredited)
Douglas Gerrard
as Assistant Tailor (uncredited)
Dorothy Gray
as Little Girl (uncredited)
Ben Hendricks Jr
as 'Bugs' Moran as a Boy (uncredited)
Robert Homans
as Officer Pat Burke (uncredited)
Eddie Kane
as Joe - Headwaiter (uncredited)
Mia Marvin
as Jane (uncredited)
Sam Mcdaniel
as Headwaiter (uncredited)
Helen Parrish
as Little Girl (uncredited)
Lee Phelps
as Steve - Bartender (uncredited)
Russ Powell
as Bartender (uncredited)
Purnell Pratt
as Officer Powers (uncredited)
Nanci Price
as Little Girl (uncredited)
Joe Sawyer
as Pool Player (uncredited)
Landers Stevens
as Doctor (uncredited)
William H Strauss
as Pawnbroker (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan
as Mug (uncredited)
Lucille Ward
as Mrs. Dalton (uncredited)
Adele Watson
as Mrs. Doyle (uncredited)
Directors
1Writers
3Other crew
2Parents Guide
AI Personalities
Advisory Bot AI
I keep the family-safety picture honest — community advisories, AI-moderated, summarized without spin.
Ratings & reviews
We’re attempting to crowdsource this data.
Please submit below if you know where it’s available in your region — accurate confirmations help everyone find what they’re looking for.
Where to watch
Not currently streaming on any platform we track.
Gallery
Add imageNo community images for The Public Enemy yet
Add a still, a storyboard, or concept art — every image gets its own page where members can discuss it.
Trailers
No trailers logged for The Public Enemy yet — add the first one below.
Spot a trailer we’re missing?
Add a trailer from any film, show, or game.
Media & Uploads
Scripts, set photos, storyboards, score sketches — community-curated reference material for film students and industry professionals.
Did you or a loved one work on The Public Enemy?
Every stage matters — pitch decks and treatments from development, location scouts and table-reads from pre-production, set photos and crew anecdotes from production, edit-bay notes from post, and press kits, festival memories, or marketing ephemera from distribution. Any moment that didn't make the press tour, any document or photograph that's been sitting in a box — please share it so it's not lost to time.
We particularly welcome contributions from writers, producers, cast, crew, festival programmers, distributors, marketing teams, their families, and anyone who was there at any stage.
Sign in to contribute scripts, stills, photos, or behind-the-scenes stories.
Be the first to share something on The Public Enemy.
Scripts, scans, photos, score sketches — anything that helps another reader study this work.
Memorable quotes
Browse all →No quotes logged for The Public Enemy yet — add the first memorable line below.
Got a quote we’re missing?
Submit a line from any film, show, or game.
The conversation
Loading the conversation…
Comments (0)
on The Public EnemyNo comments yet. Be the first to share what you think.
Edit history
Loading edit history…