The Public Enemy
“All his life he took what he wanted...Why not women?”
William WellmanCast
James Cagney 
Jean Harlow Edward Woods 
Joan Blondell 
Donald Cook 
Leslie Fenton
Credits
Written by: Kubec Glasmon
Plot
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.
Sinekatalog’s take
The Public Enemy (1931) is a American crime film directed by William Wellman. It stars James Cagney, Jean Harlow and Edward Woods. It runs 84 minutes. It is listed here as part of the director's body of work.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.
Ratings
IMDb: 7.5 / 10 (23,880 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.