The Public Enemy
| The Public Enemy | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | William A. Wellman |
| Written by | |
| Screenplay by | Harvey F. Thew |
| Based on | Beer and Blood by |
| Produced by | Darryl F. Zanuck |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Devereaux Jennings |
| Edited by | Edward Michael McDermott |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $151,000 or $230,000 |
| Box office | $557,000 |
The Public Enemy (Enemies of the Public in the UK) is a 1931 American pre-Code gangster film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The film was directed by William A. Wellman, and starring James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Donald Cook and Joan Blondell. The film relates the story of a young man's rise in the criminal underworld in Prohibition-era urban America. The supporting players include Beryl Mercer, Murray Kinnell, and Mae Clarke. The screenplay is based on an unpublished novel—Beer and Blood by two former newspapermen, John Bright and Kubec Glasmon—who had witnessed some of Al Capone's murderous gang rivalries in Chicago.
In 1998, The Public Enemy was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".