The Public Enemy (1931)
Directed by William A. Wellman · 84 min · Crime, Drama
71.6 TOPICAL score · #688 of 6,776 films
Vote for it on the board →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.
The Public Enemy (1931, directed by William A. Wellman) has a TOPICAL score of 71.6 - ranked 688 of the 6,776 films TOPICAL scores. It scores highest on critics and historical impact, and lowest on legacy & cult status. It won 0 awards from 1 nomination. Critics: 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences: TMDB 7.3/10 (406 ratings) · IMDb 7.6/10. Wikipedia covers it in 42 languages, and the Library of Congress chose it for the National Film Registry.
Why this score
Each bar: better than this % of the 6,776 films we score. How the score works.
- Critics100% on Rotten Tomatoes
- AudienceTMDB 7.3/10 (406 ratings) · IMDb 7.6/10
- Awards0 wins, 1 nomination
- ImpactWikipedia articles in 42 languages · National Film Registry
- Still read20,112 Wikipedia readers in the last 60 days
Starring: James Cagney (actor #169), Jean Harlow (actor #1,078), Edward Woods, Joan Blondell (actor #895)
“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".”
Wikipedia · read the article - AI legacy read: 8/10
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