One of the Greatest Gangster Films Ever, With a Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score, Now Streaming on HBO Max

A classic gangster movie with a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes is now streaming on Max, and it’s one that helped define the whole genre. The Public Enemy, first released back in 1931, is one of the most influential crime films ever made. Starring James Cagney in his breakout role, the film follows a young man’s rise through the criminal underworld during Prohibition in Chicago.

The film was directed by William A. Wellman and produced by Warner Bros. It tells the story of Tom Powers, an Irish-American kid who grows up stealing and ends up becoming a feared gangster. Alongside him is his best friend Matt Doyle, and the two get deeper into crime as they get older.

The script was based on an unpublished novel called Beer and Blood, written by two former journalists who had seen the gang wars of Chicago firsthand.

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 100% score based on 33 critic reviews, with an average rating of 8.3 out of 10. It’s been praised for its raw style and powerful performances. A review in The New York Times from when it first came out in April 1931 said the story was a bit weak but praised the acting, especially from Cagney and Edward Woods. Critic Andre Sennwald wrote that they gave “remarkably lifelike portraits of young hoodlums.”

The film didn’t just make waves when it premiered, it’s continued to earn praise for decades. In 1998, the Library of Congress picked The Public Enemy for the National Film Registry, calling it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” The American Film Institute also included Tom Powers as one of the greatest villains in movie history.

The story begins in early 1900s Chicago, where Tom and Matt are small-time thieves. After a failed robbery that ends in death, they realize their boss has abandoned them. Even as his older brother tries to steer him toward a better life, Tom sticks to crime. When the U.S. joins World War I, his brother enlists, but Tom stays behind, drawn further into the underworld.

Over the years, The Public Enemy has been shown in many different forms. When it was re-released in the 1940s and 1950s, some scenes were removed because of Hollywood’s strict production codes at the time. Later DVD and Blu-ray versions brought those scenes back. The movie was even featured on an animatronic ride at Disney-MGM Studios in the 1980s and made a cameo in The Sopranos, when Tony Soprano watches it during a key moment.

The gangster genre wouldn’t be what it is without this film. Before The Godfather or Goodfellas, there was The Public Enemy, setting the standard for all the crime stories that followed. And now, it’s easier than ever to revisit this piece of film history, it’s streaming on Max.

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