RyothChatty ridiculous rating

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Hulkeasexo it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

drjgardner "Public Hero No. 1" is part of the FBI public relations program to make G-men into heroes and replace the gangster as the box office attraction (e.g., "G-Men" with Jimmy Cagney, "Bullets or Ballots" with Edward G. Robinson). After all, in the early 30s, it's the gangster who got the big box office bucks – "Little Caesar", "Public Enemy", etc.Chester Morris plays the undercover G-man who infiltrates the notorious Midwest Purple Gang by breaking the gang leader (Joseph Calleia) out of prison. Along the way he meets the mob doctor (Lionel Barrymore) and falls in love with the mobster's sister (Jean Arthur).The first third of the film is a standard prison film with a pretty exciting prison break sequence, although it wouldn't make my top 10 list ("Cool Hand Luke", "Each Dawn I Die", "Papillion", "Midnight Express", "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Escapist", "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang", "Escape from New York", "Stalag 17", "The Great Escape"). No sooner do we get comfortable with the prison genre, the film dramatically changes tone and becomes a classic 30s screwball comedy with Jean Arthur exchanging verbal bullets with fast talking Chester Morris, and a very animated Lionel Barrymore overplaying his role as a drunken physician. When it returns to the crime drama with star crossed lovers, the film begins to wobble a bit, but eventually it moves to the happy ending expected in the mid 30s, with a Dillinger-esque shootout to cap it off.It's a fast paced film, but there are far better crime films and screwball comedies from this era. Still, the performances are uniformly good, so if you're a fan of Morris, Callelia, Barrymore, George E. Stone, Paul Kelly, et al you'll enjoy the film

classicsoncall I debated watching this one on Turner Classics this morning, but after fifteen minutes into the picture I was hooked. A pre-Boston Blackie Chester Morris makes his mark in a dual role as an undercover detective working a mob connection from inside prison. He's trying to learn the whereabouts of Sonny Black's (Joseph Calleia) headquarters and the rest of the Purple Gang. The reason for that name was never explained, so I was left wondering about it the rest of the story.You generally don't think of a gangster picture as having comedy relief elements, but Lionel Barrymore worked effectively here as the inebriated doctor of choice for the mobsters. Leaving his medical kit at a local gin mill as collateral, Doc Glass had about the finest nose for liquor in film history. On top of that, he always seemed to have a back up stash of the hard stuff in convenient locations just in case the glass he was working on got pinched.Jean Arthur is effective as the good girl who falls for Jeff Crane (Morris), and of course the twist with her character is that she's convict Black's sister. She makes a continuous running play for Crane in the early going, even after she learns he broke out of prison with her brother. That sets up the film's emotional conflict for the finale, as Terry (Arthur) must resolve her feelings for the man who wants to bring her brother to justice.The other performance of note in the picture is Paul Kelly's portrayal of Special Agent Duff, laying it out right on the line for Crane before he gets in too deep with Sonny Black's sister. Fortunately, that tug of war ends on a harmonious note at the closing bell, as Crane and Terry end the picture in a clinch, presumably on the way to the altar. On the way there though, you have a climactic shoot 'em up that leaves all the mobsters on the short end of staccato machine gun fire, courtesy of the era's penchant for closing out such stories with a healthy dose of law and order.

whpratt1 Always enjoyed the great acting of Lionel Barrymore, (Dr. Josiah Glass) "Key Largo" along with Chester Morris,(Jeff Crane) "Ghost Ship". This film is about the gangster era in the Mid-West, namely: Chicago, Milwaukee, and Racine, Wisconsin. The boss of the mobsters is Joseph Calleia who is a brother to Jean Arthur "Peter Pan" 1950 on Broadway NYC, who has not seen her brother for many years. Jeff Crane is an FBI agent and winds up getting deeply involved with Jean Arthur who follows him every where he goes; Jeff has no idea that the gangster he is after is Jean Arthur's brother. There is a great supporting cast of Paul Kelly,(Special Agent, James Duff) who is Jeff Crane's boss and tries to caution him that getting involved with Jean Arthur is going to be big trouble. Paul Kelly in real life served a prison sentence in San Quentin, Calif., and made a big come back into the movie industry. This is truly a gem of a picture with a great look back at old automobiles, furniture and crazy looking clothes and plenty of hats on both men and women.

aimless-46 Is a fine Irish-American girl whose strangely Italian (?) brother (named Sonny "Dinkie" Black) runs Detroit's Purple Gang. At least they are both Catholic. Beginning inside a prison, the film introduces the immortal Chester Morris as an undercover FBI agent who infiltrates the gang and falls for Terry (played by Jean Arthur). They have a slick prison break sequence and a fair amount of action, romantic comedy, and Hollywood's on-going campaign to make G-Men public heroes. John Dillinger had been killed a few months before "Public Hero #1" went into production, they change the names and the city but recreate the events of his apprehension outside a theater. Forgotten actor Joseph Calleia plays the gang boss and brother. He has the most challenging role and does a fine job portraying a multi-dimensional character. Lionel Barrymore gets to overact nicely as a perpetually drunk mob doctor. "Public Hero #1" is a surprisingly good film. It's mix of genres is as strange as it sounds but that works in its favor if you like to get away from standard formula stories. While it lacks overall unity, the disparate pieces are quite well done and are very entertaining inside their own little compartments.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.