Public Hero ﹟1 is a 1935 American crime film starring Lionel Barrymore, Jean Arthur, Chester Morris and Joseph Calleia. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production was directed by J. Walter Ruben.
| Public Hero ﹟1 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | J. Walter Ruben |
| Screenplay by | Wells Root |
| Based on | Story by J. Walter Ruben and Wells Root |
| Produced by | Lucien Hubbard |
| Starring | Lionel Barrymore Jean Arthur Chester Morris Joseph Calleia |
| Cinematography | Gregg Toland, A.S.C. |
| Edited by | Frank Sullivan |
| Music by | Edward Ward |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Loew's Inc. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
editUndercover FBI agent Jeff Crane is planted in the same prison as Sonny Black, who is suspected of belonging to the notorious Purple Gang. Jeff helps Sonny escape in the hope that he will lead Jeff to the rest of the gang.
Sonny is seriously wounded during the escape. Once the fugitives reach his home in central Wisconsin, he sends Jeff for Dr. Josiah Glass, an alcoholic who has saved the lives of many of the gang members. In his rush, Jeff forces a bus off the road during a late-night rainstorm. One of the passengers, Maria Theresa "Terry" O'Reilly, badgers him until he takes the stranded people back to town. However, he refuses Terry's persistent requests that he drive her to her destination, only a few miles away.
Jeff finds Dr. Glass, but has to wait because the storm has made a bridge impassible. During that time, he and Terry become acquainted. He learns that she is going to see her brother "Dinkie". She has not seen him in many years, and he has not responded to her letter about his inheritance from their uncle. Jeff is shocked when he sees a photograph of her brother: Dinkie is Sonny. Terry is unaware of Sonny's criminal activity.
When Jeff takes Dr. Glass to Sonny, Terry stows away in the car. She meets Sonny, and learns that he is the subject of a nationwide manhunt. However, family ties are strong, and she helps nurse him back to health. Later, when Sonny slaps Terry for persistently trying to persuade him to turn himself in, Jeff cannot control himself. He punches Sonny. Sonny angrily orders Jeff and Terry to leave, at gunpoint.
Jeff's boss, Special Agent James Duff, had warned Jeff not to get involved with Terry. The whole operation seems to be derailed, so Duff fires Jeff.
However, Jeff has an idea. Knowing that the gang is planning to strike that day, he tricks Dr. Glass into taking him to their hideout, a roadhouse named Little Paree. He notifies Duff, who arranges an ambush. A fierce gunfight ensues. All of the gang members are killed except Sonny, who escapes. A dying Dr. Glass confirms that Sonny was the boss.
Weeks go by, but Sonny eludes capture. A newspaper publishes photographs of Sonny and Jeff side by side—one captioned "Public Enemy No. 1", and the other "Public Hero No. 1". Duff and Jeff learn that Sonny has undergone plastic surgery. Knowing that he must be short of money, they place an advertisement supposedly from Terry offering to provide Dinkie with money. His sister is placed under surveillance at the vaudeville theater where she is the cashier. Sure enough, he approaches her for money at the theater and is spotted. Terry warns him, but he is gunned down in an alley by Jeff.(Several critics have noted the similarity between Sonny's death scene and the killing of John Dillinger outside the Biograph Theater in Chicago.)[1]
Afterwards, Terry wants nothing to do with her brother's killer. However, Jeff corners her on a train and they reconcile.
Cast
edit- Lionel Barrymore as Doctor[1]
- Jean Arthur as Maria Theresa "Terry" O'Reilly[1]
- Chester Morris as Jeff Crane[1]
- Joseph Calleia as "Dinkie" O'Reilly aka "Sonny" Black[1]
- Paul Kelly as Duff[1]
- Lewis Stone as Warden[1]
- Paul Hurst as Rufe Parker[1]
- George E. Stone as Butch[1]
- Sam Baker as Mose
| Selmer Jackson | Simpson - Member of prison board |
| Ed Brady | Convict |
| John George | Dwarf convict |
| Jonathan Hale | Member of prison board |
| Larry Wheat | Andrews - Member of prison board |
| William Worthington | Member of prison board |
| Frank Moran | Moran - Prison guard |
| John Kelly | Federal agent smuggling gun to prison |
| Lee Phelps | Tower guard with machine gun |
| Guy Edward Hearn | Police officer giving chase |
| Teru Shimada | Sam - Sonny's Japanese houseboy |
| Greta Meyer | Dr. Glass' German housekeeper |
| Walter Brennan | Farmer |
| James C. Morton | Roadhouse patron |
| Tammany Young | Roadhouse bartender |
| Dorothy Vernon | Restaurant patron |
| Brooks Benedict | Roadhouse bar patron |
| Al Hill | Al - Sonny's henchman |
| Stanley Price | Sonny's henchman |
| Jack Pennick | Bus Driver |
| Cora Sue Collins | Little girl on bus |
| Bert Roach | Bus passenger annoying Theresa |
| Russ Powell | MacGinnis - hotel bartender |
| Arthur Housman | Hotel bar drunk |
| Zeffie Tilbury | Deaf woman in hotel bar |
| Dick Elliott | Gas station attendant |
| Gladden James | Federal agent |
| William Irving | Federal agent |
| Pat O'Malley | Federal agent |
| Bert Moorhouse | Federal agent |
| James Flavin | Flavin, Federal agent |
| Billy Sullivan | Federal agent |
| Frank Darien | Dr. Hale - plastic surgeon |
| Anderson Lawler | Higgins - Federal agent |
| Lillian Harmer | Mrs. Higgins |
| Helene Costello | Woman in vaudeville theater |
| Frank Rice | Cab Driver |
| Lane Chandler | Train conductor in final scene |
| Carl Stockdale | Train conductor in final scene |
Reception
editNew York Times film critic Andre Sennwald called Public Hero ﹟1 "a rattling good show, equally effective in its snarling violence and in its humor",[2] and cited Joseph Calleia's portrayal of the gunman as one of the year's ten best male performances.[3] Writing for The Spectator, Graham Greene described the film as "a conventional but exciting film" and gave specific praise for the acting skills of Chester Morris and Lionel Barrymore whom Greene suggested had given "one of the best performances of his career". Greene's only criticism for the film was that its romantic situation had "spoilt … the realistic subject of 'men on a job'".[4]
Home media
editOn October 13, 2015, Public Hero ﹟1 was released on Region 1 DVD (manufactured on demand) by the Warner Archive Collection.[5][6]
Remake
editPublic Hero ﹟1 was remade in 1941 as The Get-Away, starring Robert Sterling, Dan Dailey and Donna Reed. Edward Buzzell directed the MGM film, which was produced by J. Walter Ruben, director of the original film.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Public Hero No. 1". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
- ^ Sennwald, Andre (June 8, 1935). "Movie Review: Public Hero No. 1". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
- ^ Sennwald, Andre (January 5, 1936). "Best Ten, More or Less". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
- ^ Greene, Graham (19 July 1935). "Becky Sharp/Public Hero No. 1/Barcarole". The Spectator. (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. p. 8. ISBN 0192812866.)
- ^ "Public Hero Number 1 (1935)". WBshop.com. Warner Bros. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
- ^ "Public Hero Number 1 (1935)". TCM Shop. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
External links
edit- Public Hero ﹟1 at IMDb
- Public Hero ﹟1 at AllMovie
- Public Hero ﹟1 at the TCM Movie Database
- Public Hero ﹟1 at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Public Hero ﹟1 at TV Guide (a shortened and revised version of 1987 write-up originally published in The Motion Picture Guide)
- Program note by William K. Everson for his March 1, 1985 screening at The New School