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Movies that feel like The Public Enemy (1931)

If you loved The Public Enemy, the closest films we have are Little Caesar (1931), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) and The Roaring Twenties (1939). All three share The Public Enemy's gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 7 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Criterion Channel and Kino Film Collection and others, checked against today's data.

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.

πŸ… 100% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.6 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. William A. Wellmangrittycontemplative

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If The Public Enemy hit the spot, these will too

Little Caesar poster
Little Caesar
1931 Β· dir. Mervyn LeRoy
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.2drama Β· crime Β· action

The same two preoccupations: gangster, and organized crime

The difference: Leans harder into action than The Public Enemy does

A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?

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The Ox-Bow Incident poster
The Ox-Bow Incident
1943 Β· dir. William A. Wellman
πŸ… 90%β˜… 8western

William A. Wellman directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

The difference: Not nearly as contemplative as The Public Enemy

A posse discovers a trio of men they suspect of murder and cow theft and are split between handing them over to the law or lynching them on the spot.

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The Roaring Twenties poster
The Roaring Twenties
1939 Β· dir. Raoul Walsh
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.9crime Β· drama Β· thriller

One thread runs through both: gangster

The difference: Sits closer to thriller than The Public Enemy does

After World War I, Armistice Lloyd Hart goes back to practice law, former saloon keeper George Hally turns to bootlegging, and out-of-work Eddie Bartlett becomes a cab driver. Eddie builds a fleet of cabs through delivery of bootleg liquor and hires Lloyd as his lawyer. George becomes Eddie's partner and the rackets flourish until love and rivalry interfere.

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She Wore a Yellow Ribbon poster
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
1949 Β· dir. John Ford
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.2drama Β· western

Gritty where it counts, contemplative underneath

On the eve of retirement, Captain Nathan Brittles takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperiled.

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Angels with Dirty Faces poster
Angels with Dirty Faces
1938 Β· dir. Michael Curtiz
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.9crime Β· drama

Both are built on the same subject: juvenile delinquent

Childhood chums Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly grow up on opposite sides of the fence: Rocky matures into a prominent gangster, while Jerry becomes a priest, tending to the needs of his old tenement neighborhood.

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The Wrong Man poster
The Wrong Man
1956 Β· dir. Alfred Hitchcock
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.4crime Β· drama

Crime with a pulse of grit, in both cases

The difference: 25 years apart, and the 1950s show

In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.

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Pickpocket poster
Pickpocket
1959 Β· dir. Robert Bresson
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.5crime Β· drama

Contemplative drama in both cases

Michel takes up pickpocketing on a lark and is arrested soon after. His mother dies shortly after his release, and despite the objections of his only friend, Jacques, and his mother's neighbor Jeanne, Michel teams up with a couple of petty thieves in order to improve his craft. With a police inspector keeping an eye on him, Michel also tries to get a straight job, but the temptation to steal is hard to resist.

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Blue Collar poster
Blue Collar
1978 Β· dir. Paul Schrader
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.5drama Β· crime

Both lean on grit more than on crime

Fed up with mistreatment at the hands of both management and union brass, and coupled with financial hardships on each man's end, three auto assembly line workers hatch a plan to rob a safe at union headquarters.

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Straight Time poster
Straight Time
1978 Β· dir. Ulu Grosbard
πŸ… 82%β˜… 7.4crime Β· drama

Drama built on stillness, twice over

After being released on parole, a burglar attempts to go straight, get a regular job, and just go by the rules. He soon finds himself back in jail at the hands of a power-hungry parole officer.

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Pixote poster
Pixote
1980 Β· dir. HΓ©ctor Babenco
πŸ… 94%β˜… 7.9crime Β· drama

Crime of the same temperament

10-year-old Pixote endures torture, degradation, and corruption at a local youth detention center where two of its members are murdered by policemen who frame Lilica, a 17-year-old trans hustler. Pixote helps Lilica and three other boys escape and they start to make their living by a life of crime which only escalates to more violence and death.

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My Name Ain't Johnny poster
My Name Ain't Johnny
2008 Β· dir. Mauro Lima
β˜… 7.2crime Β· drama

Both play drama straight

The true story of JoΓ£o Guilherme Estrella ("Johnny"), a young middle-class bon vivant who became a big-time cocaine dealer in Rio de Janeiro in the early 1990s.

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A Touch of Sin poster
A Touch of Sin
2013 Β· dir. Jia Zhangke
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.1crime Β· drama

The crime is handled with the same confidence

Four people in different provinces are driven to violent ends: An angry miner is enraged by corruption in his village. A migrant discovers the possibilities of owning a firearm. A receptionist is pushed beyond her limits by an abusive client. A young factory worker goes from one job to the next.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Public Enemy’s defining feeling.