Movies Like The Public Enemy (1931)

The Public Enemy is a 1931 crime, drama film from William A. Wellman with a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Chandni Bar and A Hard Day.

Crime Drama

Chandni Bar

2001

The gritty life of the Mumbai underworld, including prostitution, dance bars and gun crime.

6.7

MagicScore

A Hard Day

2014

After trying to cover up a car accident that left a man dead, a crooked homicide detective is stalked by a mysterious man claiming to have witnessed the event.

7.1

MagicScore

An Eye for an Eye

1981

Sean Kane is forced to resign from the San Francisco Police Department's Narcotics Division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered. He decides to fight alone and follows a trail of drug traffickers into unexpected high places.

5.1

MagicScore

Little Caesar

1931

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

6.9

MagicScore

The Beast of the City

1932

Police Chief Jim Fitzpatrick is after gangster Sam Belmonte. He uses his own corrupt brother Ed to watch over Daisy who was associated with Belmonte.

5.7

MagicScore

A Brighter Summer Day

1991

A boy experiences first love, friendships and injustices growing up in 1960s Taiwan.

8.2

MagicScore

Payback

1999

With friends like these, who needs enemies? That's the question bad guy Porter is left asking after his wife and partner steal his heist money and leave him for dead -- or so they think. Five months and an endless reservoir of bitterness later, Porter's partners and the crooked cops on his tail learn how bad payback can be.

6.8

MagicScore

The Mayor of Hell

1933

Members of a teenage gang are sent to the State Reformatory, presided over by the callous Thompson. Soon Patsy Gargan, a former gangster appointed Deputy Commissioner, arrives and takes over the administration to run the place on radical principles. Thompson needs a quick way to discredit him.

7.1

MagicScore

No Game, No Life: Zero

2017

Six thousand years before Sora and Shiro were even a blink in the history of Disboard, war consumed the land, tearing apart the heavens, destroying stars, and even threatening to wipe out the human race. Amid the chaos and destruction, a young man named Riku leads humanity toward the tomorrow his heart believes in. One day, in the ruins of an Elf city, he meets Schwi, a female exiled "Ex Machina" android who asks him to teach her what it means to have a human heart.

7.8

MagicScore

#10

Kids on the Slope

2018

Two different students—a successful but aloof academic and a rebellious but kindhearted delinquent—form a friendship through their love of jazz music.

7.3

MagicScore

#11

Angels with Dirty Faces

1938

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.

7.5

MagicScore

#12

M

1931

In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert's heinous crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and criminals in pursuit, the murderer soon realizes that people are on his trail, sending him into a tense, panicked attempt to escape justice.

8.1

MagicScore

#13

The Dark Knight

2008

Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.

8.5

MagicScore

#14

Manhattan Melodrama

1934

The friendship between two orphans endures even though they grow up on opposite sides of the law and fall in love with the same woman.

7.0

MagicScore

#15

Face/Off

1997

In order to foil a terrorist plot, an FBI agent undergoes facial transplant surgery and assumes the identity of a criminal mastermind. The plan turns sour when the criminal wakes up prematurely and seeks revenge.

7.0

MagicScore

#16

Death Wish

1974

After his wife is murdered by street punks, a pacifistic New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad, prowling the streets for would-be muggers after dark.

6.9

MagicScore

#17

Death Wish II

1982

Paul Kersey is again a vigilante trying to find five punks who murdered his housekeeper and daughter in Los Angeles.

6.2

MagicScore

#18

Death Wish 3

1985

Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey arrives back in New York City and is forcibly recruited by a crooked police chief to fight street crime caused by a large gang terrorizing the neighborhoods.

6.2

MagicScore

#19

Death Wish V: The Face of Death

1994

Paul Kersey is back at working vigilante justice when his fiancée, Olivia, has her business threatened by mobsters.

5.5

MagicScore

#20

A Woman of Affairs

1928

Childhood friends Diana, Neville and David are caught in a love triangle as adults. Diana and Neville have long been smitten with each other, but her father disapproves of the relationship, resulting in her eventual marriage to David. It's not long after their wedding, however, that tragedy strikes, sending Diana on a downward spiral. When Neville reappears in her life, will he be able to save her from her own misery?

6.4

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Public Enemy?

The top films similar to The Public Enemy by MovieMagicScore are Chandni Bar (6.7), A Hard Day (7.1), An Eye for an Eye (5.1). Each shares crime/drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Public Enemy worth watching?

The Public Enemy holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10 from 371 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Public Enemy?

The Public Enemy (1931) is a crime, drama film directed by William A. Wellman, starring James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Public Enemy?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more crime recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Chandni Bar Movies like A Hard Day Movies like An Eye for an Eye Movies like Little Caesar Movies like The Beast of the City Movies like A Brighter Summer Day

About movies like The Public Enemy

This ranked list pairs The Public Enemy (1931), a crime and drama film from William A. Wellman, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of James Cagney take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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