Public Hero Number 1

Public Hero #1 starts out as a conventional prison yarn, then switches to sophisticated screwball comedy, then back to shoot 'em up melodrama. Perhaps it is the way the cast handles the crackling dialogue by J Walter Reuben and Wells Root that makes this mixed-genre film so entertaining. It never sinks into torpidity, thanks in part to the introduction of Jean Arthur and Lionel Barrymore well into the proceedings. Until then it is up to Chester Morris to hold our interest, which he does robustly, as an undercover federal agent posing as a convict to trap bad guy Joseph Calleia and his gang. Barrymore, however, steals the show as a pickled-to-the-gills alcoholic mob doctor - the great ham at his hammiest. Calleia contributes a nicely textured portrait of a hardened but still human criminal. All in all, an energetic if contrived gangster story spiked with laughs, fun plot twists and colorful characters. The final moment is interesting. It's as if Chester Morris was itching to wrap and go home that day, didn't like the way the fade out was written, so he recklessly improvised the last line and the last blocking bit and then the director gave in and allowed it. See for yourself!

I wasn't sure what to expect from Public Hero Number 1, since the plot synopsis I'd read online wasn't very clear. Turns out, I was really glad I didn't learn too much, since the plot was so intriguing and fast-moving.

Chester Morris stars as a prisoner who doesn't like to be contained. He starts a riot, loses his temper, and tries to cozy up to a notorious gangster Joseph Calleia. How is prison warden Lewis Stone going to handle him? Believe it or not, Chester's big secret gets revealed pretty early on, but since it's so much fun to see it as it plays out, I won't even tell you that much of the plot. All you need to know is that he's hiding something, and this part is a pretty big tour-de-force for the 1930s actor. He only had about ten years in the spotlight, so if you like him, be sure and check this movie out.

Along the way, Chester and Joseph escape from prison and try to escape the cops. Jean Arthur, who's hiding a secret of her own, feels an instant connection to Chester, but with all the deception, will they find a happy ending? Or is this drama, with Lionel Barrymore as a drunken, disreputable doctor in the supporting cast, too much of a drama for a normal romance? You'll have to rent it, which I suggest you do during the next rainy afternoon, to find out.

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.

As in White Heat a G-Man is planted in a cell with known criminal Joseph Calleia who is part of the infamous Purple Gang with the intention of letting him escape and leading him to the rest of the gang.

In Public Hero Number 1 it's just the name of the Purple Gang is used. In real life that group's main concern was in Prohibition they were the main suppliers in the Detroit area of bootleg hooch. They did diversify in their hoodlum careers, but this story takes the name of the Purples and uses John Dillinger's exploits as a basis for the story with Calleia as the Dillinger type character.

Chester Morris is the undercover Fed and he really lays it on thick as this punk with an attitude and a temper. But the problem is that he meets Calleia's sister Jean Arthur and that kind of leads him astray in his mission for a bit.

Stealing the film in every scene he's in is defrocked doctor Lionel Barrymore like I haven't seen him in any other film. He's now a medic to the crime community when he draws a sober breath or three. Also note Paul Kelly in a strong performance as Morris's FBI handler.

I did have a problem believing Joe Calleia and Jean Arthur as brother and sister. They really don't bear the slightest resemblance to each other.

Outside of that a nice action though not in the class of White Heat.

Interesting mash-up of genres from MGM: part prison/crime drama and part romantic comedy. Two convicts (Chester Morris and Joseph Calleia) escape from prison and one is wounded. The other goes for help and comes back with a drunkard doctor (Lionel Barrymore) and a girl (Jean Arthur), who turns out to be Calleia's sister! Starts out as a fairly typical but enjoyable prison flick. Then there's a twist. I admit I didn't see the twist coming but in retrospect I should have. Others might peg it right away or see it in some plot descriptions. Anyway it changes gears once Jean Arthur enters the picture and becomes a sort of romcom for a little while, before returning to being a crime picture.

Terrific cast really makes it worth seeing. In addition to Morris, Arthur, Barrymore, and Calleia, there's Lewis Stone, Paul Kelly, Paul Hurst, and George E. Stone. Ladies will appreciate a shirtless Barrymore washing his moobs in a bath. Spectacularly violent shoot-out between cops and criminal gang. Calleia's fate was obviously inspired by how John Dillinger met his end. Eliminate the final scene between Morris and Arthur and I might have bumped this up to a 7. Hated that part. Remade in 1941 as The Getaway with Robert Sterling and Donna Reed.