The Public Menace

Thanks to TCM, I discovered this movie the other night. What a treat: a fine cast with wonderful timing, a clever plot, and lots of zippy dialog. The producers managed to take what could have been a string of movie clichés and elevated them to a consistently rewarding comedy/drama. Besides that, there are loads of snappy old cars and a couple of chase sequences. It's short and sweet; be sure to catch it when you can.

Also, be sure to catch the Dillinger reference: the gangster wants the news hounds to take his picture with his arms around the cop that is guarding him. The cop refuses, saying that he "saw another arms-around picture lately." That refers to the infamous picture of Dillinger posing with Indiana cops that turned into a P.R. nightmare for them.