Review of Public Enemy's Wife

The pretty Margaret Lindsay is the estranged wife of convicted killer Cesar Romero who is bent on keeping an eye on his spouse by making sure that she goes to prison along with him. But thanks to federal agent Pat O'Brien, she avoids a prison sentence and when Romero escapes from prison, O'Brien sets up a phony wedding between himself and Lindsay to entrap Romero. Lindsay ends up being kidnapped by the nasty Romero and hides out in a country dive bar where Romero's gang holds up, leading to a shoot-out when O'Brien locates her. There are some great lines and a few decent character performances, but this seems rushed together too quickly to be fully believable. Lindsay is far too much of a lady to be truly believable as a gangster's moll, although Romero sneers nicely and makes quite a few determined threats to steal the film as the main villain. With that Warner Brothers directness that made them the main studio in the creation of the gangster film, there are many elements that will keep you interested, but when you compare it to "Little Caesar", the original "Public Enemy" and "I Was a Fugitive From a Chain Gang" (and more recently "G-Men"), it seems too implausible in its story telling. Robert Armstrong and Dick Foran add some macho support to the film which, under the direction of Nick Grinde, ends up being only somewhat satisfactory as a bottom of the bill feature that wastes its talented female lead in a role that is truly beneath her.