MovieChat Forums > The Public Enemy (1931) Discussion > So they whacked the horse then?

So they whacked the horse then?


I couldn't help but laugh out loud when Tom and Matt went to the stables after Nails was killed to get revenge on the horse that did it. It's comical that they would treat the horse like a rival gangster and rub him out in revenge.

It's something that I would have expected from a movie spoofing gangsters, to be honest. Not an actual gangster flick.

reply

It might be funny now, but it was actually based on a real-life incident.

afulltankofgas.com & moviemoviesite.com

reply

Which I also find equally hilarious. You're such a tough guy that you have to get revenge on an animal? That's silly.

--------------------
"Ram this in your clambake, bitchcakes!"

reply

In real life, they abducted the horse and shot it at the location where Nails Morton was thrown.

reply

That isn't the only instance when revenge was taken on a horse following a death. One that instantly springs to mind is Rhett Butler's actions after a tragic event though it is spoken of and not shown.

In "The Barretts of Wimpole Street", Elizabeth's father was going to harm or perhaps kill her pet dog after she ran away to get married. Luckily, she took Flush the cocker spaniel with her to live happily ever after with Robert Browning.

Stephen King bought the vehicle that nearly killed him and destroyed it.

It's a very human thing to do obviously.



(W)hat are we without our dreams?
Making sure our fantasies
Do not overpower our realities. ~ RC

reply