With the arrival of the talking pictures, Coghlan continued to be one of the most popular juvenile actors. In the classic 1931 gangster film The Public Enemy, Coghlan played the role of James Cagney's character, Tom Powers, as a boy. In the 1931 screen version of Booth Tarkington's Penrod and Sam, Coghlan starred as Sam, with Leon Janney playing Penrod.
