Little Caesar

source: Little Caesar

Powerful portrait of the rise and fall of a nasty mobster extraordinarily performed by Edward G Robinson . A heinous and villain hoodlum named Rico (Edward G. Robinson) moves from the country to the big town and joins Sam Vettori's gang along with his fellow Joe Massara (Clark Gable was originally considered for the part but Jack L. Warner decided that Gable's ears were too big, and the role went to Douglas Fairbanks Jr. instead) to rise up through the ranks of the city underworld . Soon he becomes the boss of the mobsters and known as Little Caesar, and gets closer to the great gangster Pete Montana (Ralph Ince) and Big Boy (Sidney Blackmer) . The character of Cesare Enrico Bandello is not, as widely believed, based on Al Capone. Instead, he is based on Salvatore "Sam" Cardinella, a violent Chicago gangster who operated in the early years of Prohibition . And the role of Joe Massara was based on actor George Raft, who was associated with Owney Madden, the man who organized the taxi racket in New York City. The movie results to be one of the great mobsters pictures , and an expertly directed film that made Edward G Robinson a superstar . Despite the film's huge success, the book's author, W.R. Burnett, was furious that no actual Italians were cast in the film . Classic gangster movie contains top-notch performances , intense drama , thrills , fast-paced , action , and a shocking final . Magnificent Edward G Robinson in the title role as a snarling and ominous gangster . In one scene, Edward G. Robinson had to fire a pistol while facing the camera , try as he might, he was unable to keep his eyes open each time he pulled the trigger . Producer Hal B. Wallis originally auditioned Edward G. Robinson for the supporting role of Otero -played in the film by George Stone- before deciding he was perfect as Rico . Although The Doorway to Hell(1930), a gangster film released by Warner Bros. in 1930 was a big hit at the time, most sources consider Little Caesar to be the film which started a brief craze for the genre in the early 1930s. The "Forward" that now appears on the beginning of the film was added for the 1954 re-release of Little Caesar and The public enemy (1931) as a combination package. The character Diamond Pete Montana was modeled on Jim Colosimo, who was murdered by Al Capone; and "The Big Boy" was based on corrupt politician William 'Big Bill' Thompson, Mayor of Chicago. The underworld banquet sequence was also based on a real event - a notorious party in honor of two gangsters, Charles Dion O'Bannion and Samuel J. "Nails" Morton, which received unfavorable coverage in the Chicago press. This First National Vitaphone early talking picture was well directed by Mervyn LeRoy and ready for release in December 1930, but Warner's brass felt it was not a Christmas picture , it officially debuted at the Strand Theatre in New York City on 9 January 1931. It ranked #9 on the American Film Institute's list of the 10 greatest films in the genre "Gangster" in June 2008.

Edward G. Robinson, under five-and-one-half feet tall, plays a tough guy who talks rough and is always reaching for his heater. He likes to kill people and even guns down the good guy Irish police commissioner in front of many witnesses. Little Caesar even takes over the mob. Possessing little intellect, he can barely form words into sentences at a gangster convention. Ludicrous! Not one actor who played a gang member in the motion picture was a real Italian. But the actors who did surely gained and lost their flawed accents throughout the movie. At least Robinson did not try to use an accent. And the Italian women - why they are not morally high either. To continue the director's purpose of degrading an entire group of people, they are made to wear clothing from the late nineteenth century! Even Little Caesar's last days and ending do not ring true. The diminutive Robinson was Jewish, but fattened up by playing Italian gangsters with a relish (without any redeeming characteristics whatsoever) throughout the thirties and forties. The movie directors included folks like Lewis Milestone and Mervyn LeRoy, and today, Sidney Lumet. A problem is that Robinson does not have the guise; he looks like a Jewish fellow acting as an Italian. The whole stereotypical genre got its offensive beginning in "The Racket" (1928) with Louis Wolheim, and continued with "Scarface, the Shame of a Nation" (Paul Muni, 1932), Robinson again and again and culminating in "Key Largo" (1948), Lee J. Cobb in "Party Girl" (1958), and Harold J. Stone in Mitchell (1975). Note that even Caucasians who played the oriental role of Charlie Chan were good guys who exuded nothing but patience, intellect, and virtue. But not these other folks, no sir! For those characters were always one-dimensional. No wonder Italian-Americans are ticked off. But we have come a long way in the 21st century as Italians played the now defunct Sopranos. Oh goodie! What a tired cliché!

Edward G. Robinson plays the OTHER iconic gangster in that OTHER iconic gangster film from 1931, "Little Caesar." But Mervyn LeRoy's film, though released before "The Public Enemy" by about four months, feels like a less remarkable rip off. It has none of the visual audaciousness of William Wellman's film, and there are no images to remember. It's pretty static and by the numbers film making. Robinson deserves credit, though, for creating a completely different kind of gangster from Cagney. His Rico is actually a bit of a born loser. He's an ugly little bulldog of a guy who wants the status of the criminal elite but isn't comfortable in that world once he gets it. Most critics seem to think that the film wouldn't be anything without Robinson's performance--that's true, though I don't think it's all that much even with it. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. plays Rico's best friend, providing the film with a much-discussed homosexual undertone. I have to agree with the professor who provided commentary on the DVD release--whether Rico's crisis extends from repressed homosexual feelings for his buddy, or whether it's a more general rejection of humanity, is pretty much irrelevant, because either interpretation brings the film to the same conclusion. Glenda Farrell gets the thankless gangster moll honors here. Grade: B-

With those words, Edward G dies in a hail of bullets, a man who has fallen to the gutter from the hierarchy of the crime boss. This is the essential gangster film which set the standard for those that followed. The film is now 73 years old and still never fails to amaze you because of the performance by it's star. Robinson, a former player in the Yiddish theater, certainly wasn't physically attractive and his voice and mannerisms begged to be parodied. It was those very things that made him the premier gangster of the 30's.....and as his career matured he tempered his performances. The story revolves around Rico and his compatriots as they move up in the world......some are left behind either by choice (as with Fairbanks) or they simply are "rubbed out" as Little Caesar climbs the crime corporate ladder. His downfall is rapid and extreme and his final home is a flophouse. The supporting cast is strong and includes two of my personal favorites, the ubiquitous George E. Stone and the sassy Glenda Farrell. It must be said that some of the performances are a bit overdone but we must remember that this was 1931 and sound was new to the movies. Actors had not quite adapted to the more restrained acting needed for film. Nevertheless, Little Caesar is the touchstone of the crime film. It merits repeated viewings.

Mervyn Leroy directs this excellent crime drama. Exceptional camera work for the early '30s. Edward G. Robinson plays Caesar Enrico "Rico" Bandello a small time hoodlum that becomes an underworld crime boss. The rise and fall of Rico and his dealings with rival gangs and pushing his way to the top makes for a classic. Very good supporting cast featuring:Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Sidney Blackner, Glenda Ferrell and George E. Stone. Robinson makes this role memorable for the ages. A must see for gangster movie fans.

Horribly unimpressive and unoriginal gangster film. It's amazing that this movie is often put in the same class as William Wellman's Public Enemy. Like all gangster pics of the time, they both cover the rise and fall of some criminal tough guy. Aside from that, however, the two films could not be more opposite. Wellman's picture was a gritty, artistic masterpiece, while this clunker is nothing more than a stock gangster film with barely a good quality to speak of. The writing is horrible, the acting is worse, and it seems like director Mervyn LeRoy wasn't even trying. It's hard to hate iconic star, Edward G. Robinson, as the title character, even if he does overact his way through every scene. It's easy to hate everything else, though.

WARNING: This review may reveal some scenes of the movie! In the film that made Edward G. Robinson a star, we get to see one of the nastiest, meanest characters ever put on film. As "Rico," Robinson plays a no-holds barred gangster. As an example, at one point he believes one of his gang is feeling guilty and going to the priest to confess...so he guns him down on the steps of the church. I first started watching the film simply because I'm a bit of a film buff and felt that it should be a film I see, regardless of how good (or bad) it might be. But by the end of the film, I had been pulled into the story. It revolves around a small-time thug and his buddy who go to the city to make it big. Soon Rico is muscling in on the "big guys" turf, taking over his territory with his own brand of shoot first, ask questions later. I could tell you more, but you should see the movie instead. Robinson is great in the film. Toward the end of the film there is an amazing shot of just his face, staring into the camera -- no words, no other characters, just Robinson as Rico, and you get a chance to see truly great acting! Just the mood he creates with his eyes alone in this one shot is worth seeing the entire film. Throw in a good storyline, an entire gang of thugs who are terrified of the chief thug, great direction, and you wind up with a great film. And don't worry parents -- this is still a film from 1930, so there is no sex, no language, and even the majority of the violence (which is minimal considering this is a film about the mob!) is hidden from sight. Even the ones you see have no blood involved -- just the sound of a gun and a person slumps over to die. When you see a film like this on a station like Turner Classic Movies, you get the added benefit of additional trivia. According to the introduction, the book upon which this movie was based was written after the author, listening to a friend of his sing on the radio live from a local club, was gunned down on the air when the mob broke into the club with Tommy guns blazing. Imagine the shock of hearing your friend killed live on the radio... Finally, during the introduction of the film it was also stated that at the time of release, complaints were made that the film glorified the mob and their violent ways. I disagree. If Robinson's portrayal doesn't turn you off of violence and the mob, then you probably aren't human -- which is probably exactly the point of this film.

The ambitious criminal Rico (Edward G. Robinson) moves from the country to the big city in the east and joins Sam Vettori's (Stanley Fields) gang with his friend Joe Massara (Douglas Fainbanks Jr.). Sooner he becomes the leader of the gangsters and known as Little Caesar, and gets closer to the great mobster Pete Montana (Ralph Ince). In a robbery of a night-club, he kills the Crime Commissioner Alvin McClure (Landers Stevens) and his pal Joe witnesses the murder. When Rico orders Joe to leave his mistress Olga Strassoff (Glenda Farrell), she takes a serious decision. Nobody can deny the historical importance of "Little Caesar", the movie shot in the American Great Depression that started the genre of movies of gangsters. However, the linear story in the present days is totally predictable and the performance of Edward G. Robinson is actually exaggerated and quite silly. I did not understand why Rico orders Joe to leave Olga, and I have already read some comments that give a homosexual connotation to his act, which sounds very reasonable. But the explanation based on the sexual preference, although explains many attitudes of Rico, is never clear in the story. My vote is six. Title (Brazil): "Alma no Lodo" ("Soul in the Mud")

Boy, is this gangster movie dated but Edward G. Robinson makes it so entertaining! Robinson, like James Cagney, can dominate a film. He certainly does that in this movie, and is sure fun to watch as "Enrico Bandello." Everything about the movie, including the DVD transfer (although a lot better than the VHS) is dated-looking and sounding, but that helps make it interesting. The dialog is so passe that it's almost weird. I put on the English subtitles so I could understand everything because the slang of those days is something foreign to us nowadays. The different expressions of the day are fun to hear (and read). The acting by the man (Thomas Jackson?) who plays the main cop is also strange, very wooden-like. He just didn't sound natural. Some of the other actors were likewise, others were fine. It was one of the early "talkies" so maybe things were still needed to be smoothed out, film-wise and acting-wise. In other words, some of the actors sounded professional and others amateurish. The following year, James Cagney's "Public Enemy" came out and was much better, production-wise. What a big difference in the camera-work, for one. This film may not be the caliber of "Public Enemy" but it's still good and one to have in your collection.