The Last Gangster

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Trailer—The Last Gangster

The Last Gangster

First off, Rose Strander, who plays Edward G. Robinson's wife, is one of the worst actresses ever... at least here. The parts between her and a lanky James Stewart, who hadn't hit his stride yet as an actor... the war would flesh him out, and he got really good under Tony Mann's direction in those Noir Westerns... Conversations between the title character's wife and nice guy Stewart are torturous. Leaving the best scenes to Robinson in Alcatraz where one scene is shown in Woody Allen's greatest film... This is not Edward's greatest film; far from it. Even Tiger Shark, also on blue cover Warner Archive DVD, is far superior. There's not enough toughness to be in the gangster or prison category or workable pathos as a melodrama, and especially fails as a romance.

Edward G. Robinson took a brief break from Warner Bros to appear in "The Last Gangster" from MGM. He plays a crime kingpin who gets put in jail for tax evasion, only to learn that his immigrant wife - who knows nothing of his illegal activities - has born him a son. But when he gets out and learns that she's shacked up with another man, things take another turn. Robinson's character is pretty much the same kind for which he was best known. He's easily the best character in the movie, since the wife (Rose Stradner) isn't given much to do, and her new husband (a young Jimmy Stewart) is too much of a nice guy. Probably the most shocking scenes are after Robinson's character gets out of jail and his fellow gangsters abuse him before presenting him with his son. Anyway, it's not a great movie but interesting enough.

It's 1927. Murderous gangster Joe Krozac (Edward G. Robinson) returns from Europe with new wife Talya. She is clueless about his crimes. He gets imprisoned for tax evasion. Reporter Paul North (James Stewart) plays a dirty trick on Talya and her baby. It's early in Stewart's career but just for the sake of the story, his character needs to be inserted earlier than forty minutes. It's a love triangle and one side is missing for the first half of the movie. He could be part of the push to convict Joe. The baby gun issue is a little hard to swallow. I would give that to another reporter in his paper. Jimmy needs to play up his nice guy persona. This is an interesting trio and a fine film.

Such awesome hollywood royalty in this one... Edward Robinson is the gangster Krozac, in 1927. Ja-ja-ja Jimmy Stewart, and Lionel Stander (Max ! the butler from Hart to Hart!) Sydney Blackmer. and Grant Mitchell as the Warden. and...of course, goofy, corny Ed Brophy. Krozac goes off to jail for tax evasion, if nothing else, but leaves behind a pregnant wife. Stander is his sidekick Curly. and Alcatraz as it looked in 1937. that's where they end up. Krozac finds out pretty quickly that his name means nothing in the joint, and he's just one of the guys. Stewart is the newspaper reporter who starts out by writing all the bad that Krozac did, but now he feels remorse. and starts wooing the Mrs. Krozac... stand back! here we go! Krozac's son (Doug Scott) is a bit over the top, but was just a kid, so can be forgiven. Directed by Ed Ludwig. didn't win any oscars, but directed John Wayne in three films. Pretty good. a product of the troubled 1930s.

The movies have always relied on clear-cut heroes and villains to either engage the sympathy or incur the animosity of members of the audience: simplistic, and far removed from real life. Much more thought-provoking are the occasional characters such as the lead in this film, an egotistical, tough-as-nails crime kingpin and killer, who nevertheless emerges convincingly as a man capable of sympathy and single-minded devotion. The scenario is to be commended for making the complexities and seeming contradictions in this character altogether believable. Of course it is the performer who must make this come alive on the screen, and here Edward G. Robinson succeeds brilliantly. In a gallery of great performances by such a fine actor, this one deserves to be much better known.

Criminal kingpin Joe Krozac (Edward G. Robinson) returns from Europe with a new bride. Before long she's pregnant. But no sooner does she find out than Joe is arrested for income tax evasion. Before their son is born, Joe goes to prison. While he's in stir, his wife falls in love with a reporter (Jimmy Stewart) and divorces Joe. When Joe gets out, he plans to get his son back. But his old gang have plans of their own for Joe. Robinson is the main attraction and shines in a role he could do in his sleep. But he's got able support from the likes of Lionel Stander, John Carradine, Edward Brophy, and Sidney Blackmer. Jimmy Stewart is fine but nothing special in an early role. This is a gangster flick with MGM polish. It was great entertainment any time Eddie G. was in a movie like this. Give it a shot and I'm sure you'll love it.

Last Gangster, The (1937) *** (out of 4) Strange but highly entertaining gangster film from MGM has Edward G. Robinson marrying a woman who doesn't know about his deadly pass. Robinson eventually has a son with her but before he meets the child he gets sent to prison for ten years. The mother then finds out about his past and decides to kidnap the kid so that he doesn't turn out like his father. She eventually marries another guy (James Stewart) but soon Robinson is out of jail and looking for revenge. This is certainly a lot tamer than the Warner gang pictures of the time but that's a good thing because there's a lot of heart and emotion in place of the violence. Robinson is very good and incredibly touching in the end and Stewart shines in his role. John Carradine has a very good part as a man picking on Robinson inside prison. The ending is predictable but the film still works very well.