Little Caesar (1931)

The ambitious criminal Rico moves from the country to the big city in the east and joins Sam Vettori's gang with his friend Joe Massara. Sooner he becomes the leader of the gangsters and ... See full summary »

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

W.R. Burnett (novel), Robert N. Lee (continuity),

Stars:

Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Glenda Farrell

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Edward G. Robinson	...	Little Caesar - Alias 'Rico'
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.	...	Joe Massara
Glenda Farrell	...	Olga Stassoff
William Collier Jr.	...	Tony Passa
Sidney Blackmer	...	Big Boy
Ralph Ince	...	Pete Montana
Thomas E. Jackson	...	Sergeant Flaherty (as Thomas Jackson)
Stanley Fields	...	Sam Vettori
Maurice Black	...	Little Arnie Lorch
George E. Stone	...	Otero
Armand Kaliz	...	De Voss
Nicholas Bela	...	Ritz Colonna (as Nick Bela)

Storyline

The ambitious criminal Rico moves from the country to the big city in the east and joins Sam Vettori's gang with his friend Joe Massara. Sooner he becomes the leader of the gangsters and known as Little Caesar, and gets closer to the great mobster Pete Montana. In a robbery of a night-club, he kills the Crime Commissioner Alvin McClure and his pal Joe witnesses the murder. When Rico orders Joe to leave his mistress Olga Strassoff, she takes a serious decision.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | robbery | gangster | shootout | tough guy | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 1931 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mali Cezar

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

First National Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Vitaphone) (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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.

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Goofs

In the diner scene, Rico jumps from reading the newspaper to eating his spaghetti between shots.

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Quotes

Sam Vettori: Hey, hey, hey, watsa matter with you birds? Don'tcha know how to act at a bankit?

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Connections

Featured in Here's Looking at You, Warner Bros. (1991)

User Reviews

Birth of a genre

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.