Former bootlegger Remy Marco has a slight problem with forclosing bankers, a prospective son-in-law, and four hard-to-explain corpses.
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Title: A Slight Case of Murder (1938)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Edward G. Robinson | ... | Remy Marco | |
| Jane Bryan | ... | Mary Marco | |
| Allen Jenkins | ... | Mike | |
| Ruth Donnelly | ... | Nora Marco | |
| Willard Parker | ... | Dick Whitewood | |
| John Litel | ... | Post | |
| Edward Brophy | ... | Lefty | |
| Harold Huber | ... | Guiseppe | |
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Eric Stanley | ... | Ritter |
| Paul Harvey | ... | Mr. Whitewood | |
| Bobby Jordan | ... | Douglas Fairbanks Rosenbloom | |
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Joe Downing | ... | Innocence |
| Margaret Hamilton | ... | Mrs. Cagle | |
| George E. Stone | ... | Kirk | |
|
|
Bert Hanlon | ... | Sad Sam |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Remy Marco, Prohibition beer baron, figures he'll do even better after repeal. Only trouble is, his beer tastes terrible. (He drinks no beer himself and nobody dares tell him). Four years later, when he's about bankrupt, he visits his summer home in Saratoga, complete with: 1) a dead-end-kid orphan; 2) his daughter's fiance...a state trooper!, 3) the bodies of four gangsters who planned to ambush Remy but had a shootout; 4) half a million in loot they hid in the house...just the amount Remy needs to get out of hock. The comic confusion mounts... Written by Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
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Laughs! Thrills! See more »Parents Guide:
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Douglas Fairbanks Rosenbloom: Because I want more to E-A-T, you old C-O-W.
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(1911) (uncredited)
Music by Ernie Burnett
Lyrics by George A. Norton
Sung by Harry Seymour, who also played the piano
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Marco's car is a 1937 Buick Roadmaster. See more »Goofs
The name of Robinson's character is spelled "Marko" throughout the movie on signs, on his beer, on his Saratoga mailbox, on his office door, and by the character himself, but the name is spelled "Marco" in the closing credits. See more »Quotes
Nora Marco: Why isn't he in B-E-D?Douglas Fairbanks Rosenbloom: Because I want more to E-A-T, you old C-O-W.
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Soundtracks
My Melancholy Baby(1911) (uncredited)
Music by Ernie Burnett
Lyrics by George A. Norton
Sung by Harry Seymour, who also played the piano
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
5 March 1938 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
A Slight Case of Murder See more »Filming Locations:
Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USACompany Credits
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"A Slight Case of Murder" is a delightful gangster comedy written by the legendary Damon Runyon and directed by Lloyd Bacon. It's also a nice change of pace for star Edward G. Robinson who gets to display his comedic talents as he spoofs his gangster image.
Remy Marco (Robinson - in an obvious spoof of his "Rico" character in "Little Caesar") is a bootlegger who has made his fortune running illegal beer during prohibition. When prohibition ends, Marco proudly announces that he's going to be strictly legit, believing that he will no longer need strong arm tactics, and that he will continue to rake in the money from legal sales. What he doesn't realize is that because he's never actually tasted his own brew, is that it tastes awful.
Now that the public can buy well brewed better tasting beer legally, Marco sees his fortune disappear over the ensuing four years. On the verge of bankruptcy, he finds himself in debt over a half a million dollars and has to deal with two predatory bankers Post (John Litel) and Ritter (Eric Stanley) who are trying to foreclose on him.
Marco's daughter Mary (Jane Bryan) has returned home and plans to marry the bumbling State Trooper son, Dick Whitewood (Willard Parker) of business tycoon Paul Harvey. Marco and his wife Nora (Ruth Donnelly) plan to host an engagement party at their country house in Saratoga. What he doesn't know is that a rival gang has heisted $500K from bookies and are holed up in Marco's house.
With his three stooges, Mike (Allen Jenkins), Lefty (Edward Brophy and Gip (Harold Huber), Marco learns that four of the five gangsters have been murdered and their bodies left in a guest bedroom while the fifth hangs around trying to escape with the money. The satchel containing the money is found by an orphan with the distinguished moniker of Douglas Fairbanks Rosenbloom (Bobby Jordan), who had been brought by Marco from the orphanage for the weekend.
And then the fun starts.
Robinson proved that he could play comedy and ranked this film among his favorites. But Warner Bros. saw him as a gangster and so he had difficulty breaking away from that genre. After he left Warners in the early forties, he turned in a number of great performances notably in "Double Indemnity" (1944) and two FRitz Lang classics, "The Woman in the Window" (1944) and "Scarlett Street" (1945). Oddly enough, he returned to Warners Bros. in 1948 to play gangster Johnny Rocco in "Key Largo" (1948).