"Larceny, Inc." is a 1942 film starring Edward G. Robinson, Broderick Crawford, Jane Wyman, Anthony Quinn, Jack Carson, Ed Brophy, Jackie Gleason and Henry Davenport. The idea behind this film consciously or subconsciously may have inspired Woody Allen's "Small Time Crooks." Gangsters buy a luggage shop situated next to a bank in order to break through the wall into the bank vault; instead, they find themselves dragged kicking and screaming into legitimacy.
Edward G. Robinson is "Pressure," an ex-con who at first tries to keep customers out of the store ("if a customer comes in, blow him off") - but when he tells the young woman like a daughter to him (Wyman) that he's sincere, she starts working with a luggage salesman (Carson) on big promotions. Soon the store is jumping with customers. The merchants on the street ask for Pressure's support - the street is being torn up, and it's right before Christmas; he becomes their hero. However, when an ex con comes into the store to borrow money, he realizes the store is a front for a bank robbery and goes back and tells a scary prisoner, Leo (Quinn) who escapes and decides to do the job himself.
The funniest scene is the aggravated Robinson wrapping a suitcase when a customer asks for gift-wrapping. Robinson is hilarious - he could be doing Little Ceasar, he takes it so seriously, and he's all the funnier for it. Broderick Crawford did some comedy before "All the King's Men" - he's excellent as a dumb associate of Pressure's who's digging the hole to the bank. Jackie Gleason plays a soda jerk - and makes the most of it. Wyman and Carson don't have much to do, alas. The rest of the cast is uniformly delightful.
This is a real gem - "Small Time Crooks" takes the basic plot and goes in another direction with it - both are wonderful films. Try and catch this one on TCM.
