Little Cigars (1973)

A gangster's former mistress hooks up with a troupe of circus midgets who, as a sideline, rob banks and casinos.

Director:

Chris Christenberry

Writers:

Louis Garfinkle, Frank Ray Perilli

Stars:

Angel Tompkins, Billy Curtis, Jerry Maren

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Angel Tompkins	...	Cleo
Billy Curtis	...	Slick Bender
Jerry Maren	...	Cadillac
Frank Delfino	...	Monty
Felix Silla	...	Frankie
Emory Souza	...	Hugo
Joe De Santis	...	Travers
Jon Cedar	...	Faust
Philip Kenneally	...	Ganz
Barbara Rhoades	...	Helen (as Barbara Rhodes)
Michael Pataki	...	Garage Mechanic
Todd Susman	...	Buzz
Rayford Barnes	...	Gus
Walter Beakel	...	Lt. Garrett
Nick Benedict	...	1st Cop

Storyline

A gangster's former mistress hooks up with a troupe of circus midgets who, as a sideline, rob banks and casinos.

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Plot Keywords:

exploitation | gangster | midget | robbery | on the run | 

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Taglines:

...are hazardous to your health!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charles Band, of Empire Pictures and Full Moon Features fame and son of the movie producer Albert Band, got a job as production assistant as an AIP employee. He quit the job a week later after realising he wanted to make the movie and be the guy in control instead of 'running around getting coffee'.

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Connections

Referenced in Best of the Worst: Our DVD and Blu-ray Collection (2019)

User Reviews

A Film That Doesn't Know What It Wants to Be

Little Cigars (1973)

** (out of 4)

Mildly entertaining, if 100% bizarre, film from AIP has a gangster's moll (Angel Tompkins) leaving his controlling arms and hooking up with a gang of midgets. The midgets are involved in a small circus but the woman turns them into bigger criminals with a string of robberies. LITTLE CIGARS will probably entertain those who like off the wall material but there's no question that the overall film is incredibly uneven. The film never seems to know if it wants to be kid friendly fun stuff or if it wants to be a tad bit darker and aimed for adults. The strange mix just makes for an uneven film and this here is what really kills things. The kinder side of the picture is innocent enough as the robberies are all done in good taste and none of them feature anything too graphic to the point where you couldn't show the film to kids. However, the darker side of the picture deals with a lot of sexual innuendo between the moll and the midgets, which is somewhat strange to watch. There's also a twist at the end, which leads to an ending that I won't spoil but this too is a lot darker than the rest of the film. These two elements just keep going back and forth and I really wish the filmmakers had selected one and just went all out with it. Still, there are some good things here that make the film worth viewing. The biggest is the performance of Tompkins who really comes off well here. The sexuality of her character is something the actress pulls off with no problems and there wasn't a single time where I didn't believe her in the part. Billy Curtis is also good as the leader of the midgets and I really enjoyed the fire and passion he brought to the character. The rest of the midget actors all fit their roles just fine and certainly help keep the film moving.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Little Cigars Mob

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1