IMDb > Little Caesar (1931)
Little Caesar
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Little Caesar (1931) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   3,427 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 9% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Mervyn LeRoy
Writers:
W.R. Burnett (novel)
Robert N. Lee (continuity)
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Little Caesar on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
28 August 1931 (France) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama more
Plot:
The ambitious criminal Rico (Edward G. Robinson) moves from the country to the big city in the east... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win more
NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
AFI's 100 Years ...100 Movie Quotes
 (From Extra. 4 November 2009, 4:45 AM, PST)

A Gangster's Demise: Jarrett vs. Rico vs. Dillinger
 (From Rope Of Silicon. 3 July 2009, 4:53 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Stark, Compact, Classic more (58 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Edward G. Robinson ... Little Caesar / '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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernie Adams ... Cashier (uncredited)
Elmer Ballard ... Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Ferike Boros ... Mrs. Passa (uncredited)
Kernan Cripps ... Detective (uncredited)
George Daly ... Machine-gunner (uncredited)
Adolph Faylauer ... New Year's Celebrant (uncredited)
Ben Hendricks Jr. ... Kid Bean (uncredited)
Al Hill ... Rico's 'Butler' (uncredited)
Lucille La Verne ... Ma Magdalena (uncredited)
Gladys Lloyd ... McClure Guest (uncredited)
Noel Madison ... Killer Peppi (uncredited)
Tom McGuire ... Detective on Phone (uncredited)
Louis Natheaux ... Hood (uncredited)
Henry Sedley ... Scabby (uncredited)
Gay Sheridan ... Nightclub Extra (uncredited)
Larry Steers ... McClure Guest (uncredited)
Landers Stevens ... Crime Commissioner Alvin McClure (uncredited)
Robert Walker ... Lorch Henchman (uncredited)
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Directed by
Mervyn LeRoy 
 
Writing credits
W.R. Burnett (novel)

Robert N. Lee (continuity)

Francis Edward Faragoh (screen version) (as Francis Edwards Faragoh)

Francis Edward Faragoh (dialogue) (as Francis Edwards Faragoh)

Robert Lord  uncredited
Darryl F. Zanuck  uncredited

Produced by
Hal B. Wallis .... producer (uncredited)
Darryl F. Zanuck .... producer (uncredited)
 
Original Music by
David Mendoza (uncredited)
 
Cinematography by
Tony Gaudio (photographed by)
 
Film Editing by
Ray Curtiss 
 
Art Direction by
Anton Grot 
 
Set Decoration by
Ray Moyer (uncredited)
 
Costume Design by
Earl Luick (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Erno Rapee .... general musical director
Leo F. Forbstein .... conductor: Vitaphone Orchestra (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributors
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Additional Details

Runtime:
79 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Vitaphone (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
Canada:PG (video rating) | Sweden:15 (cut) (1976) | Australia:PG | Sweden:(Banned) | Germany:12

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
It is unknown when this movie actually premiered. The AFI states 1930 while other sources say it was 1931. more
Goofs:
Continuity: In the diner scene, Rico jumps from reading the newspaper to eating his spaghetti between shots. more
Quotes:
Sgt. Tom Flaherty: So somebody finally put one in you.
Caesar Enrico Bandello: Yeah, but they just grazed me though.
Sgt. Tom Flaherty: The old man will be glad to hear it. He takes such an interest in you.
Caesar Enrico Bandello: You tell him the cops couldn't get me no other way, so they hired a couple of gunmen.
Sgt. Tom Flaherty: If I wasn't on the force I'd have done the job cheap.
Caesar Enrico Bandello: Did you ever stop to think what you'd look like with a lily in your hand?
Sgt. Tom Flaherty: No, I never did.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in AFI's 10 Top 10 (2008) (TV) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful.
Stark, Compact, Classic, 7 May 2002
9/10
Author: telegonus from brighton, ma

Little Caesar is probably the critically least highly regarded of the trio of films,--Scarface and The Public Enemy being the other two--that kicked off the gangster cycle of the early thirties. I don't know why. The script is sharp, to the point, and hasn't an ounce of fat, and Mervyn LeRoy's direction is energetic and at times highly imaginative. The movie is best-remembered today for the dynamic, no holds barred performance of Edward G. Robinson in the title role of Rico, the little gutter rat who climbs his way to the top of Chicago's mobdom.

Rico scarcely has a personal life. Even women don't seem to interest him. His one true friend, Joe Masara, played by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., is a good deal younger than Rico, and a lot better looking. The script hints at a homosexual attachment on Rico's part, but this is never fully developed. What he really lusts for is power. Since we are never told anything of Rico's earlier life his power hunger seems unmotivated,--the one major flaw of the film--but there's so much to appreciate in this tidy little classic there's really no cause for complaint.

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Message Boards

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Anyone Know this movie???? MEwing4444
Little Caesar is gay? Dire_Straits
Gay night club employee? mlraymond
Spaghetti and Coffee for Two? Chesterfield_Invincible
Musical questions mlraymond
Some questions about character and motivation mlraymond
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