Little Caesar (1931)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

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

Release Date:

28 August 1931 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

The ambitious criminal Rico (Edward G. Robinson) moves from the country to the big city in the east...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Robbery | Gangster | Mafia | Ruthlessness

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

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)

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)

Production Companies

• First National Pictures (as a First National-Vitaphone Picture) (controlled by Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1931) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1954) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Dominant Pictures Corporation (1959) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Germany) (DVD)

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Vitaphone (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (video rating) | Sweden:15 (cut) (1976) | Australia:PG | Sweden:(Banned) | Germany:12

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

It is unknown when this movie actually premiered. The AFI states 1930 while other sources say it was 1931.

Goofs:

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

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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI's 10 Top 10 (2008) (TV)

Stark, Compact, Classic

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.