Little Caesar

First National Pictures presents "LITTLE CAESAR" (25 January 1931) (78 min/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Rico joins Sam Ventori's gang --- He replaces Sam as leader, pushes rival gang leader Arnie Lorch out of town, then goes after the job of next-higher-up Pete Montana --- He accepts when "Big Boy" offers him that prize but his sights are set higher still and also on his best friend Joe's girl Olga.

Edward G. Robinson makes it so entertaining! --- Robinson, like James Cagney, can dominate a film --- He certainly does that in this film -- Edward G. is in top form.

Under the production staff of:
Mervyn LeRoy [Director]
W.R. Burnett [Novel]
Robert N. Lee [Continuity]
Francis Edward Faragoh [Screen version & dialogue]
Hal B. Wallis [Producer]
Tony Gaudio [Cinematographer]
Ray Curtiss [Film Editor]

BIOS:
1. Mervyn LeRoy [Director]
Date of Birth: 15 October 1900 - San Francisco, California
Date of Death: 13 September 1987 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California

2. Edward G. Robinson [aka: Emmanuel Goldenberg]
Date of Birth: 12 December 1893 - Bucharest, Romania
Date of Death: 26 January 1973 - Hollywood, California

the cast includes:
Edward G. Robinson ... Little Caesar - Alias '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
Stanley Fields ... Sam Vettori
Maurice Black ... Little Arnie Lorch
George E. Stone ... Otero
Armand Kaliz ... De Voss
Nicholas Bela ... Ritz Colonna (as Nick Bela)

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 78 min on DVD ~ First National Pictures ~ (01/25/2005)

"Little Caesar" (1931) is a slightly off kilter recanting of the Al Capone story, told under the auspices of not so pure fiction. Chicago nobody, Caesar Enrico Bandello (Edward G. Robinson) acquires a toe hold in Sam Vettori's (Stanley Fields) mob. In no time he's muscled Sam out of his digs and bumped up against rival thug, Little Arnie Lorch (Maurice Black). After some fast talking and slick shooting, Caesar emerges the kingpin of kingpins; a magnet for hard-hitting smart talking success or, if you prefer, the antithesis of the American dream. Shrewd and ever growing suspicious and paranoid, Caesar eventually finds both his niche and his downfall in Olga Strassoff (Glenda Farrell), a little bit of something who weaves her magic like a spider. Along with "The Public Enemy", this film established the Warner in-house style for social consciousness and nail-biting drama.

Director, Raoul Walsh seems to know his way around a gat in this yarn about gangsters and vixens, but in retrospect, this film lacks the immediate fireball response generated by "The Public Enemy."

Warner's DVD transfer falls short of expectations. Though the gray scale is often nicely balanced, the image quite often reflects a decidedly soft characteristic that is blurry on the eyes. Age related artifacts are persistent and sometimes distracting. At times the image quality is quite unstable, changing from generally smooth and nicely contrasted to wildly grainy image quality from shot to shot. Vertical lines and a tears crop up throughout the film and, while not present for very long, nevertheless distract. The audio is mono and generally pleasing, though background hiss is quite noticeable. Extras include a commentary by Richard Jewell that is just average, a newly produced featurette and Leonard Maltin doing his thing with "Warner's Night at the Movies." The 1954 re-release trailer is also included.

This is a fairly decent performance by Edward G. Robinson and the rest the cast but the story is not that compelling and the sets, music, and direction don't stand out. I recommend "Key Largo" over this one. Both Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart put in great performances. Not only that you have a better story, music, and direction. Besides you can get "Key Largo" on DVD for less than this movie.

Even fans of this movie should consider the fact it is expensive for VHS. I wouldn't buy "Little Caesar" on VHS anyway, I would wait for it on DVD if you like it.