A small-time criminal moves to a big city to seek bigger fortune.A small-time criminal moves to a big city to seek bigger fortune.A small-time criminal moves to a big city to seek bigger fortune.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 1 nomination total
Thomas E. Jackson
- Sgt. Flaherty
- (as Thomas Jackson)
Nicholas Bela
- Ritz Colonna
- (as Nick Bela)
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)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn one scene, Edward G. Robinson had to fire a pistol while facing the camera. Try as he might, he was unable to keep his eyes open each time he pulled the trigger. The problem was eventually solved by having Robinson's eyes held open with cellophane tape.
- GoofsRico is hit by the bullet sufficiently to require bandaging by Scabby, but the overcoat he was wearing has no bullet hole in it, nor is there any trace of blood in the subsequent scene in Little Arnie's office.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Caesar Enrico Bandello: Mother of Mercy! Is this the end of Rico?
- Alternate versionsIn the 1954 re-release, a foreword crawl was added, warning that the "heroes" of Little Caesar and Minshu no teki (1931) represent "a problem that sooner or later we, the public, must solve." This version is often shown on cable channels.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Hollywood: The Fabulous Era (1962)
Featured review
Seminal gangster film about the rise and fall of Enrico Bandello, a Chicago hoodlum, based on the novel by W.R. Burnett. The prototype for Enrico was, like so many other gangster heroes, mobster Al Capone. If you know a little bit about his life story, you got your basic gangster plot for practically all films that followed, like Tony Camonte in SCARFACE.
This film was the first of "the big three", together with PUBLIC ENEMY (1931) and SCARFACE: SHAME OF THE NATION (1932) and provided the blueprint for the modern gangster crime flic. It was the first gangster film to reach a wide audience and launched Edward G. Robinson to stardom. The story is simple and straightforward and might feel a little overly familiar to modern audiences, but the film lost little of its power and still holds up pretty well. It's a tough movie, but mostly tough talking with not much violence on screen.
But the film would probably be instantly forgettable without Robinson's superb performance. Whenever he's on screen, his presence is incredibly menacing. The rest of the cast is so so, but Thomas Jackson as Flaherty, Rico's nemesis, gives a wonderfully cynical performance, mocking Rico and all the other gangsters. Like most other early gangster films, it lacks the real emotional depth and complexity that came with later films, like the French gangster films of the fifties or THE GODFATHER and was made primarily as popular entertainment. Pleasant entertainment nevertheless with Edward G. Robinson portraying the first classic gangster role in screen history.
Camera Obscura --- 8/10
This film was the first of "the big three", together with PUBLIC ENEMY (1931) and SCARFACE: SHAME OF THE NATION (1932) and provided the blueprint for the modern gangster crime flic. It was the first gangster film to reach a wide audience and launched Edward G. Robinson to stardom. The story is simple and straightforward and might feel a little overly familiar to modern audiences, but the film lost little of its power and still holds up pretty well. It's a tough movie, but mostly tough talking with not much violence on screen.
But the film would probably be instantly forgettable without Robinson's superb performance. Whenever he's on screen, his presence is incredibly menacing. The rest of the cast is so so, but Thomas Jackson as Flaherty, Rico's nemesis, gives a wonderfully cynical performance, mocking Rico and all the other gangsters. Like most other early gangster films, it lacks the real emotional depth and complexity that came with later films, like the French gangster films of the fifties or THE GODFATHER and was made primarily as popular entertainment. Pleasant entertainment nevertheless with Edward G. Robinson portraying the first classic gangster role in screen history.
Camera Obscura --- 8/10
- Camera-Obscura
- Oct 13, 2006
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Details
- Runtime1 hour 19 minutes
- Color
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