Review of Little Caesar (1931) by Forrest P — 12 Sep 2010
Little Caesar is one of the earliest gangster films I know of. It definitely is way ahead of its time, even if the age is certainly showing on it.
Little Caesar stars Edward G. Robinson as Rico AKA Little Caesar. His performance is certainly admirable. The problem I have is with his character, who's not quite good enough for the gang that he's running. I'm not sure if this adds or detracts from the overall quality of the picture. It does detract in that I think it does lower tension by being so easy for Rico to mess up.
The dialogue I wasn't a huge fan of. It's not that it was bad. It was good, just very, very aged. The old style dialogue is not my favorite. It never really has a sense of realism in it. But, for the time it was made in, it's not bad.
Other than the screenplay itself, this film is nearly flawless. Tensions are high throughout the actors do very well compared to most 1930s films.
Is it as good as Scarface: the Shame of the Nation which came out just two years later? No, but it doesn't have to be. Even though the intensity isn't quite up to that level, Little Caesar is an early crime film that goes beyond much of what any 1930 film could do.
What sticks out to me more than any other part of the film is the ending. It doesn't just give the audience the old "crime doesn't pay" message; it gives the audience a profound sense of helplessness. I guess that coincides with the aforementioned message, but it does add more than the audience might be prepared for at first glance.
8/10.
This review of Little Caesar (1931) was written by Forrest P on 12 Sep 2010.
Little Caesar has generally received positive reviews.
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