Review of Little Caesar (1931) by Paul Z — 03 Mar 2009

Nobody can deny the historical importance of Little Caesar, Mervyn LeRoy's miniature bioepic shot during the Great Depression that initiated the wonderful gangster genre. Nevertheless, the story in the present day is completely unsurprising and banally familiar, the bare bones of what has been given flesh, blood and life force in many years since.

Edward G. Robinson, though not nearly at the top of his form, still knocks and kicks his way through the insecure cast, including Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., just as his character Rico steps on heads and cuts throats to reach the top of the unlawful kingdom, gritty, aggressive, enormously narcissistic, miserly and tyrannical. It may not quite be the early tour de force for Robinson that many say it is because the film on the whole is ultimately forgettable, but he paints a clear-cut picture of his quotable and much imitated character. Little Caesar's construction is insubstantial and Rico has no depth coming from the writing or LeRoy, just what Robinson accentuates.

Little Caesar is unfortunately really a victim of its time. What satisfied audiences in 1931 changed so rapidly that even in the 1940s, this film would have been just as dull.