Little Caesar

I really liked Little Caesar, it seemed a bit ahead of its time in terms of story, much like the original scarface, but at the same time, it was a little dated, once again, like the original scarface. The acting was overall pretty bad, bad Edward G Robinson is fantastic, and the direction was brilliant. The rise and fall of Rico was extremely well done, and unlike most people, I found it extremely entertaining. Gangster Classic.

Its influence is obvious, but it's so dated. The cheesy acting, the use of intertitles, the overdone makeup, etc etc. It's easy to appreciate, but pretty hard to enjoy.

The blueprint for gangster movies. Which only means that it's influential, not that it's very good. One-dimensional characters trapped in a predictable plot. It's also oddly slow-moving, especially for such a short film, primarily because of awkward pauses in the dialogue (I suppose this is to be expected from an early talkie). The saving grace is Edward G. Robinson's performance, and even that is mostly due to his distinctive voice. I did find the homosexual undertones amusing, though.

There's nothing really profound about the story, the chain of events seems rushed and it's kinda corny at times. But I found a certain textbook charm about some of the cliched dialog and characters. And there's also another glorious quality to this film which can be explained with one name: Chief Wig- er, I mean Edward G. Robinson. His is a unique, compelling presence that glues your eye to him every moment he's on the screen. An unforgettable performances from a very interesting actor.

Portrays success in the criminal world as fleeting and fickle, mob bosses are simply declared "made" or "through" with little rhyme or reason and so goes their fate. It's hard not to view this with a parodical lens, as Robinson plays the ultimate "nyeah, see?" gangster with such cheesy delivery they named a pizza chain after it.

Love that architecture.

The subjective shots of Robinson and Fairbanks in the climactic moment make the film, as LeRoy uses close-up shots of the actors and a transition from clear to blurred vision in an effective and expressive fashion. The entire final segment is solid as well, laced with atmosphere and bitter ironies. That said, the film plays in a clunky, we're-still-learning-to-make-talkies style that chops up the flow. Also, Fairbanks' character should function as more of a counterpoint to Robinson's

Same moral lesson as in The Public Enemy - and probably as in any of the Warner gangster flicks in the era: crime is bad, all who take the sword perish by the sword sort of a thing. Contrived, forced and naive writing. Over-acting at parts. Quite boring really, and rushed - again much like The Public Enemy - but with such a run time you can't ask for more. The characters are one-dimensional and predictable for the most part, in comparison with TPE where the writing was so much better.

Like other 1931 films, it struggles with the sound and pacing, making for a stagy feel that is at odds with the energetic content and a story that is rushed but still feels drawn out. Despite all this a good lead performance and some memorable scenes make it pretty enjoyable.

The script and performances are far from flawless, but "Little Caesar" remains a pretty enthralling piece of early noir. It definitely has the traits of the archetypal gangster film: the action, the shoot-outs, the rise and fall, the allegory on power and ambition. Even though we've seen better films of this kind since, "Little Caesar" is still a pleasant watch 85 years on, despite its weaknesses.

'Ripped straight from the headlines' and told with impressive economy, this film includes one of the greatest lines of all time, as 'little Caesar' confronts his destiny.

I'm surprised no other users have mentioned the heavily-implied homoromantic relationship between Rico and Otero. I mean, the film even goes so far to have a scene of the two of them discussing business while lying together in a bed and staring into each others eyes while Rico is half-dressed. Rico even admits multiple times throughout the movie that he isn't interested in women. Caesar Bandello, first queer Hollywood Protagonist? Or is that just me reading too much into things?

Edward G. Robinson does a great job with playing the tough guy who is out of his league. Rico is a small time man who moves up the ladder but always remains a small timer. The story is a basic '30s gangster film script but it moves at a fast pace. The ending was weak and the film's last line had me rolling my eyes.

As big-name gangster films of the early talkie days go, Little Caesar has a noticeably blander script than the competition, and a lot of rather disappointing acting (and given that people *talking* is mostly what's on offer, well...). Thankfully, it does have Edward G. Robinson, who does bring a certain air to things, and I did like Thomas E. Jackson laying it on a bit thick as his police nemesis. Still, a strong ending, however we got there. (We never did get to see Fairbanks dance, though).

Guess I prefer Scarface and Public Enemy as this one, but this is undeniably genre-forging and pretty entertaining as a hardboiled story about tough guys in tough times. Gotta love the suggested affair between Rico and Otero -- the upcoming hothead gangster and his all-time main man -- and the film's both highly emotional -- 'is this the end of Rico?' -- and sharp, blunt approach to action -- 'bad' guys as common men in Great Depression, shooting their way out of misery.

Exactly what a movie like this should be: full of cliches, bullets, and fast talkin'.

I dislike gangster movies as a general rule (including Coppola, et al), but have to admit that Robinson creates a great screen persona in this role.

It looks like it was made to stop young people from becoming a gangsters. Preaching tone, lots of overacting and some really weird editing made it very tiresome to watch.

A good performance by Edward G.Robinson is all that this film has going for it.The plot is undeveloped and rushed,the characters are one dimensional and the dialogue is awful.

Great film.

This is a well made early mob movie. Edward G. Robinson is great in the title role. This is not as good as some of the James Cagney mob movies but still enjoyable.

Edward G. Robinson hasn't got the feral realness of James Cagney, but he's not just doing a broad caricature. His performance may seem the most broadly stereotypical to modern audiences, but that's because what he's doing here was so influential it became the stereotype. All of his character tics became the gold standard until Marlon Brando's Vito Corleone finally supplanted him four decades later.

The script's quite flat and the acting generally pretty hammy, but despite this it's still an enjoyable watch and Edward G. Robinson's an engrossing presence throughout, even if his delivery is totally hackneyed at times.

A perfectly acceptable but not terribly remarkable film that is more interesting historically (as the blueprint of so many gangster films to follow) than it is as an actual movie. Robinson is solid as always and I suspect if I'd seen this at the time before the cliches and tropes were made, it would have blown me away.

Edward G. Robinson doing what he does best. Being a loudmouth not to be messed with. I must admit I prefer "The Public Enemy (1931)" of the two legendary '31 gangster flicks. But this still is an important movie to catch as Robinson is excellent as always. Felt Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was more uneven. Wish they'd handled the love bits with Glenda Farrell with a little more care because that was the weak part. As for the gangster stuff. Solid. Not too violent, but getting the message across nicely.

Robinson is fun as the ruthless, sneering villain, and the pacing is decent, but feels kind of hokey now, especially since Rico's rise and fall feels very rushed and perfunctory.

overall, a little hard to believe that such a stupid guy could rise so quickly to power. police are absolutely awful. however, compact, manageable, and gripping while it runs.