Little Caesar, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, is part of a trifecta of movies that are considered among the most influential in the gangster genre. The movie, based on a book of the same name by W. R. Burnett, tells the saga of Caesar Enrico “Rico” Bandello, a petty crook who rises up the ranks in the underworld to establish himself as a mafia boss. The plot is based on the life of real-life gangster Salvatore Maranzano.

Edward G. Robinson, who would later make his mark in the Film Noir Era, plays the role of the fearsome Rico. Robinson delivers an outstanding performance as Rico, despite his short physical stature.

The movie begins with two young men seated in a coffee shop, dreaming of making a name for themselves well beyond their present conditions. One of the men, Joe Massara (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), a dancer, aspires to make it big in show business. His friend Rico wants to follow in the footsteps of Pete Montana, a leader in the world of criminal enterprise.

Both men move to Chicago, where Rico convinces gang leader Sam Vettori (Stanley Fields) to give him employment. “Little Arnie,” another gang leader and associate of Vettori, warns the latter about Rico’s hair-triggered nature, but Vettori ignores his ominous warnings. Meanwhile, Joe falls in love with Olga (Glenda Farrell), who is also a dancer.

Rico and Vettori’s gang soon participate in a heist. Despite Joe’s protests, Rico strong-arms him into the endeavor, where a horrified Joe watches Rico gun down a maverick police officer. This brazen act wins Rico respect and fear in Vettori’s gang and becomes a stepping stone in Rico’s ambitious plan to rise in the criminal world.

Rico seizes control from Vettori as the gang’s leader and becomes prominent in the press. Rico uses his violent ways to instill fear in the gang and against his enemies, ensuring that no one crosses his path or challenges him. When Rico learns that Tony Passa, a young man, is planning to leave the gang for an honest life, Rico has Tony gunned down. Little Arnie orders his gang to do a hit on Rico. Rico is shot in the arm and survives the attempt. He accosts Arnie and forces the latter to leave Chicago forever.

Soon Rico meets with Big Boy, the undisputed ruler of the entire underworld, who informs Rico that Pete Montana has lost control of his territory and that Rico would now be in charge of Montana’s territory in addition to what he already controls. Overjoyed, Caesar takes on Chicago’s north side, commanding more power and rising in fame.

Flaherty (Thomas E. Jackson), a determined, honest police lieutenant, has Rico in his crosshairs and actively seeks an opportunity to bring Rico to justice. Rico continues to pressure Joe to join him and leave Olga. Olga convinces Joe to contact Flaherty and serve as a criminal witness to implicate Rico.

However, Rico learns of this and pays Joe a visit. How Rico will meet his inevitable fate forms the rest of the movie.

Little Caesar is an absorbing watch even for contemporary audiences. As mentioned earlier, Edward Robinson’s performance as Rico is simply superb. Rico is a crude, unrefined, and rough personality who makes no effort to hide his true nature. Even when forced to make a speech, he simply projects his own uncompromising crude personality. He does have a soft spot for his friend Joe Massara, which will accelerate his downfall.

As mentioned earlier, the Pre-Code era that lasted from 1924 through 1934 came after the peak of the Silent movie era and before the classic film noir era. Like classic film noir, Pre-Code is predominantly an American genre. The Pre-Code era saw a lot of movie makers push the limit with violence and sexual innuendo, though these aspects appear mild in comparison to contemporary movies.

Movies like Little Caesar caused a ruckus with the religious community, who staged strong protests against them. These protests would ultimately lead to the enforcement of the highly restrictive Hayes Code, which would impact makers of Film Noir and other movies in the 40s and 50s.

Little Caesar has made its way onto the lists of many critics as one of the best gangster movies ever made.

Dialogs From the Movie

Here are some of the most memorable lines from the movie:

Rico: You can dish it out, but you got so you can’t take it no more.

Rico: I don’t want no dancin’… I figure in makin’ other people dance.

Rico: When I get in a tight spot, I shoot my way out of it. Why sure. Shoot first and argue afterwards. You know, this game ain’t for guys that’re soft.

Rico: “Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?”

References:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021079/characters/nm0000064

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Caesar_(film)