"Little Caesar" opens with a diner scene (spaghetti and coffee?) in which Caesar Enrico Bandello (Edward G. Robinson) and Joey Massara (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) wonder what it would be like in the "Big Town". Small town hoods, Enrico fantasizes about making a splash as a big time mobster, while pal Joey wants to put the criminal life behind him and become a dancer.
Rico's first break comes when he convinces the Palermo Club gang leader Sam Vettori to take him in. The group includes characters with colorful names like Killer Pepe, Kid Bean and Scabby. Early on, Rico is hot tempered and quick with the trigger finger, and Sam needs to reign him in when a no nonsense boss like Diamond Pete Montana (Ralph Ince) comes to town.
Rico cannot be controlled however, and crosses the line when he shoots and kills Crime Commissioner McClure at a New Year's Eve Party. Now a man to be reckoned with and seeing an opening, Rico makes his move on Sam Vettori. But one wonders why a man like Vettori simply rolls over and allows Rico to take over; Vettori's own men don't back him in the power play. Even more unconvincing, Vettori remains loyal to Rico as they trade places, honoring him at a testimonial dinner.
Rico's next target is rival gang leader Little Arnie Lorch, owner of a gambling house and the next rung on Rico's ladder - "If you ain't out of town by tomorrow morning, you won't never leave except in a pine box". Impressed by Rico's ambition, city boss "Big Boy" (Sidney Blackmer) offers him full control of the city's North Side, replacing Diamond Pete Montana. By this time, you know that Rico's lust for power won't end there, and that his ambition will eventually focus on Big Boy himself.
All the while, long time pal Joey uncomfortably maintains his friendship with Rico, attempting to find his break in dancing and show business. He falls in love with show girl Olga Strassoff (Glenda Farrell), and the relationship causes a strain between him and Rico. Wanting her out of the picture, Rico forces a confrontation between himself and the lovers, and for the first time he backs down when Joey challenges him to shoot.
As the law closes in on Rico, his fortune suddenly reverses drastically. On the run, he winds up in a flophouse, appearing tired, dirty and pathetic, taunted by a newspaper account that essentially describes him as yellow. In a tirade, Rico phones his nemesis Sergeant Tom Flaherty. Fittingly, Rico meets his end under a billboard featuring Joey Massara and Olga Strassoff - the title - "Tipsy Topsy Turvy" - just what Rico's world had become.
As one of the earliest gangster films, "Little Caesar" set a tone for the genre and led to other successful movies, most notably James Cagney's "Public Enemy". It's acting though seems over the top and forced at times, and as mentioned earlier, one should watch with a critical eye for plot holes. Rico is never realistically challenged in his rise to the top of the mob world; contrast that with both the subtle and conspicuous rivalries in a more modern film like "Godfather". And wouldn't a mob boss living in luxury have a car to make his getaway from the police? Finally, it doesn't seem fitting that a man with Rico's sense of self importance and grandeur would allow himself to descend into the squalor of a ghetto flophouse; surely he had enough money to maintain some dignity in exile if necessary.
All of this aside, "Little Caesar" merits viewing for it's impact on early film making and the creation of the criminal/gangster genre. It established Edward G. Robinson as a rising star, and if nothing else, created some of the better remembered and repeated clichés to remain till this day - "The bigger they come, the harder they fall".
Rico's first break comes when he convinces the Palermo Club gang leader Sam Vettori to take him in. The group includes characters with colorful names like Killer Pepe, Kid Bean and Scabby. Early on, Rico is hot tempered and quick with the trigger finger, and Sam needs to reign him in when a no nonsense boss like Diamond Pete Montana (Ralph Ince) comes to town.
Rico cannot be controlled however, and crosses the line when he shoots and kills Crime Commissioner McClure at a New Year's Eve Party. Now a man to be reckoned with and seeing an opening, Rico makes his move on Sam Vettori. But one wonders why a man like Vettori simply rolls over and allows Rico to take over; Vettori's own men don't back him in the power play. Even more unconvincing, Vettori remains loyal to Rico as they trade places, honoring him at a testimonial dinner.
Rico's next target is rival gang leader Little Arnie Lorch, owner of a gambling house and the next rung on Rico's ladder - "If you ain't out of town by tomorrow morning, you won't never leave except in a pine box". Impressed by Rico's ambition, city boss "Big Boy" (Sidney Blackmer) offers him full control of the city's North Side, replacing Diamond Pete Montana. By this time, you know that Rico's lust for power won't end there, and that his ambition will eventually focus on Big Boy himself.
All the while, long time pal Joey uncomfortably maintains his friendship with Rico, attempting to find his break in dancing and show business. He falls in love with show girl Olga Strassoff (Glenda Farrell), and the relationship causes a strain between him and Rico. Wanting her out of the picture, Rico forces a confrontation between himself and the lovers, and for the first time he backs down when Joey challenges him to shoot.
As the law closes in on Rico, his fortune suddenly reverses drastically. On the run, he winds up in a flophouse, appearing tired, dirty and pathetic, taunted by a newspaper account that essentially describes him as yellow. In a tirade, Rico phones his nemesis Sergeant Tom Flaherty. Fittingly, Rico meets his end under a billboard featuring Joey Massara and Olga Strassoff - the title - "Tipsy Topsy Turvy" - just what Rico's world had become.
As one of the earliest gangster films, "Little Caesar" set a tone for the genre and led to other successful movies, most notably James Cagney's "Public Enemy". It's acting though seems over the top and forced at times, and as mentioned earlier, one should watch with a critical eye for plot holes. Rico is never realistically challenged in his rise to the top of the mob world; contrast that with both the subtle and conspicuous rivalries in a more modern film like "Godfather". And wouldn't a mob boss living in luxury have a car to make his getaway from the police? Finally, it doesn't seem fitting that a man with Rico's sense of self importance and grandeur would allow himself to descend into the squalor of a ghetto flophouse; surely he had enough money to maintain some dignity in exile if necessary.
All of this aside, "Little Caesar" merits viewing for it's impact on early film making and the creation of the criminal/gangster genre. It established Edward G. Robinson as a rising star, and if nothing else, created some of the better remembered and repeated clichés to remain till this day - "The bigger they come, the harder they fall".