Second film of the day and film number 4 in total is 1931′s Little Caesar. Second ever gangster film I’ve seen. The first being The Godfather. Overall, it was enjoyable. It really showed the rise and fall of a mobster really well. As they put it, “From the gutter to the top and back again”. Anyway, here are my thoughts as I watched Little Caesar
Little Caesar
1931
Director – Mervyn LeRoy
Staring – Edward G Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Glenda Farrell
IMDb Rating – 7.4/10
My Rating – 7/10
Third black and white film I’ve seen in a row
I got excited as the video online has subtitles – A FIRST!!!
Film starts with a quote from the Bible
“For All They That Take The Sword Shall Perish With The Sword” Matthew: 26-52
What a bastard! He just shot a innocent gas station attendant
If I don’t hear a “Mer See” I’ll be very upset
In the 30′s everyone wore fancy hats
Rico wants to be the best mobster in the world
That chef make spaghetti and coffee rather quickly
Rico doesn’t want to dance – He’ll make people dance for him
“We’re going East”
Nothing like a card game
Rico gets his wish and becomes a mobster
Meet the crew
Meet the new guy
Even back in the day, people wear hats to the side like chavs
Clap, Clap, Clap
Clap Again!!!
Joe and his wife get a job dancing at a ballroom
KISS ME BITCH!!!
Is that a gun in your pocket or are you pleases to see me?
Oh it is a gun!
This scene with the two of them talking is a little long
Now at Little Arnie Lorch’s Gambling House
Arnie’s mustache is weird
Diamond Pete’s on the way… Don’t know if this is good news or bad?
Everyone smokes cigars back in the day
Rico looks scared to be here or is that just his natural expression
“I’m watching you!”
Rico’s boss claims Rico isn’t a troublemaker but a little quick on the trigger
I wonder if any of this influenced The Godfather
Back at Club Palermo Dancing
The Boss is still playing cards
Rico’s pinstripe suit is very strippy
“You’re yellow!!!”
Rico has a layout of the nightclub for the job
The Boss screws it up and throws it away
This annoys Rico so he leaves
The Boss has his own plan already made
The male dancer is apparently needed for a job at The Bronze Peacock
“You’re gonna in this and you’ll like it”
The male dancer is called Joe
Joe looks upset that he’s being forced into doing things he doesn’t want to do
The Boss is called Samatori
Back at the ballroom a party is commencing
STREAMERS!!!
Arnie’s hat makes him look like a elf
Mr McClore is invited to meet Arnie
Mr McClore is leaving!!
Apparently it’s New Year’s Eve
Joe wanders into the crowd and closes the curtains behind him
He walks to the bar and Rico starts the robbery
MY GOD!! HE’S BEEN SHOT!!! McClore’s been shot!
“This ain’t no picnic!” – No it’s a robbery
Rico slaps the driver for taking too long starting the car
Joe breaks the news about the robbery to his wife
“You can’t go back on a gang”
Rico admits shooting McClore to Samatori
The driver crashes the car into a telephone pole which causes the car to break
WOOP WOOP THATS THE SOUND OF THE POLICE
That money clearly looks fake
Rico makes off with the money into a secret room
The police arrive into Samatori’s office to confront him about what just happened with the car
Samatori knows nothing about it
I think his name’s Samatori… I’m gonna call him Sam
Rico looks like he’s about to break but keeps his cool
Rico and Sam clearly don’t get along
Only problem with old films is the pacing is a bit slow
Rico splits the money with Sam
Now we’re with Antonio who’s being confronted by the maid
Back in the day, everyone ate nothing but spaghetti
Antonio and the maid reminist about Antonio singing in the church choir
Antonio doesn’t want to be left alone
Maybe it’s his mom I’m not sure – It’s not made clear
33 and a half minutes in and this film is making me tired
Antonio, the driver who crashed the car, doesn’t want to be apart of the mob anymore
Rico gets the news about Antonio broken to him
Antonio gets shot by Rico outside on the church steps
They have a funeral parade for Antonio
Rico complains that the funeral parade is moving too slowly
Back at the Palermo Club
Let’s look at the memorial book cover for Antonio
FOOD FIGHT!!
It’s time for a speech
Speech turns into sucking up to Rico
They live Rico a special watch
It’s Rico’s turn for a speech
“The liquor is good… Or so they tell me”
Rico’s speech lasts about 30 seconds
IT’S THE PRESS!
Rico sticks his chest out for the photos
Sam asks Rico about the whereabouts of Joe
WOOP WOOP IT’S THE SOUND OF THE POLICE AGAIN
The police say they’re keeping an eye on Rico
The watch Rico was given was stolen!
Back with Arnie who wants to stop Rico
Joe eastdrops on Arnie’s conversation about Rico
Back in the day, everyone had lung cancer
OPERATOR GIVE ME RICO
Joe breaks the news to Rico’s gang
Rico buys 10 newspapers all because they have his face on them
DRIVE-BY MOTHERFUCKER!!
Rico gets show which causes the entire street to panic
The police confront Rico and says he would have done the same if he wasn’t a policeman
“I’m gonna get that split-headed mug if it’s the last thing I do”
Rico organises a job to take out Arnie
Rico finds Arnie
IT’S NEGOTIATION TIME
Rico wants Arnie to leave town by tomorrow morning or he’ll gave him leave in a box
Cut to newspaper articles about Arnie leaving town followed by reactions from everyone including The Police
“The bigger they come, the harder they fall”
That shot makes it look like Rico’s getting more than a shoe buffering
Rico claims he looks like a waiter until coming to his senses
Rico is taken away by everything in the office
Rico gets told that Diamond Pete is done
Rico is now the king of the northside
“Rico continued to take care of himself, his hair and his gun — With excellent results”
Joe visits Rico and is told to do one last job with him
Rico claims Joe is wasting his time dancing
“Nobody every quit me” – If you take that out of context that line sound wrong
Rico calls Joe’s wife a waste of space
Joe refuses to work for Rico
Rico tells him that it’s suicide if he goes back to his wife
Joe quietly escapes while Rico is on the phone
DRAMATIC CLOSE UP
Joe goes home to his wife and tells her about everything
His wife doesn’t want to leave
She hatches a plan to try and get Rico killed
She calls The Police
Rico arrives at Joe’s house
Joe mans up to Rico and dares him to shoot him
Rico looks upset and backs away
Montera calls Rico soft
The Polce arrive so Rico and Montera escape through the fire escape
Joe’s wife tells The Police about the incident at The Bronze Peacock on New Year’s Eve
Rico’s on the run
Gunshots!
Otero’s been shot! NOT MONTERO AS I’VE BEEN CALLING HIM
Back at the Palermo Club
The Police arrive at Sam’s office
Rico’s been hiding in Antonio’s mom’s secret room
“Months passed — Rico’s career had been like a skyrocket — Starting from the gutter and returning there”
15 CENTS FOR A BED! THAT’S CHEAP
Rico easedrops on someone reading a newstory
“I’ll show him”
Rico calls The Police
The Police head out the find Rico
They find him!
Rico hides behind an advertisement border with Joe’s face on it
The Police uses a Tommy Gun and shoots at it killing Rico
“Is this the end of Rico?” – Rico’s last words
THE END
Side Note 1 – One of my good friends, Dan Moxon, wrote a blog about ‘The Perception of Gangland Culture in Film and Television”. Here’s what he had to say -> http://danmoxon.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/the-perception-of-gangland-culture-in-film-and-television/
Side Note 2 – A YouTube show called “Welcome to the Basement” looked at the film for the first time as well and they give a more detailed version of the film. Here are they’re comments on Little Caesar -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hj-QLnXys8
Little Caesar
1931
Director – Mervyn LeRoy
Staring – Edward G Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Glenda Farrell
IMDb Rating – 7.4/10
My Rating – 7/10
Third black and white film I’ve seen in a row
I got excited as the video online has subtitles – A FIRST!!!
Film starts with a quote from the Bible
“For All They That Take The Sword Shall Perish With The Sword” Matthew: 26-52
What a bastard! He just shot a innocent gas station attendant
If I don’t hear a “Mer See” I’ll be very upset
In the 30′s everyone wore fancy hats
Rico wants to be the best mobster in the world
That chef make spaghetti and coffee rather quickly
Rico doesn’t want to dance – He’ll make people dance for him
“We’re going East”
Nothing like a card game
Rico gets his wish and becomes a mobster
Meet the crew
Meet the new guy
Even back in the day, people wear hats to the side like chavs
Clap, Clap, Clap
Clap Again!!!
Joe and his wife get a job dancing at a ballroom
KISS ME BITCH!!!
Is that a gun in your pocket or are you pleases to see me?
Oh it is a gun!
This scene with the two of them talking is a little long
Now at Little Arnie Lorch’s Gambling House
Arnie’s mustache is weird
Diamond Pete’s on the way… Don’t know if this is good news or bad?
Everyone smokes cigars back in the day
Rico looks scared to be here or is that just his natural expression
“I’m watching you!”
Rico’s boss claims Rico isn’t a troublemaker but a little quick on the trigger
I wonder if any of this influenced The Godfather
Back at Club Palermo Dancing
The Boss is still playing cards
Rico’s pinstripe suit is very strippy
“You’re yellow!!!”
Rico has a layout of the nightclub for the job
The Boss screws it up and throws it away
This annoys Rico so he leaves
The Boss has his own plan already made
The male dancer is apparently needed for a job at The Bronze Peacock
“You’re gonna in this and you’ll like it”
The male dancer is called Joe
Joe looks upset that he’s being forced into doing things he doesn’t want to do
The Boss is called Samatori
Back at the ballroom a party is commencing
STREAMERS!!!
Arnie’s hat makes him look like a elf
Mr McClore is invited to meet Arnie
Mr McClore is leaving!!
Apparently it’s New Year’s Eve
Joe wanders into the crowd and closes the curtains behind him
He walks to the bar and Rico starts the robbery
MY GOD!! HE’S BEEN SHOT!!! McClore’s been shot!
“This ain’t no picnic!” – No it’s a robbery
Rico slaps the driver for taking too long starting the car
Joe breaks the news about the robbery to his wife
“You can’t go back on a gang”
Rico admits shooting McClore to Samatori
The driver crashes the car into a telephone pole which causes the car to break
WOOP WOOP THATS THE SOUND OF THE POLICE
That money clearly looks fake
Rico makes off with the money into a secret room
The police arrive into Samatori’s office to confront him about what just happened with the car
Samatori knows nothing about it
I think his name’s Samatori… I’m gonna call him Sam
Rico looks like he’s about to break but keeps his cool
Rico and Sam clearly don’t get along
Only problem with old films is the pacing is a bit slow
Rico splits the money with Sam
Now we’re with Antonio who’s being confronted by the maid
Back in the day, everyone ate nothing but spaghetti
Antonio and the maid reminist about Antonio singing in the church choir
Antonio doesn’t want to be left alone
Maybe it’s his mom I’m not sure – It’s not made clear
33 and a half minutes in and this film is making me tired
Antonio, the driver who crashed the car, doesn’t want to be apart of the mob anymore
Rico gets the news about Antonio broken to him
Antonio gets shot by Rico outside on the church steps
They have a funeral parade for Antonio
Rico complains that the funeral parade is moving too slowly
Back at the Palermo Club
Let’s look at the memorial book cover for Antonio
FOOD FIGHT!!
It’s time for a speech
Speech turns into sucking up to Rico
They live Rico a special watch
It’s Rico’s turn for a speech
“The liquor is good… Or so they tell me”
Rico’s speech lasts about 30 seconds
IT’S THE PRESS!
Rico sticks his chest out for the photos
Sam asks Rico about the whereabouts of Joe
WOOP WOOP IT’S THE SOUND OF THE POLICE AGAIN
The police say they’re keeping an eye on Rico
The watch Rico was given was stolen!
Back with Arnie who wants to stop Rico
Joe eastdrops on Arnie’s conversation about Rico
Back in the day, everyone had lung cancer
OPERATOR GIVE ME RICO
Joe breaks the news to Rico’s gang
Rico buys 10 newspapers all because they have his face on them
DRIVE-BY MOTHERFUCKER!!
Rico gets show which causes the entire street to panic
The police confront Rico and says he would have done the same if he wasn’t a policeman
“I’m gonna get that split-headed mug if it’s the last thing I do”
Rico organises a job to take out Arnie
Rico finds Arnie
IT’S NEGOTIATION TIME
Rico wants Arnie to leave town by tomorrow morning or he’ll gave him leave in a box
Cut to newspaper articles about Arnie leaving town followed by reactions from everyone including The Police
“The bigger they come, the harder they fall”
That shot makes it look like Rico’s getting more than a shoe buffering
Rico claims he looks like a waiter until coming to his senses
Rico is taken away by everything in the office
Rico gets told that Diamond Pete is done
Rico is now the king of the northside
“Rico continued to take care of himself, his hair and his gun — With excellent results”
Joe visits Rico and is told to do one last job with him
Rico claims Joe is wasting his time dancing
“Nobody every quit me” – If you take that out of context that line sound wrong
Rico calls Joe’s wife a waste of space
Joe refuses to work for Rico
Rico tells him that it’s suicide if he goes back to his wife
Joe quietly escapes while Rico is on the phone
DRAMATIC CLOSE UP
Joe goes home to his wife and tells her about everything
His wife doesn’t want to leave
She hatches a plan to try and get Rico killed
She calls The Police
Rico arrives at Joe’s house
Joe mans up to Rico and dares him to shoot him
Rico looks upset and backs away
Montera calls Rico soft
The Polce arrive so Rico and Montera escape through the fire escape
Joe’s wife tells The Police about the incident at The Bronze Peacock on New Year’s Eve
Rico’s on the run
Gunshots!
Otero’s been shot! NOT MONTERO AS I’VE BEEN CALLING HIM
Back at the Palermo Club
The Police arrive at Sam’s office
Rico’s been hiding in Antonio’s mom’s secret room
“Months passed — Rico’s career had been like a skyrocket — Starting from the gutter and returning there”
15 CENTS FOR A BED! THAT’S CHEAP
Rico easedrops on someone reading a newstory
“I’ll show him”
Rico calls The Police
The Police head out the find Rico
They find him!
Rico hides behind an advertisement border with Joe’s face on it
The Police uses a Tommy Gun and shoots at it killing Rico
“Is this the end of Rico?” – Rico’s last words
THE END
Side Note 1 – One of my good friends, Dan Moxon, wrote a blog about ‘The Perception of Gangland Culture in Film and Television”. Here’s what he had to say -> http://danmoxon.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/the-perception-of-gangland-culture-in-film-and-television/
Side Note 2 – A YouTube show called “Welcome to the Basement” looked at the film for the first time as well and they give a more detailed version of the film. Here are they’re comments on Little Caesar -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hj-QLnXys8