Little Caesar (film)

Infobox Film
name = Little Caesar


caption = Original Poster from 1931
director = Mervyn LeRoy
producer = Hal B. Wallis (uncredited)
Darryl F. Zanuck (uncredited)
writer = W.R. Burnett (novel)
Francis Edward Faragoh
Robert N. Lee (continuity)
Robert Lord (uncredited)
Darryl F. Zanuck (uncredited)
starring = Edward G. Robinson
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Glenda Farrell
music = Erno Rapee (Musical Superviser)
cinematography = Tony Gaudio
editing = Ray Curtiss
distributor = Warner Bros./First National Pictures
released = January 9, 1931
runtime = 79 min.
country = USA
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id = 1:29504
imdb_id = 0021079

"Little Caesar" is a 1931 crime film made during the Pre-Code era which tells the story of a man who works his way up the ranks of the mob until he reaches its upper heights. It stars Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Glenda Farrell. The movie was adapted by Francis Edward Faragoh, Robert N. Lee, Robert Lord and Darryl F. Zanuck (uncredited) from the novel by William R. Burnett. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy.

ynopsis

The story centers around small-time crook Caesar Enrico Bandello (aka "Rico", played by Edward G. Robinson) and friend Joe Massara (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.). Both men head for Chicago to find their fortune. Joe, who wants to be a dancer, is more interested in fame and women and eventually meets Olga (Glenda Farrell). Rico joins the gang of Sam Vettori (Stanley Fields) and quickly gains control of the group. He then proceeds to push his way to the top. Rico becomes worried that his friend, Joe Massara, will betray him. He threatens Joe that he must forget about Olga and tries to bring him back into a life of crime. Rico is then shaken from his throne when Joe Massara betrays him to the cops. Hurt though he may be, Rico cannot bring himself to kill his former best friend. Desperate and alone, he retreats to the gutters from which he sprang. But when newspapers label him a coward, the defiant thug comes out of hiding with guns blasting. Escaping from the police, he is gunned down in a gutter by his archrival Sergeant Flaherty (Thomas Jackson). The film ends with a shot of a billboard showing Joe and Olga as famed dancers, whereas Rico dies poor and alone, an unspoken prophetic message that hard work will pay off, but crime will not.

Plot

For the re-release of "Little Caesar" (and "The Public Enemy") in 1954 a written prologue was added before the opening credits, advising that gangsters such as are depicted in the film are a menace that the public (at the time) must confront.

After the titles and opening credits, the film moves immediately into a gas station robbery committed by two men; one man drives a vehicle to the gas station at night. When the proprietor approaches, the other man shoves him back inside and turns out the lights. Gunshots follow moments later, after which the second man runs back to the car and they depart. Later, at an all-night diner, the same car is seen parked outside. Inside, one of the men sits at the counter while the other carefully winds the clock back a few minutes, in an effort to provide them with an alibi for the robbery. The man at the counter is soon established to be Joe Massara, the vehicle's driver, while the man who resets the clock is established as the gunman, Caesar Enrico "Rico" Bandello. Reading the paper as they eat their food, Rico takes note of an article where top gangster "Diamond" Pete Montana was recently feted by his peers. Rico and Joe discuss the idea of moving east to Chicago. Discussing their plans, it is established that Rico wishes to gain the power and notoriety of gangsters like "Diamond" Pete. For his part, Joe merely wishes to exit the gangster lifestyle and go back to being a professional dancer, which he had done prior to meeting Rico--an idea which Rico scornfully disdains.

After arriving in Chicago, both men take steps down their chosen paths; Joe becomes a professional dancer after meeting and falling in love with Olga, who works at a nightclub that is partly owned by Artie Lorch--a rival of Rico's new boss, Sam Vettori (who tags Rico with the nickname that becomes the title of the film). Rico and Vettori begin to clash almost immediately; Rico feels that Vettori is not too bright, and also is defensive of Joe, who Vettori thinks is too soft for criminal work. For his part, Vettori resents Rico's intelligence and ambition, feeling that his position as the boss is threatened. Matters are not helped much when Rico first tries to step out of place during a meeting between Lorch, Vettori, and "Diamond" Pete (who is the overboss of the other two), where Pete warns the two bosses about a man named McClure, who is the head of the new crime commission and apparently cannot be bribed; later, during a New Years' Eve robbery of the nightclub where Joe and Olga work, McClure is gunned down by Rico when he unintentionally interrupts the robbery. This also strains relations between Joe and Rico, as Joe is resentful of Rico having forced him to act as a lookout for the robbery due to his job at the nightclub.

Vettori is apoplectic when he hears of McClure's murder, but Rico, emboldened by his actions, verbally chastises Vettori. After a visit from the police (represented by Sgt. Flaherty), who are looking for potential clues in the murder of McClure, Rico seizes control of the gang completely, after refusing to split the money from the robbery the way Vettori wants to. In what would become a catchphrase used periodically in the film, Rico tells his boss that he can "dish it out" but not take it; Vettori's position is further weakened when his own men (including one named Otero, who becomes a proponent of Rico's ideas prior to the robbery) turn their backs on him. Defeated, Vettori silently acquiesces to Rico's control of the gang (it is noteworthy that Rico did not simply have Vettori eliminated).

All is not well for Rico, though; the driver of Rico's getaway car named Antonio "Tony" Passa froze during the robbery (causing Rico to slap him in order to shake him out of his funk), and later crashes the car instead of disposing of it (which prompted the visit to Vettori's office from the police). At his mother's home, he is seen suffering immensely from feelings of guilt, and decides to confess to a priest. He is stopped by Otero on the way, and after refusing his share of the robbery money, he informs Otero of his plans. Otero frantically rushes to inform Rico, who then proceeds to find the driver and shoot him in cold blood on the steps of the church. He is later given a lavish funeral by Rico and the other mobsters.

Rico moves from strength to strength, and is eventually feted at a banquet, in a similar fashion to the banquet given for "Diamond" Pete that Rico read about earlier in the film {in a brazen scene it is established that Rico is given a expensive watch that was stolen by his gang from a Jewelry Store!}; it is also established that even though it is the era of Prohibition and illegal liquor sales are booming, Rico is himself a teetotaler. For his part, Joe continues to see Olga and distance himself from Rico's life of crime. However, after hearing Lorch and associates discuss a planned hit on Rico, he informs Otero. Although they are too late to stop the hit, Rico's men arrive afterwards; the hit was bungled as the gunmen (using Thompson submachine guns from a milk wagon) were poor shots and only grazed Rico's arm. Rico then confronts Lorch, storming Lorch's gambling house with his men and offering Lorch a choice: leave town under his own power, or leave in a pine box. A society column article (seen in newspapers that Flaherty and others read) notes that Lorch has departed for Detroit.

Eventually, Rico is invited up to see the man known only as the "Big Boy", who would apparently be the film's equivalent to the Italian Mafia's "capo di tutti capi". After a humorous scene where Otero (who has become Rico's right-hand man) assists a clearly uncomfortable Rico with putting on a tuxedo, Rico is informed by the "Big Boy" that they wish him to take "Diamond" Pete's place. Rico does so, then contacts his old friend Joe. Although they have not spoken in a long time, Rico presumes that Joe is still interested in working for him again, in a more direct fashion. When Joe refuses to return to Rico's gang (citing his love for Olga), Rico becomes outraged, telling Joe that if he returns to Olga, he is signing the death warrant for both of them. Rico departs to answer a phone call; when he returns, Joe is gone.

Joe, in a panic, tells Olga of what Rico has said and tries to get her to leave town with him. Olga, however, has decided enough is enough and tries to convince Joe to contact Sgt. Flaherty and turn state's evidence on Rico. Olga calls Flaherty, but Rico and Otero arrive before the police do. Joe then boldly challenges Rico to kill him; in a dramatic sequence, Rico approaches Joe, preparing to shoot him at point blank range. However, Rico finds he cannot kill his old friend, not even in cold blood. At that moment, the police (including Flaherty) arrive, and during a struggle Joe is shot and wounded. Rico and Otero make their way down the fire escape and into an alley; Otero is killed and Rico is forced to become a fugitive. Unable to return to his apartment and retrieve his money, he is forced to stay at Ma Magdalena's, a grocery store he has established as a safe house (and is subsequently blackmailed by Ma when she refuses to give him more than $150 out of the $10,000 he had previously stashed there).

Time passes, and Rico is next seen in a flophouse, having reached his lowest point; he is no longer the suave and confident character he once was, and has even taken up drinking. When listening to some of the other men in the flophouse read a newspaper in which Vettori is about to be hanged and an interview with Flaherty (where Flaherty spares no effort in insulting Rico and calling him a coward, even using Rico's own "dish it out" phrase), Rico becomes incensed and calls Flaherty, bragging that he will once again rise to the top of the underworld. Flaherty has the call traced, however, and catches up with Rico as he is staggering down the street. In a shootout (ironically carried out in front of a billboard announcing Joe and Olga's hit musical), Rico is mortally wounded by Flaherty; as he dies he utters what has since become a famous quote, "Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?"

Famous quote

"Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?" - Edward G. Robinson as "Rico" Bandello saying his final words.

(This is an early example of Hollywood censorship- in the novel the line reads "Mother of God, is this the end of Rico?", and a take was also filmed with Robinson saying it verbatim. However, the studio felt that the line would be blasphemous, coming out of the mouth of a murderous villain, and the alternate take was used instead.)

This line is ranked on the American Film Institute's "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes" at #73.

Acclaim and Legacy

"Little Caesar" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Adaptation.

In 2000, "Little Caesar" was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. "Little Caesar" was acknowledged as the ninth best in the gangster film genre. [cite news | publisher = American Film Institute | title = AFI's 10 Top 10 | date = 2008-06-17 | url = http://www.afi.com/10top10/gangster.html | accessdate=2008-06-18]

It has been speculated, but never confirmed, that the anti-organized crime statutes in the United States were dubbed RICO in a sly homage to "Little Caesar". The original drafter of the RICO bill has refused to confirm or deny this. [http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/rico.asp]

References in popular culture

*The famous Rico line is referenced in "The Simpsons" episode, "Lemon of Troy" when Bart's friend says, "Is this the end of Milhouse?"

* Sopranos styled TV show appears in the intro of the movie "Analyze That" called little Caesar

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0021079|title=Little Caesar
* [http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/rico.asp Urban Legends Reference Pages: "RICO Suave"]