Little Caesar Details

This classic gangster picture established the legendary Edward G Robinson as one of the most unlikely movie stars, in a role based on real-life mobster Al Capone. Adapted from the novel by The Asphalt Jungle's WR Burnett, this tough-as-nails crime melodrama consolidated the movie-making style begun by James Cagney's The Public Enemy the same year at Warner Bros, the studio that specialised in such tales. Robinson plays Enrico Bandello and the film follows his life of crime, from the opening gas station robbery to his control of the big-city mobs and eventual comeuppance. Robinson is so scene-stealingly good that one tends to forget the excellence of the rest of the cast, particularly carefree Douglas Fairbanks Jr and caustic Glenda Farrell. But nobody will ever forget the finale: “Mother of God, is this the end of Rico?... ”

Its central character clearly modelled on Al Capone, this also has historical interest as vanguard of a spate of noisy gangster films. The star was forever identified with his role, and the film, though technically dated, moves fast enough to maintain int