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Day 226: December 12th, 2010
Little Caesar
Hey look guys, a film from 1930.
Mervyn Leroy's film Little Caesar is a depression theme film that centres around crime and moving up the ladder within the mob. Along with Scarface (1932) and Public Enemy (1931) it was one of the first influential gangster films and starred Edward G. Robinson.
Fitting in with the gangster film formula, Little Caesar has the characters overdressed with overcoats and broad-brimmed hats. Along with many other gangster related films, Little Caesar is about wanting power...and more of it.
Rico, is an ambitious and power hungry character. He climbs up the corporate ladder and wants to be somebody. He's willing to kill anybody that gets in his way. Of course, with everything that goes up, i must come down. The final scene shows the inevitable downfall of Rico.
It's clearly easy to see the influences to the films we see today. Little Caesar had a huge impact on the world of cinema. Without it, we wouldn't have films like Goodfellas or The Godfather. The film, even though looking and sounding very dated, still managed to draw me in, showing me an interesting insight on how the gangster genre got it's jump start.
The performances from Edward G. Robinson is very believable and Glenda Farrell does an admirable job as the sexual ornament between characters. The film still sits in many people's minds, mainly from the memorable line. "Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?
Little Caesar
Hey look guys, a film from 1930.
Mervyn Leroy's film Little Caesar is a depression theme film that centres around crime and moving up the ladder within the mob. Along with Scarface (1932) and Public Enemy (1931) it was one of the first influential gangster films and starred Edward G. Robinson.
Fitting in with the gangster film formula, Little Caesar has the characters overdressed with overcoats and broad-brimmed hats. Along with many other gangster related films, Little Caesar is about wanting power...and more of it.
Rico, is an ambitious and power hungry character. He climbs up the corporate ladder and wants to be somebody. He's willing to kill anybody that gets in his way. Of course, with everything that goes up, i must come down. The final scene shows the inevitable downfall of Rico.
It's clearly easy to see the influences to the films we see today. Little Caesar had a huge impact on the world of cinema. Without it, we wouldn't have films like Goodfellas or The Godfather. The film, even though looking and sounding very dated, still managed to draw me in, showing me an interesting insight on how the gangster genre got it's jump start.
The performances from Edward G. Robinson is very believable and Glenda Farrell does an admirable job as the sexual ornament between characters. The film still sits in many people's minds, mainly from the memorable line. "Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?