I tre furfanti

Hysterical madcap fun. There may be no funnier moment in the history of film than Edward G. Robinson irritably gift wrapping a piece of luggage (all reasonably priced at $9.75) for a bothersome customer. The pacing of this movie is breathless (it's like a Bugs Bunny cartoon) and it's one of the few comedies that can legitimately claim to have a laugh virtually every minute. It's a movie that understands how funny a single door constantly opening and closing can be, provided there is a parade of zany enough characters passing through it, all of whom possess impeccable comic timing. It's also got a young, menacing Anthony Quinn to give it some edge, and an early Jackie Gleason to steal a couple scenes. Nearly as delightful as the king of screwball comedies "Bringing Up Baby".

When I think comedy, the name Edward G. Robinson doesn't come to mind. But he does well in this amusing caper film, expertly piloted by comedy specialist Lloyd Bacon. Ex-cons Maxwell (Robinson) and his two bumbling confederates (Brophy & Crawford) aim to crash a bank vault from their next door luggage shop. Needless to say, they encounter one screwy mishap after another along the way. And just waiting to turn up and horn in is menacing foe Leo (Quinn), who's about as humor-filled as a hungry lion.

It really is a stellar cast, with Jack Carson being Jack Carson, Broderick Crawford as a dumb galoot, and Ed Brophy adding character color. Too bad that Jane Wyman has to stand around and just look pretty. Robinson, of course, is the boss giving orders hither and thither whether drilling into the vault or giving away luggage to keep up commercial appearance. Seems there may be a point to the light-hearted proceedings. Namely that the kind of drive it takes to succeed in crime may be the same kind of drive that succeeds in business. Of course, that doesn't mean commercial ends are no different from criminal ones. Instead, it means that both take a certain amount of drive to succeed in a big way. The irony here is that opportunist Maxwell adapts his skills quickly from one to the other.

Anyhow, credit director Bacon with blending the elements into a highly amusing package, especially when so much could have gone wrong given the tricky premise. No doubt, I still won't think Robinson when I think comedy. But I will think Robinson when I think outstanding versatile actor.

A friend of mine had told me that this was funnier than Woody Allen's Small Time Crooks I admit I was skeptical, as too many so-called comedies from the black and white era don't get much more than a smile from me. My skepticism was rewarded with a very funny, fast-paced comedy with the kind of "crackling" dialogue they don't write anymore. Edward G. Robinson is a scream in the lead, and his supporting cast equals him. Don't miss this one. There's never a dull moment!

The Warner bros, was my favorite studio from the Hollywood system between 1930-45. They make social films, gangster movies, romantic melodramas, musical comedies, and sometimes robust comedies like this one. Here, the great E.G. Robinson makes funs of his bad guys role, like he will do a few years later in Brother Orchid. Dialogues are very funny and the situations, very simples, are hilarious. Good laughs!

"Larceny, Inc." is a 1942 film starring Edward G. Robinson, Broderick Crawford, Jane Wyman, Anthony Quinn, Jack Carson, Ed Brophy, Jackie Gleason and Henry Davenport. The idea behind this film consciously or subconsciously may have inspired Woody Allen's "Small Time Crooks." Gangsters buy a luggage shop situated next to a bank in order to break through the wall into the bank vault; instead, they find themselves dragged kicking and screaming into legitimacy.

Edward G. Robinson is "Pressure," an ex-con who at first tries to keep customers out of the store ("if a customer comes in, blow him off") - but when he tells the young woman like a daughter to him (Wyman) that he's sincere, she starts working with a luggage salesman (Carson) on big promotions. Soon the store is jumping with customers. The merchants on the street ask for Pressure's support - the street is being torn up, and it's right before Christmas; he becomes their hero. However, when an ex con comes into the store to borrow money, he realizes the store is a front for a bank robbery and goes back and tells a scary prisoner, Leo (Quinn) who escapes and decides to do the job himself.

The funniest scene is the aggravated Robinson wrapping a suitcase when a customer asks for gift-wrapping. Robinson is hilarious - he could be doing Little Ceasar, he takes it so seriously, and he's all the funnier for it. Broderick Crawford did some comedy before "All the King's Men" - he's excellent as a dumb associate of Pressure's who's digging the hole to the bank. Jackie Gleason plays a soda jerk - and makes the most of it. Wyman and Carson don't have much to do, alas. The rest of the cast is uniformly delightful.

This is a real gem - "Small Time Crooks" takes the basic plot and goes in another direction with it - both are wonderful films. Try and catch this one on TCM.