Precioso Ridículo

Prohibition ends and gangster boss Bugsy Ahearn, like so many during the depression, finds himself unemployed. What to do? Fortunately, he has laid aside much of his ill-gotten gains and has no money worries. So he decides to improve himself, to acquire some culture and move in elite circles. And therein lies a very funny story.

Edward G. Robinson shows a flair for comedy and shows off some of his immense talent as a social climber who decides to shoot the moon. He moves from Chicago to the West Coast, buys a mansion and falls for a lady from a family of swindlers, and generally falls into a series of mishaps, each one funnier than the last. He gets excellent support from Mary Astor, who becomes his guide to the finer points of becoming 'quality'.

You will gain great respect for Robinson if you've only seen him in tough-guy roles, as he carries the picture as a society naif in this written-for-the-screen comedy. There are no dead spots, either, as the story moves along briskly in an enjoyable 75 minutes. It was shown at Cinefest, Columbus, O., 6/13.

My main reason for seeing 'The Little Giant' was to see fine actor Edward G. Robinson, who was in many great films and always a bright spot, in an early role. A role that was also a relatively different one, with him in comedy it was very different from his tough guy image, so it was interesting to see how he would fare in this regard. Another interest point was the film being one of the first gangster comedies.

'The Little Giant' turned out to be something of a little gem, nothing little about it. Found myself really entertained and relaxed watching it, with the odd shock/surprise thrown into the mix, and it is a shame that 'The Little Giant' is not known more than it is. It won't be one of my favourite films any time soon and won't consider it one of the greats, but it is not very well known at all these days, when there are films that are not particularly good yet make a lot of money and in some cases are popular, and obscurity is where it should be nowhere near close to being near or in. There is so much right with 'The Little Giant' and the not so good things are both barely any and not big at all.

Would have liked 'The Little Giant' to have been longer, an hour and a quarter seemed rather too on the brief side.

Helen Vinson is ever so slightly on the bland side but only in comparison with everybody else.

Robinson however is terrific, he is immensely gifted when it comes to the comic timing and he also gives the right amount of intensity when necessary. He has great chemistry with the cast, namely the very charming and zesty Mary Astor and with Russell Hopton, also very good. The characters are both interesting in personality and worth investing with. Roy DelRuth directs briskly, never allowing the energy or tension of the storytelling to slip (the film being full of both).

Just as good was the tightly structured and sharply witty script, that also had some remarkably ahead of its time content that one is shocked is in the film, the amoral tone likewise. The production values are slick and don't look as though they were made without enthusiasm or care. The film is always engaging and with never a dull spot.

Overall, a little gem. 8/10 Bethany Cox

The Little Giant (1933) : Brief Review -

The reason why I don't enjoy modern-day gangster comedies. Much better than Roy Del Ruth's own "Lady Killer," which tried the same theme in the same year. Today's gangster comedies hardly offer anything new and unique. All they do is just copy some good scenes from old Hollywood or British flicks and paste them on modern canvas with a new cast. That's the reason why I don't enjoy them as much as others do. I enjoy these original source materials instead. Roy Del Ruth was doing alright in the 30s, despite not making many great films. His Lady Killer has a similar theme drawn with James Cagney, while The Little Giant tells the same story again with new characters and a little bit more comedy and romance. It follows the attempts of an ex-gangster to make his way into high society, but he gets conned by a family of crooks. It was a pleasure seeing Edward G. Robinson in such a role where he could be brutal as well as funny at the same time. And he nailed it in both parts. Mary Astor's generous, smart little dame was bound to be loved by Bug, but why should he have all the fun? The audience found her just as lovable as him. You may hate Poly Cass' character, but you cannot hate Helen Vinson's portrayal. She looks like a perfect honey badger. The other cast members complement each other very well. The Little Giant is a very influential flick. Smartly written by Robert Lord and Wilson Mizner, this crime comedy has scenes that can never get outdated. You find many references in any modern-day gangster comedy, and you can immediately recall The Little Giant for its enormous contribution to top-class cliches. 9 decades old, yet our generation is remaking it. You can imagine how good it must have been for contemporary audiences. Roy Del Ruth may have lacked great classics in his career, but he certainly gave us many nice, entertaining, and timeless films. Hoping to catch more of his work soon.

RATING - 7.5/10*

By - #samthebestest.

How can one not love a great Edward G. Robinson flick? Here he plays a Chicago gangster named 'Bugs' looking to go straight, with a seemingly unhealthy obsession with mingling with "high society" people.

Of course he gets out to California with his buddy, and while keeping his old gangster life a secret, gets involved with a woman who, along with her family, wants to swindle him out of his money. Like a fish out of water, Bugs is out of his element and can't see the scam against him, so blinded by the pretty woman.

The real hilarious thing about "The Little Giant" is that after Bugs realizes he's been scammed, the gangsters then turn into the good guys to make things right. This being a comedy, we laugh as the gangsters even use torture (!) to set things straight, all while cracking jokes. Bugs even refers to the ones who swindled him as (insert gay slur here). Talk about pre-code!

As always, Edward G. Is non-stop, and the film is a tour-de-force for him to showcase his quick wit and razor-sharp delivery. Definitely worth a viewing.

And yet it is in one of the Warner Gangster DVD packs. This is one of those bizarre results from the whipsaw of events - age of DVD, great recession and resulting death of DVD, economic recovery and age of Blu and streaming -that put this relatively obscure film on DVD but leaves the three Show Boat films unrestored and in the Warner Archive. But I digress.

It may be obscure, but it is definitely worth your time. This is a comedy about a gangster, not a gangster film, as I said in my title. Robinson plays Bugs Ahearne, a Chicago gangster at the time of Roosevelt's 1932 election and, by extension, the death of prohibition. Ahearne is wise in that he sees the age of the mob and easy money from bootleg liquor is over, and divides his profits among his gang. Ahearne himself winds up with 1.25 million dollars. Multiply that by about 20 to get today's amount.

Ahearne has been planning for this day, and he has been reading the classics and improving himself. He plans to retire to California and become part of polite society. The problem is, outside of reading, Bugs has never talked to or known any society people in his life. Just like you can't learn to drive a car by just reading books, Bugs doesn't realize he sticks out like a sore thumb.

He also makes the mistaken calculation that people of "breeding" - whatever that is supposed to mean - and culture can be depended upon to be on the level, whether their motives are good or maybe not. Yet he is fooling the society people by pretending to be somebody else, wanting to leave his gangster roots behind. The result is an absolutely hilarious comedy of manners with tons of precode one liners, many of which I cannot repeat even in 2019.

And if you never thought Edward G. Robinson and Mary Astor could have great chemistry, maybe even be considered a comedy team, guess again. With great supporting performances. With a great understated performance by Russell Hopton as Robinson's best friend, who can't imagine life without the mob and tags along with "Bugs" for the ride. I guarantee you will never see polo as the same game again. Highly recommended.