Le petit géant

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 Smartly written by Robert Lord and Wilson Mizner, this crime comedy has scenes that can never get outdated.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.

Little Giant, The (1933)

*** (out of 4)

When F.D.R. gets elected President, Chicago bootlegger Bugs Ahearn (Edward G. Robinson) decides to get out of the business. He heads off to California where he plans on crashing into society and he thinks he's doing a good job but he doesn't realize that his love (Helen Vinson) is actually from a corrupt family that is just using him. THE LITTLE GIANT isn't a perfect movie and it's not really that funny either but it's impossible not to fall for its charm and especially the charm of Robinson. Most people will always remember Robinson for his tough guy roles but if you dig deeper into his filmmography you will see that he was actually able to play just about any type of character. This film is without question a spoof of his tough image but it works so well because you can believe Robinson in the part of the gangster but also believe him in the sillier stuff where he's trying to be a gentleman. There are some very good moments scattered throughout the film but I think the real highlight is in the final ten-minutes once Robinson realizes what has happened and he decides to bring a little Chicago out West. Vinson is also very good in her supporting role as she has no problem playing this brat and we get nice work from Russell Hopton and Kenneth Thomson. Mary Astor is also extremely charming as the woman who falls for Robinson, although he doesn't know it at first. Both actors are so good together that the film actually drags a bit when they're not together. Fans of Robinson or the Warner gangster pictures are certainly going to want to check this out just to see the studio and star spoofing themselves.

Like every great First National picture, this one starts off quickly, with Edward G. Robinson in full, glorious gangster mode, speaking the classic language of the Prohibition movie gangsters, words like "mugs" and "rods" ornamenting his lines. But there is a twist here: Robinson (as "Bugs" Ahearn, the "Beer Baron"), is going to quit the illegal beer business (since Prohibition has ended), and go straight. In fact, Bugs has a dream: to become successful in high society.

The script is very fast paced and delightful, and in a couple of places, quite shocking, reminding us of how progressive pre-Code Hollywood could be; I almost fell out of my chair when Robinson's flunky and companion Al, when asked by Robinson whether he ever saw a painting like the one in his living room, responds with, "not since I stopped using cocaine"!! Another shocker comes later when Robinson refers to some slimy society people as "fags". Oh dear!

Robinson was an amazing actor. He constantly shifts back and forth between the know-it-all wiseguy bully, and a would be high society snob, who is very unsure of himself. This uncertain, unconfident Robinson, a tough guy who swallows his pride and grovels before his betters, is pleasing to see, and he does it very well. Perhaps one of the great Robinson scenes of all time is when Mary Astor seduces an unsuspecting EGR on a couch. Robinson plays it beautifully, as he has no idea that he is being seduced; and in a delightful moment, when Mary Astor has shyly moved away, sudden realization hits EGR as to what might have just happened. He turns to the camera, and I swear he makes exactly the kind of faces, registering surprise and possible comprehension to the audience, exactly as Oliver Hardy famously did a thousand times in his career. A priceless and lovely moment.

There are many satisfying moments in this film, and I highly recommend this. The early EG Robinson movies are gifts to be treasured, and this is one of the best.

The Little Giant (1933)

By 1933 the gangster genre was in full blown maturity, and Warner Bros. Along with Edward G. Robinson were key to that. This is a lesser known movie but still a good one, two years after his phenomenal "Little Caesar." This time, they thought the genre had room for comedy, and it doesn't always take off. Robinson is good, and Mary Astor is also good in a very different way, though not always on the same page as Robinson.

Mostly this is part of the larger picture-there are better Warner Bros gangster films, but this one holds its own.

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.