Little Caesar
About Little Caesar
Rico Bandello and his friend Joe Massara leave a small town for Chicago. Rico shoots his way up through a gang and does not stay at the top. Edward G. Robinson plays Rico. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Glenda Farrell are billed. The film is from W. R. Burnett's 1929 novel.
Cast & crew
More about Little Caesar
Mervyn LeRoy directed this pre-Code gangster picture. Francis Edward Faragoh wrote the script. Hal B. Wallis and Darryl F. Zanuck produced it. Tony Gaudio photographed it. Ernö Rapée wrote the music. Warner Bros. released it. Wikidata lists 3 January, 25 January, and 21 March 1931 and times it at 79 minutes. It was Robinson's breakthrough. Faragoh was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay. The Library of Congress holds a print. Because the copyright was registered late in 1930, the film entered the public domain on 1 January 2026. A trailer, not the feature, is on Wikimedia Commons.
Themes
Look
Tony Gaudio photographed Robinson's rise through the Chicago gang.
Music
Ernö Rapée wrote the music.
Preservation
The Library of Congress holds a print. Public domain in the United States from 1 January 2026.
Notes
- The story is set in Chicago.
- George E. Stone, Sidney Blackmer, and Ralph Ince are billed.
- It is often listed among the first full gangster features.
Awards
- National Film Registry (2000)
Scenes
- Rico takes the gang by shooting and then finds the top will not hold him.
Influenced by
- W. R. Burnett's Little Caesar
