Little Caesar

LeRoy's coldly efficient direction-due less to his own artistry than to the constraints of sound recording in its first years-imposes a static rigor on the action and lends the actor's diction and gestures a sculptural, granitic force.

No director could ask for more than Edward G. Robinson's contribution. Here, no matter what he has to say, he's entirely convincing.

Though it looks somewhat dated now, there's no denying the seminal importance of this classic adaptation of WR Burnett's novel.

The production is ordinary and would rank as just one more gangster film but for two things. One is the excellence of Mr. Burnett's credible and compact story. The other is Edward G. Robinson's wonderfully effective performance.

Edward G. Robinson in the performance of his career.

Edward G. Robinson's gravelly snarl and sociopathic disdain for human conventions became the template for countless future gangster anti-heroes

Faded bronze to The Public Enemy's silver and Scarface's gold, but an enduring bedrock formation all the same

Little Caesar makes two classic LeRoy joints that I've found perfectly solid...and thoroughly underwhelming, especially when viewed through the prism of their reputations.

Feels stilted when stacked up against its tougher depression-era contemporaries.

Come for Rico, stay for Rico

One of the most popular and best received crime films ever.

Robinson's riveting performance earned him a permanent place in the history of cinema.