Little Caesar was one of the earliest and most influential of the gangster motion pictures that became popular with the introduction of sound in Hollywood. The film was released early in 1931. Little Caesar made a star of actor Edward G. Robinson in the role of the vicious gang leader Cesare Bandello, known as Rico.
Little Caesar became the model for many later violent gangster movies that portrayed the rise and fall of a criminal. Rico was based on real-life gang boss Al Capone. The movie traces Rico’s start as a small-time hoodlum through his ascent to become the ruler of the gang world. Rico eventually loses his power and dies violently.
The motion picture was adapted from the crime novel Little Caesar (1929) by the American author William R. Burnett. Mervyn Le Roy was the director. Robinson’s co-stars were Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Glenda Farrell.
See also Motion picture (Movies in the 1930’s) ; Scarface .
