Little Caesar: A 79-Minute Crime Classic That Defined the Gangster Film

Little Caesar, released January 25, 1931 and directed by Mervyn LeRoy, is one of the earliest crime pictures and helped define the gangster genre. Based on W. R. Burnett's 1929 novel, the film runs 79 minutes and set a template later works would echo. Edward G.

Robinson stars as Caesar Enrico 'Rico' Bandella, joined by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Joe and Glenda Farrell as Olga. Rico seeks notoriety by joining Sam Vettori's gang to rival Diamond Pete Montana, while Joe tries to leave the life and is dragged back into a nightclub robbery.

Made before the Hays Code, the picture delivers an uncompromising portrayal of greed and violence, including gunfire and violent deaths, and frames law enforcement — led by Sergeant/Lieutenant Thomas Flaherty (Thomas E. Jackson) — without romanticism. It follows a rise-and-fall arc rather than a moralistic happy ending, closing with one of Hollywood's all-time greatest endings.

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