Outside the Law (1930)

Director:  Tod Browning

Writer: Tod Browning, Garret Fort

Composer:  Cecil Arnold, Sam Perry, Heinz Roemheld

Starring:  Mary Nolan, Edward G. Robinson, Owen Moore, Rockliffe Fellowes, Delmar Watson, Eddie Sturgis, John George

More info:  IMDb

Tagline:  The most powerfully thrilling underworld melodrama of all!

Plot:  Fingers (Moore) is planning a half-million-dollar bank robbery in gang boss Cobra Collins' (Robinson) territory. Fingers and his gal, Connie (Nolan), try to bluff Cobra into thinking otherwise.  Once the job is done, Fingers and Connie stay holed-up while Cobra, and the police, try to find them.

My rating:  6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

Oh, boy!  It's an Edward G. Robinson picture I haven't seen before.  Oh, no, he's hardly in it.  I love that man's work but his earliest performances can be tough to watch sometimes.  But I think that a lot of it can be contributed to the early days of talkies and how rough they can be.  OUTSIDE THE LAW is a great example.  Tod Browning's camera doesn't move, the dialogue sometimes doesn't move smoothly between character exchanges and there's a noticable lack of music (except for the final act) is sorely missed, leaving scenes dragging.  Robinson is fine and my favorite moment of his is right at the start when he sees Fingers in a bank window.  His look is cold and menacing.

Now I'm intrigued!  What follows is a weak first act that gets too complicated for its own good.  Now that Fingers knows that Cobra is onto him, he gets his girlfriend, Connie, to join a sleazy sideshow-like job posing scantily in life-like recreations of famous sexy paintings for the horny male public just so she can get noticed by Cobra so she can seduce him or something to get him off the scent of Fingers.  Now that's a stretch!  What's great is Cobra is the fucking man and he's two steps ahead of them but they keep trying and failing.  Another neat thing about Cobra is you find out his mother is Chinese and the two speak to each other in Chinese.  It's a brief scene and it's a nice touch even though Cobra isn't referenced as being Chinese at any other point. 

After the robbery, the movie belongs to Fingers and Connie for most of the rest of the picture, holed-up in a small apartment.  That's where the dull stuff comes in.  Up to this point, actress Mary Nolan's been doing the standard tough girl act but now she's just a downright asshole to Fingers.  Part of it's because she's stuck with the stir crazy and happy Fingers.  But Nolan does this poorly and between her performance in these scenes plus the static camera, framing and slow dialogue exchanges, it's not interesting and drags the picture down.  Owen Moore, on the other hand, outshines Nolan and he's fun to watch, especially every time the kid (Watson) shows up.  He and the kid are great together. 

 

 

See?  She even makes kids cry!  Fortunately, things pick up considerably in the final act when the shit hits the fan when Cobra shows up and throws a massive monkey wrench into the works.  This is easily the best part of the picture.  A lot happens in a short period of time and one of them is Connie having to be nice for a change.  Suddenly Nolan shows some good acting chops and she's killing it!  After the tense build-up to the finish line, the ending is satisfactory and surprising.  It benefits from being made before the Hayes Code set in. 

It's worth a look for fans of Eddie G. but that second half hour in the apartment can by trying yet rewarding in a way.

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938)

Director: Anatole Litvak

Writers: John Wexley, John Huston, Barre Lyndon

Composer: Max Steiner

Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor, Humphrey Bogart, Allen Jenkins, Donald Crisp, Gale Page, Henry O'Neill, John Litel, Thruston Hall, Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Roesnbloom, Bert Hanlon, Curt Bois, Ward Bond, Vladimir Sokoloff, Billy Wayne, Robert Homans, Irving Bacon

More info: IMDb

Tagline: . . . a thunderbolt of thrills and intrigue

Plot: Dr. Clitterhouse is fascinated with the working of the criminal mind. His interest is so deep that he finds the best way to observe criminals in action is to become one himself! Whilst robbing a safe at an exclusive party he stumbles across an organized gang trying to the same thing. He teams up with the gang to observe them in action but one of the members, Rocks Valentine would like nothing better than to see Clitterhouse out of the way.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? YES!

Robinson is one of my favorite actors and he, along with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart (also in this film) and Errol Flynn, are on my short list of wanting to watch their entire catalog.  This movie is loads of fun and it's due to the delightful performance by Robinson, the crisp, witty dialogue and the taut pacing. This picture is an awful lot of fun.  I couldn't get enough of Robinson's rapid fire jabs at Bogart (who took it but didn't like it).  for a film from 1938 this picture takes some unusually daring and mature steps.  Oh, and the ending really stunned me.  Considering how crime pictures were treated in the 30s and 40s, the fate of a certain someone will definitely surprise you.  It's definitely a solid Warner Bros. crime flick but the few laughs in it come from Dr. Clitterhouse's biting wit.  He's quick on his feet and this guy knows how to survive in the criminal world using only words.  Warner Bros. pretty much owned the crime genre throughout the 30s and 40s and I like seeing their films of this era that stand out from the standard crime picture that they also churned out.  This one is different and enjoyable as hell.  Warner Bros. gave this film the Warner Bros. Night at the Movies treatment which means you get goodies before the movie like a trailer (RACKET BUSTERS), a newsreel and some shorts.  You also get a commentary track from Dr. Drew Casper and Richard Jewell and two radio broadcasts of this story with Robinson, and the theatrical trailer.  It's a great disc and a no-brainer for fans of Robinson, Bogart or vintage crime pictures.

Brother Orchid (1940)

Director: Lloyd Bacon

Writers: Earl Baldwin, Richard Connell, Richard Macaulay, Jerry Wald

Composer: Heinz Roemheld

Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Ann Southern, Humphrey Bogart, Donald Crisp, Ralph Bellamy, Allen Jenkins, Charles D. Brown, Cecil Kellaway, Morgan Conway, Richard Lane, Paul Guilfoyle, John Ridgely, Joseph Crehan, Wilfred Lucas, Tom Tyler, Dick Wessel, Granville Bates, Paul Phillips

More info: IMDb

Tagline: We'd like youse to meet Brother Orchid!

Plot: When retired racket boss John Sarto tries to reclaim his place and former friends try to kill him, he finds solace in a monastery and reinvents himself as a pious monk.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

My four favorite old school actors are Cagney, Robinson, Bogart and Flynn. You'd think that I watch their pictures all the time but for some damn reason I haven't been but I'm changing that.  I'm having a blast visiting (and revisiting) their catalogs.  I just adore Edward G. Robinson.  He was so talented on and off the screen and he seems like he was a real swell guy in real life.  He was great in any kind of role.  He's made me laugh hysterically, cringe at his ruthlessness (have you seen KEY LARGO (1948)? WOW!) and shed a few tears. This gangster comedy isn't so big on laughs as it is on heart.  There are some great gags and the delightful Ann Southern has a few, but it's with Little John's (Robinson) transformation from gang boss to being a little guy at a monastery-like community that's the real show.  And just when you think he's satisfied and he's played out his lot, he surprises us again and again in the final act of the picture.  It's a great performance (as usual) and you get to see the many sides of the actor.  He had it and he had it in spades.

The supporting cast is great, too.  Ann Southern is hilarious and a treat to watch.  Bogart was delegated to being the bad guy (as usual but not for long) in the supporting role and he's great at it but he's not in the picture all that much.  This is Robinson's show all the way.  The Warner Bros. DVD comes with a few extras including a commentary track with Alan L. Gansberg and Eric Lax, the theatrical trailer and their great 'Warner Night at the Movies' which includes the trailer for IT ALL CAME TRUE (1940) (also with Bogart and Sheridan), a newsreel, a sounidie with Henry Busse and His Orchestra (9 minutes) which has the band playing "Wang Wang Blues", "Hot Lips" and "Along the Santa Fe Trail", a color cartoon called BUSY BAKERS (1940), a B&W cartoon called SLAP HAPPY PAPPY (1940) which leads into the feature film. 

The Little Giant (1933)

Director: Roy Del Ruth

Writers: Robert Lord, Wilson Mizner

Composer: ???

Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Mary Astor, Helen Vinson, Russell Hopton, Kenneth Thomson, Shirley Grey, Berton Churchill, Don Dillaway, Louise Mackintosh

More info: IMDb

Plot: Prohibition is ending so bootlegger Bugs Ahearn decides to crack California society. He leases a house from down-on-her-luck Ruth and hires her as social secretary. He rescues Polly Cass from a horsefall and goes home to meet her dad who sells him some phony stock certificates. When he learns about this he sends to Chicago for mob help.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

Edward G. Robinson is one of my top favorite actors. I haven't seen a picture of his yet that I didn't like and I've spent years tracking down every film.  Just a few more to get.  Playing off of his gangster image he has a bit of fun as a fish out of water in high society.  It's not a laughfest like LARCENY, INC. (1942) but it is cute and fun.  It's a treat to see how long it takes him to fail to notice that Polly (Vinson) isn't the broad for him and Ruth (Astor) is when it's plain as day to us but not to him.  When it all comes together for them you couldn't be happier.  My favorite part is when Bugsy (Robinson) calls the boys over from Chicago to come out to California and help him fix this problem that he got himself into.

That's where the real laughs come in. 

Here's an unintentionally funny moment that had my roaring with laughter...

My, what a difference 80 years makes. Overall it's an enjoyable little picture.  It probably helps just a little if you've seen some of his earlier work like LITTLE CAESAR (1931) but not much.  Robinson's got so much charisma that it's hard not to like him.  Here he goes for comedy but he also exhibits the stones to be the big boss and get things done with the tough guys when he needs to.  Warner Bros. knows how to treat (some of) their older films on DVD right.  The disc comes with lots of extras including trailers, a newsreel and a commentary.  It's easy for me to recommend this even as a blind buy because I'm such a huge fan of Eddie's but you can easily pick it up for just a few bucks online.  Now I'm in the mood for some Cagney.

Destroyer (1943)

Director: William A. Seiter

Writers: Borden Chase, Lewis Meltzer, Frank Wead

Composer: Anthony Collins

Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Glenn Ford, Marguerite Chapman, Edgar Buchanan, Leo Gorcey, Regis Toomey, Edward Brophy, Warren Ashe

More info: IMDb

Tagline: You'll Always Remember . . . And Never Forget . . . Destroyer

Plot: Flag waving story of a new American destroyer, the JOHN PAUL JONES, from the day her keel is laid, to what was very nearly her last voyage. Among the crew, is Steve Boleslavski, a shipyard welder that helped build her, who reenlists, with his old rank of Chief bosons mate. After failing her sea trials, she is assigned to the mail run, until caught up in a disparate battle with a Japanese sub. After getting torpedoed, and on the verge of sinking, the Captain, and crew hatch a plan to try and save the ship, and destroy the sub.

My rating: 8.5/10

Will I watch it again? Of course, it's Eddie G.!

What starts out as a shamelessly fluffy piece of flag waving propaganda (but just for the first few minutes) ends up being a fantastic, rousing film. Yeah, it's got what you'd expect for a WWII made right in the middle of it but it's got some great performances and it's a heck of a lot of fun.  OK, I teared up twice.  Once during Robinson's powerful telling of the tale of the first U.S. Naval victory won by John Paul Jones (he could have been lying his ass off and I wouldn't know or care - great speech) and then at the end which gave me a vibe like at the end of (haha, one of the ends of) LOTR: RETURN OF THE KING ().  The only thing I would've improved is the score.  It was LOADED with variations of Blow the Man Down and Ladies of Spain.  Ugh.  Just too much.  But the rest of the movie kicks ass.

Larceny, Inc. (1942)

Director: Lloyd Bacon

Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford, Jack Carson, Anthony Quinn, Edward Brophy, Harry Davenport, John Qualen, Jackie Gleason

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Hold on to your hearts girls!!! Here comes the racket king!

Plot: On release from Sing Sing, 'Pressure' Maxwell wants to go into legal business; his pal 'Jug' Martin would rather join fellow inmate Leo's bank robbery scheme. A compromise is reached when Pressure buys a luggage shop next to the bank in question. Pressure, Jug, and their friend Weepy's biggest problem is keeping paying customers out of the store! Should they give up crime? That path has unexpected roadblocks...

 

My rating: 9/10

Will I watch it again? YES!!!

Gee whiz I love this movie!  James Cagney is my favorite actor but Edward G. Robinson is a close second.  I've yet to see a movie of either of theirs that I didn't enjoy.  Robinson cracks me up.  Like Cagney, he could keep you on the edge of your seat as a badass gangster, tug at your emotions playing a sympathetic character (like SCARLET STREET (1945) or make you wet yourself with laughter.  This movie is hilarious!!!

PRESSURE: This is a job that requires finesse.
JUG: Who's Finesse?

That exchange might sound corny but when it's flying past you at 90 miles an hour without any chance of a breather it's friggin' funny as hell.

Here's one of my favorite scenes...

The more frustrated Pressure gets the funnier it is.  One thing I dig about flicks like this from this era is the professionalism.  Everyone in front of the camera and behind does their best and it shows.  Hell, the casting alone should be enough evidence of that.  Each actor seems perfectly fit to their roles and there's not a remotely bad performance in the bunch.  And the couple of brief scenes with Jackie Gleason had me in stitches.  He barely says a word but his facial expressions are incredibly funny.  If all you've ever seen of Robinson is LITTLE CAESAR (1931) you owe it to yourself to see his other side as a skilled comedic actor.  He plays it mostly straight but it's the little things he throws in that makes it special.