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Little Caesar
Sign in to save1931 film by Mervyn LeRoy
Film · TMDB
6.9A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?
Cast
- Edward G. Robinson as Caesar Enrico 'Rico' Bandello aka 'Little Caesar'
- Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Joe Massara
- Glenda Farrell as Olga Stassoff
- William Collier Jr. as Tony Passa
- Sidney Blackmer as Big Boy
- Ralph Ince as Pete Montana
Themes
- robbery
- based on novel or book
- gangster
- crime boss
- rise and fall
- murder
- organized crime
- pre-code
- teetotaler
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Key facts
- Directed by
- Mervyn LeRoy
- Written by
- Francis Edward Faragoh , Robert N. Lee , Robert Lord (uncredited), Darryl F. Zanuck (uncredited)
- Based on
- Little Caesar , 1929 novel, by W. R. Burnett
- Produced by
- Hal B. Wallis , Darryl F. Zanuck
- Starring
- Edward G. Robinson , Douglas Fairbanks Jr. , Glenda Farrell
- Cinematography
- Tony Gaudio
- Edited by
- Ray Curtiss
- Music by
- Ernö Rapée
- Production company
- First National Pictures
- Distributed by
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Release date
- January 9, 1931 ( 1931-01-09 )
- Running time
- 79 minutes
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Budget
- $281,000
- Box office
- $752,000
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Duration
- 79
- FilmAffinity ID
- 821848
- Image
- Caesar2.JPG
Show 6 more facts
- publication date
- 1931-03-21
- title
- Little Caesar
- Commons category
- Little Caesar (film)
- capital cost
- 281000
- box office
- 752000
- review score
- 92%
Sources (14)
via Wikidata · CC0
~8 min read
Article
Little Caesar is a 1931 American pre-Code crime film distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, and starring Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Glenda Farrell. The film tells the story of a hoodlum who ascends the ranks of organized crime until he reaches its upper echelons.
The storyline was adapted from the novel of the same name by William R. Burnett. Little Caesar was Robinson's breakthrough role and immediately made him a major film star. The film is often listed as one of the first fully-fledged gangster films and continues to be well received by critics. The Library of Congress maintains a print. Due to the film being registered for copyright late in 1930, it entered the public domain on January 1, 2026.