Little Caesar (Warner Bros.) (1931)

ee sANG RACKETEERS REGARD IT AS BIG BUSINESS (Current Reader) A Young Man Of Movie: — World Builds A House Mervyn LeRoy, Director Of “Little Caesar” Is Not Thr Matec. avod| Quite The “Boy Director” He Was Called The Evening Several Years Ago Crowds That (Feature) i ; 3 Are Rushing sterner qualities which bespea To See This} By JOSEPH HENRY STEELE | more lasting products of his tei! Great Picture) Mervyn LeRoy is building a The promise he made with “Num house. bered Men” is being kept. He -is It is the house of Life built dur-| keeping faith with the demand he Yesterday Critics raved! Audiences Cheered. 3,687 patrons hurried to tell their friends about the greatest s one who has studied gangs and crookdom from the in,» Mervyn LeRoy, who directed tle Caesar,” the First National ler now playing at the ...... atre, can give the real dope it their habits and manners. under world ¢ states that the average gangand racketeer of today looks 1 his work as a business, much ther men regard their own proons, only of course the crook a warped viewpoint. The crook not wish to kill anyone in obag his ends, any more than the average business man; but times he does kill if he is inred with. This psychology, ed and anti-social as it is, is theless the accepted attitude 1g he brethren of the underi. ward G. Robinson, who made a hit in “The Racket,” is once more assigned the gangster lead— this time in “Little Caesar.” With Robinson in the cast are such splendid performers as Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Glenda Farrell, Sidney Blackmer, George E. Stone, William Collier, Jr., and Ralph Ince. “Little Caesar” is First National’s screen adaptation of W. R. Burnett’s novel of the same name. Burnett’s book was a recent Lit ~erary Guild selection. drama _ they’ve ing the spring flight of one man’s career. ‘ At thirty he finds that house taking definite form. Built upon a foundation of experience, and, more important still, cemented by lusty cerebration. The ground floor is rearing itself in worthy achievements. Screen dramas of heavier and more lasting metal. Movie puppets without falsefaces and dramatic episodes without the tinsel of Theatre marring them. Digging deep into life he is erecting a house which had its beginnings in laughter and satyric glee. Living his spring flight has taught him life is not so monstrously irresponsible. And that is no small achievement for any man, for the average wanderer arrives at no philosophy worthy of the name at any age. LeRoy has not taken life so lightly, though those who claim his friendship may opine otherwise. Virtually growing in the show world he has been influenced not a little by its make-believe exterior, but through it he has brought thought made upon himself—the dema: that Mervyn LeRoy achieve som thing praiseworthy and self-satie ing. First National producers watched this young man and were remindec that literature and art and politics and nations have been molded by young men. History was full o such milestones as Keats and Joyce Lafayette and Lindberg, Alexande. and others. LeRoy’s deft touches of come merely hid his bushel of human yw derstanding. “Numbered Mer Proved that. The most importat production on the current schedu. was “Little — a screen ver sion of that devasiating classic: 9 gangsters from yR. Burnett’ facile pen. _It was no small thing, this + sion that LeRoy should be vy. with the fate of “Little Caesar.” b this young man had been buildin a house and already it showed sign of stability and endurance. It seem ed as though an urge of destiny was behind him and shouldered him: on and upward. u And so, willy-nilly, that inner de to bear and found deeper wells of|™and of his reached out and wor humanness and a finer sense of|the right to guide the making o values. Little Caesar.” The timber of his house is sound,| Gangsters, racketeers, bootle seasoned by observation and cogi-|8¢tS, American guerillas—shi tation. He is not quite the “boy-| fellows of a hidden world—apach’ “LITTLE CAESAR” NOW WANTS TO L 0 CK Can Love that 2B OL e . director” he was dubbed several rinses, ora rg Bei on t CO¥%e ‘. years ago. —Burne e P LAY SHY rules the EDM ph gris Into that composite of play and eS tig —_ eee them in world rule the WEDNE DD. Be s 2 Ppa has crept a mature appre-| portrait of these medern tartans aan? i t i . ; born in| underworld re ag Soong denge’s Peewee iE should serve as history for future Edward G. Robinson was an generations—the incredible, horrific . stands life rather than laughs at it. when a fearie rise Into his work has crept this more less killer is in ationa g : important phase of a young man’s Vitaphone development with results that} A young man earned his meda command? Picture promise much for audiences view-|@nd Mervyn LeRoy directzd it, ing and appraising his efforts. “Little Caesar” is going to su Except for a brief tenure selling Prise those who have followed th Cut No. 13 Cut 40¢, Mat 10c am j | ie R Th ) ‘ ‘ azing LeRoy’s career. ey a papers in San Francisco Mervyn] ,,; : ' : / . {going to find the tongte-in-the Young Blood! LeRoy has been virtually raised in cheek type of apes they will charest, Roumania, on December : 1893. His family came to Amica and became naturalized citins when he was very young. He was educated in New York public schools and took a Master of Arts degree at the College of the City of New York. His childhood am record of the great American ca cer. ss bitions were many. He wanted to amare That Took Three famous sons of three fam— ' heatre. Still a young man—| fing in contrast thel sort ¢” ous fathers take part in “Little| 2", Passing the borderline of his| drama that sirens > ae be a lawyer, a teacher, a clergyman “Ti 99 ittle Caesar reo rline « ; ; : : enties—he has the viewpoint of : Caesar” the First National and Vitamaturity and its concomitant knowl-| Given such materidl as B and an actor. During the World War he served . Air Minded Ge a ee ee edge and feeling for values novel, Sidney Blackmer, Edy Theatre. They are Douglas Fair& : ee ae er, Edi in the American naval service. banks, Jr., William Collier, Jr. and| “Though sages may pour out Glenda Farrell, Lucille La Robinson appeared in ten plays , Ben Hendricks, Jr. their wisdom’s treasure, Ralph Ince, Willie Collies...’ Difficult Scenes Now Shot “Little Caesar” is an adaptation of : ae for the Theatre Guild. During the sixteen years he has spent in the There is no sterner moralist than|limited production facilities—thte theatre he has appeared in such plays as “The Man With Red Hair,” By Cameras Susp ended R. Burnett’s famous story of pleasure.” . LeRoy is completing a house. The’ Maximilian,” “Right You Are lf "Ton Huge Cranes hes fee ee ri Mere N LeRoy | peyton might easily Rave had Le-| walls and foundations are complete aximilian, lt : yn LeRoy, ——— : 5 Petia ge oe fags om Ag: You Think You Are,” “Peer Gint, 8 Hollywood’s youngest megaphone Roy, in mind, for into this young|—énd it is “Little Cacsar”—tomamy wellder directed man’s house of life have come| A young man has built a he “The Adding Machine,” “The Firend,” “The Deluge,” “Night iging,” “Launzi,” “The Idle Inn,” ider Fire,” “Under Sentence,” “Kibitzer,” of which he is coior. He is an accomplished lint, speaking Spanish, Italian, nach, German, Hebrew and Yid1, in addition to his native tongue. has done plays in all these lang ges, including their various dia‘ts. He signed for his first picture rt, “The Bright Shawl” eight ars ago, because the engagement ‘luded a trip to Havana. After ‘iving there he became seriously and was unable to participate in y of the enjoyments he anticited when he agreed to the engement. Robinson made four pictures, prito his engagement for the “Wiww from Chicago.” “The Hole in e Wall,” “The Night Ride,” “A idy to Love” and “The Bright wi.” There are three roles he ild like to do: “Dracula,” .“Shyk,” and the leading part in ower.” le is married to Doris Lloyd, e actress. He is a great lover of » symphonies. The works of Anle France are his favorite read One of his favorite pastimes window shopping. His favorite rt is golf; the other is crap ig. He says he keeps in good ion by not trying to keep fit. pecial aversion is getting up in the morning. He is five ight inches tall, weighs one ani fifty, has brown eyes Now movie cameras are “airminded.” Even in filming interiors of houses cameras and their operators are liable at anytime to soar we through the air. . A new invention at First National Rico’s law demanded one ee love—the gang. But she G Studios has sounded the knell of es wouldn’t share her sweetawa all the complicated rolling camera trucks and derricks, “dolleys” and heart’s love with anybody, so on for moving cameras from place not even the most dangerto place during a “shot.” ous of all gangsters. How It also does away with the tripod will it end? Only the for all but stationary shots—just as screen can tell! a new special tripod had been invented, too! The new method operates from the top of stages, or in outdoor shots from huge electric cranes, with steel cables and tgolleys. The camera trolleys move by electric control and power in pre-determined paths which after being “set” are automatically controlled and never vary. The camera itself is in a cage or “sling.” Its vertical as well as horizontal movements are easily controlled. An idea of the magic that can be accomplished by the new invention may be gathered from this description of a scene made for “Little Caesar,” the new First National film featuring Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Glenda Farrell and others. Beginning with a closeup of the white ball on a roulette outfit, the camera first moves vertically away until the roulette wheel is seen, then the table; it descends again for a closeup of hands raking in winnings in another part of the table, then goes up for a full shot of the crowd e e | Bes ub for 2 fall shot of the crowd-|| Sensation of All Sensations: the big gamblihall! Cut id <0c, Mat 15c They Couldn’t Get Rico with Bullets but 2 They got him with Love! . LITTLE e: R with EDWARN G. ROBINSON Douglas FAIRBANKS, Jr. William Collier, Jr. Sidney Blackmer and Ralph Im A First National & Vitaphone Picture