The Little Giant (1933)

“Bomb ’em, steal ’em, bribe ’em, slug ’em, you name it and I dun it.” – James Francis ‘Bugs’ “

Number of Times Seen – 1 (12 Mar 2020)

Brief Synopsis – A former gangster and bootlegger tries to reform himself and attempt to join the high society.

My Take on it – This is yet another film from the early 1930’s that I had never heard of before watching and knew absolutely nothing about it when I came across it during my quest to watch more films from that era.

This is quite an intriguing story that is able to show the differences and similarities between the classes in society.

Edgar G. Robinson is perfect in the lead role and truly makes us believe his character in both his gangster mode and his high society one.

Mary Astor and Helen Windsor are both great in supporting roles and help keep tings on edge due to their very diverse personalities and plans fro the main character.

The story is paced really well and they allow us to get a clear idea of everything happening the whole time even when some of the other characters are slightly in the dark about things.

This allows the characters to constantly surprise one another along the way by things they say or do and it works quite well.

There are some scenes in the film that are a bit too predictable for their own good yet they allow the story to move n a charming way because it doesn’t feel the need to rely on heavy or dark themes and stays light the whole way through.

They have numerous opportunities to drag things down to some very dastardly and evil places yet shirk that urge and instead give us something that stays fun and enjoyable despite some of its themes.

Bottom Line – Really intriguing story that works quite well because of the way that Robinson is able to play both the gangster and the socialite at the same time. Astor and Windsor are both quite good in supporting roles that help keep the story more balanced due to their personalities and plans for the main character and his future. The story moves along at a great pace and lets the viewer know everything that is going on even though the characters themselves are constantly surprising one another with everything they say or do along the way. Parts of this movie are a bit too predictable but that actually helps along with the charm of it all because it is all done with a light feel to it and doesn’t get dragged down into something darker or more evil despite having numerous opportunities to do so. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – “Al” recounts a job where he shot up a stuffed Polar Bear. The same plot scene was depicted in The Public Enemy (1931) with “Tom” doing the shooting. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)