Cinema Revisited: The Little Giant (1933)

The Little Giant

Directed by Roy Del Ruth. Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Mary Astor, Helen Vinson, Russell Hopton, Kenneth Thompson, Shirley Grey, Berton Churchill, Donald Dillaway. Released May 20, 1933. Running time: 76 minutes

After Edward G. Robinson, a classically trained actor, established himself as the snarling tough guy in “Little Caesar,” he was often typecast in such roles. Of course as his career progressed his stardom allowed him to exhibit his skillful versatility in a variety of roles, but during the early 1930s, he rarely played against type.

“The Little Giant” is, therefore, something a bit different for this period in Robinson’s career. He plays the same type of “little” thug, but one who decides to spend his loot legitimately and break into society. The result is a comic parody of his most famous type of role, and one of the best movies of the actor’s early career.

The film opens like a typical gangster drama. Set during the transition from President Hoover to President Roosevelt, concentrating on the end of prohibition, Edward G. Robinson plays Bugs Ahearn, a gangster who realizes his bootlegging racket is now over. Benevolently splitting up the gang’s money evenly, Bugs decides to use his money to enter society. He reads greek philosophy, buys art, attends lectures, and finally relocates and attempts to enter society.

This Depression-era movie looks at the class system in a humorous way. Despite his wealth and attempt to fit in, Bugs is still a mug. He crudity is in direct opposition to the manner of the elitists, and when he discovers they have taking advantage of his societal naiveté by getting him to invest in phony bonds, he decides to get even.

Robinson’s performance is exceptional here. He plays the same snarling character as he had in “Little Caesar,” but he is purposefully tempering it to fit into an environment that he has chosen despite his limitations. Bugs has an ego, as did Rico Bandello, and that ego informs him. He doesn’t realize his limitations. He believes his money is enough to allow his entry into society. What is fascinating is that when the society people discover Bugs is a millionaire, they respond much differently, altering their initial reaction to his base crudity. The fact that he discovers these people are more crooked than his gang, and that it is his gang who corrects things when Bugs is swindled, is the film’s populist message, typical for Warner Brothers/First National during the precode era.

Some of the moments where Bugs settles in are quite amusing. When shown a classic bronze of wrestlers, he mistakes them for Stanislaus Zbyszko and Strangler Lewis – two pro wrestlers of the era. His attempts to play polo result in a slapstick-based sequence.

There are some daring moments that would not pass the censors once the production code was enforced about a year later. At one point, Bugs points out a newly purchased painting to one of his mugs. Bugs proudly asks, “Have you ever seen anything like that?” The mug looks over the abstract art and responds, “Not since I quit cocaine!” There is an underlying sexuality to Robinson’s scenes with Shirley Grey early in the film. When Bugs later speaks French, one of his mugs asks where he learned it. “I once owned ten percent of a French dame,” Bugs replies. When he realizes he’s been duped, Bugs refers to the society people as “a bunch of fags.”

“The Little Giant” benefits from a good supporting cast. Top flight actress Mary Astor has a nice friendly presence as a woman down on her luck who must rent her estate to Bugs, and he makes her his social secretary. She knows the territory and looks out for him. Russell Hopton as the mug who refuses to leave his side and travels into society with him, offers an amusing counterpoint and solid support. Society people played by Helen Vinson, Donald Dillaway, Berton Churchill, and Louise Mackintosh are aptly pretentious and conniving.

Astor, of course, would command the screen in classics like “The Maltese Falcon” and “Meet Me in St Louis.” Hopton would enlighten films of every genre until his tragic suicide in 1945. Mackintosh died only months after this film was released. Churchill would become one of the founding members of the Screen Actors Guild, perhaps partially due to the fact that he was appearing in an average of 30 movies per year. Dillaway appeared with Laurel and Hardy in their feature “Pack Up Your Troubles” (1932). Helen Vinson lived to the ripe old age of 92.

Special mention should be made of Shirley Grey, who plays Bugs’ moll early in the film. When Bugs leaves the rackets, he leaves her behind. She doesn’t fit in to his future plans. She realizes this and they part amicably. He gives her $25,000, an enormous sum in 1933, and she hesitates to take that much. Bugs insists. It is a very moving scene and resonates throughout the rest of the movie. Ms. Grey’s film career ended in. When she lost her only son in World War Two she became reclusive and died alone and forgotten in Florida in 1981.

The mugs include such familiar 1930s actors as Dewey Robinson, Tammany Young, and Al Hill; top flight movie tough guys that graced many such films. The last shot of them all playing polo, guns blazing, ends the film with a laugh.

“The Little Giant” was a box office hit and further established Edward G. Robinson’s stardom. Robinson was never nominated for an Oscar, but his performances were as good or better than anyone who has. “The Little Giant” is a good example.