Directed by Mervyn LeRoy • 1931 • United States
Starring Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Glenda Farrell
Edward G. Robinson shot to stardom with his electrifying performance in this landmark gangster drama about a man who ruthlessly murders his way to the top of the mob. Small-time, small-town hood Cesare Enrico “Rico” Bandello (Robinson) vows to rule the rackets and not be “just another mug.” With his friend Joe Massara (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), Rico moves to the city, where he uses murder—including the assassination of the police commissioner—to advance rapidly within the rackets . . . until he attempts to take over the entire underworld.
Up Next in Mervyn LeRoy’s Pre-Code Films
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Big City Blues
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy • 1932 • United States
Starring Joan Blondell, Eric Linden, Jobyna HowlandBud Reeves (Eric Linden) does what any young man from a small town would do when he unexpectedly comes into money: he heads to the big city in search of fame and fortune. Amid the bright lights of...
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High Pressure
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy • 1932 • United States
Starring William Powell, Evelyn Brent, John WrayWilliam Powell (THE THIN MAN) is at his ruthlessly charming best in this breakneck con-man comedy. He stars as Gar Evans, a fast-talking hustler who makes a fortune selling stock in a company with a ...
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I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy • 1932 • United States
Starring Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell, Noel FrancisPaul Muni gives a haunting performance in this brutal, startlingly raw exposé of prison conditions based on the autobiography by Robert Elliott Burns. Wrongly convicted of robbery, would-be architect...
