Edward G. Robinson was Little Caesar, a tough guy to be taken seriously. But he made fun of the tough-guy image with this film, A Slight Case of Murder. It seems a bunch of gangsters who were his enemies, held up a bank and went out to his hide-out to settle a score with him. But one of them double-crosses them all and shoots them and leaves their dead bodies for Eddie to discover, wanting to take the loot with him. But, before he could make a break for it, he has to hide in the house, when Eddie and his men show up. Therefore he's always around, hiding from room to room. And, the men try to dispose of the bodies, but find out there's a reward for them, dead or alive. Meanwhile Eddie's daughter is getting married, but what she doesn't know is the new line of work her fiancé has picked, that of a state patrolman. The law getting into Eddie's family! He'll hit the roof. A particular highlight is when Eddie and his wife have a party, inviting the in-laws, and actress Ruth Donnelly, who's his wife and is very good in her role, tries to act so upper-class and trying to make a good impression on her guests. I had seen the film years ago, not knowing this was a parody of the genre and didn't care for it, but this time around I couldn't stop laughing. I think a viewer's high expectations of a film may hinder the enjoyment of it if it's not as good as you wanted or not what you thought you were getting. But, if you want a spoof of the gangster's life and troubles, look no further than this "slight case of moider."

This movie falls securely into the beat-it-you-mugs style of lovable gangster films, fairly common in the '30s. The dialog is rife with all that faux street-tough lingo (ex., "Say, when do we tie on the feedbag?" for When do we eat?), made famous by the Dead End Kids and countless others. I happen to think it's pretty hilarious, but that's just me.This is also a "screwball comedy." Now if you'eve ever wondered about what makes a comedy "screwball," well, the key might be a storyline that disdains all the pedestrian limits imposed by a too rigid attention to the realistic and believable. In other words, to borrow a famous example, Laurel and Hardy, say, are carrying a piano across a rope bridge over a raging river. Half way across, they meet a gorilla. You get the idea.Anyway, I saw this movie when I was a teenager and thought it was one of the best of its era. Seeing it now, I still like it a lot, although it's perhaps not top-shelf. If Frank Capra had made this, the secondary storyline (gangster's daughter wants to marry a policeman!) would have been primary, and the primary storyline (gangster bootlegger, now that Prohibition is over, decides to try to be a "legit" businessman) would have been secondary, and it would have been a better movie (provided of course you had Jean Arthur and James Stewart in the roles of the young lovers). But really, there's a lot to like here.

Ex-bootlegger Edward G. Robinson (as Remy Marko) celebrates the end of Prohibition by declaring to go legit, but wisecracking wife Ruth Donnelly (as Nora) wonders about his business sense. "If I can only be sure you ain't got a bug in your nut," she tells him. Sure enough, Mr. Robinson's "Gold Velvet" beer sales fall flat, shootings litter his suburban Saratoga home, and pretty daughter Jane Bryan (as Mary) reveals she is engaged to handsome and amusingly-named policeman Willard Parker (as Dick Whitewood).Robinson and veteran director Lloyd Bacon make this an often brilliant and still refreshingly funny "spoof" of gangster pictures, based on a Damon Runyon play. Robinson gets great comic support from velvet-voiced Allen Jenkins (as Mike), Edward Brophy (as Lefty), Harold Huber (as Gip), and the usual suspects at Warner Bros. Watch for marvelous Margaret Hamilton as a reform school teacher, stuffy Paul Harvey as the copper's dad, and well-spoken "silent" star Betty Compson to make the most of a bit part.Beer-swigging "bad boy" Bobby Jordan (as Douglas Fairbanks Rosenbloom), the aforementioned Ms. Donnelly, and star Robinson are amazing. Although not finally nominated, hopefully Donnelly was considered for a 1938 "Academy Award" as "Best Supporting Actress" and Mr. Jordan for a "Best Juvenile" performer of 1938 mini-statuette. "A Slight Case of Murder" was soundly listed in "Best Picture" territory, at #5, on "The New York Times" annual bests list. It seems like an entirely accurate placement.******** A Slight Case of Murder (2/26/38) Lloyd Bacon ~ Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Donnelly, Bobby Jordan, Allen Jenkins

"A Slight Case of Murder" is a delightful gangster comedy written by the legendary Damon Runyon and directed by Lloyd Bacon. It's also a nice change of pace for star Edward G. Robinson who gets to display his comedic talents as he spoofs his gangster image.Remy Marco (Robinson - in an obvious spoof of his "Rico" character in "Little Caesar") is a bootlegger who has made his fortune running illegal beer during prohibition. When prohibition ends, Marco proudly announces that he's going to be strictly legit, believing that he will no longer need strong arm tactics, and that he will continue to rake in the money from legal sales. What he doesn't realize is that because he's never actually tasted his own brew, is that it tastes awful.Now that the public can buy well brewed better tasting beer legally, Marco sees his fortune disappear over the ensuing four years. On the verge of bankruptcy, he finds himself in debt over a half a million dollars and has to deal with two predatory bankers Post (John Litel) and Ritter (Eric Stanley) who are trying to foreclose on him.Marco's daughter Mary (Jane Bryan) has returned home and plans to marry the bumbling State Trooper son, Dick Whitewood (Willard Parker) of business tycoon Paul Harvey. Marco and his wife Nora (Ruth Donnelly) plan to host an engagement party at their country house in Saratoga. What he doesn't know is that a rival gang has heisted $500K from bookies and are holed up in Marco's house.With his three stooges, Mike (Allen Jenkins), Lefty (Edward Brophy and Gip (Harold Huber), Marco learns that four of the five gangsters have been murdered and their bodies left in a guest bedroom while the fifth hangs around trying to escape with the money. The satchel containing the money is found by an orphan with the distinguished moniker of Douglas Fairbanks Rosenbloom (Bobby Jordan), who had been brought by Marco from the orphanage for the weekend.And then the fun starts.Robinson proved that he could play comedy and ranked this film among his favorites. But Warner Bros. saw him as a gangster and so he had difficulty breaking away from that genre. After he left Warners in the early forties, he turned in a number of great performances notably in "Double Indemnity" (1944) and two FRitz Lang classics, "The Woman in the Window" (1944) and "Scarlett Street" (1945). Oddly enough, he returned to Warners Bros. in 1948 to play gangster Johnny Rocco in "Key Largo" (1948).