Little Caesar [Hardcover]

W. R. Burnett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 1996

    Little Caesar, a 1931 Hollywood gangster classic, is viewed in revivals today with nearly as much audience enthusiasm as it enjoyed a half-century ago, in the depths of the Great Depression.
    In general, the Hollywood film industry responded to the dark economic conditions of the 1930s with escapist and non-topical films. The fascinating exception was the gangster film, through which the studios joined in the debate over the spiritual and economic health of the nation. Little Caesar, considered by many to be an architype of the genre, is one of the most memorable dramatizations of the discontent and alienation, the deep anxiety and hostility shared by millions of Americans during those dark years.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

    Gerald Peary is film critic for the Real Paper in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Formerly Assistant Professor of English and Film at Rutgers University, he is the author of several books on cinema.
    Tino Balio, Professor in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is the author of United Artists: The Company Built by the Stars, United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry, and the editor of The American Film Industry as well as the 22 volume Wisconsin/Warner Bros. Screenplay series, all published by the University of Wisconsin Press. He directed the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theatre Research from 1966 to 1882.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 308 pages
• Publisher: Otto Penzler; Facsimile edition (July 8, 1996)
• ASIN: B000023VWP
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,887,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars classic gangster novel, January 30, 2003

By 

David Group (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Caesar (Paperback)

This novel is a masterpiece of spare prose, vividly telling the story of the rise and fall of a 1920s gangster in 1/2 to 1/3 the number of pages that a present-day writer would take. The novel is fast-paced and expertly evokes the era, though readers unfamiliar with the times might have a little trouble with some of the slang expressions. Like his The Asphalt Jungle, this became the template for numerous subsequent imitations, including the films The Long Good Friday and Scarface.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First gangster novel ever - a classic, September 11, 2003

By 

Geert Daelemans (Leuven Belgium) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Little Caesar (Hardcover)

Imagine yourself being flown back in time to the late 1930's and dropped of into a dark and lonely alley on the north side of Chicago, commonly known as Little Italy. This area, ruled by the mob, forms the setting for Little Caesar, world's first gangster novel.

Sam Vettori is one of the toughest gang-bosses of Little Italy, but his days are counted. A new ambitious predator is on the verge of throwing Sam from his throne. Cesare Bandello, commonly known a 'Rico', is that guy. On more than one area has Rico proven to be Sam's superior, but on pulling the strings Sam stays the expert. That's why both decide to co-operate. But when a robbery turns bad -a captain of the police gets killed- everyone starts fending for themselves.

Little Caesar is simply a masterpiece. Not only because it is the first of its kind and it gave birth to a whole range of gangster fiction, but also because the peculiar way it is composed. Although it is written in an almost objective and factual style -almost like in a newspaper-, it still succeeds in getting the reader emotionally involved into the action. The action itself, of which there is plenty, is being reported in a very compact narrative, which gives the story a fast and suspenseful pace.

One warning though: the book contains quite some thirties-slang, which might disturb the inexperienced reader. Do you know what happens if someone turns yellow, for example?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Little Caesar, W. R. Burnett (1929), October 31, 2009

By 

ML Noir (Chicago IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Caesar (Hardcover)

W. R. Burnett was born to a wealthy Ohio family and moved to Chicago in 1927 where he became a desk clerk at the Northmere Hotel. There he got to know a mob hit man named Barber and other gangland figures. He developed a feel for the 1920s Chicago underworld, capturing their speech in the terse dialogue of Little Caesar.

In fact, reading the dialogue, I couldn't help hearing Edward G. Robinson in the movie Little Caesar (1931). I truly believe that Burnett's clipped dialogue played a big part in creating Robinson's gangster persona for many movies.

Here, the cops are coming after the main character; and his girl Blondy wants to get away along with him:

"Nothing doing, Blondy. I'm traveling fast and I can't be bothered with no dame . . ."

" . . . It's all over now, and you stay planted, Blondy, and as soon as I get a chance I'll send you a stake. . . ."

(Blondy screams)

"Shut your mouth . . .and if the bulls come up the front way, kid `em along. Make `em think you got me hid, see?"

Even more significantly, Burnett saw the world a new way--through the eyes of gangland killers. And he opened that world to readers of Little Caesar.

Little Caesar tells of Cesare Bandello, or Rico, a crook from Youngstown on the rise in Chicago. In Little Caesar, Burnett presents the essence of each character in few words.

"Sam Vettori sat staring into Halsted Street. He was a big man, fat as a hog, with a dark, oily complexion, kinky black hair and a fat, aquiline face. In repose he had an air of lethargic good nature; due entirely to his bulk; for in reality he was sullen, bad tempered, and cunning."

So begins the story, telling just about all the reader needs to know about gang leader Sam Vettori.

But Sam, like the other characters, is a foil; everything about him is NOT what Rico is.

"Sam Vettori's lieutenant, Rico, . . . sat with his hat tilted over his eyes, his pale, think face slightly drawn, his fingers tapping. Rico always played to win."

Boss Vettori, fat and lethargic; lieutenant Rico edgy, impatient, played to win. In so few words, the reader has the premise laid out. Rico will take over the gang.

Rico's sidekick Otero drank too much; Rico didn't drink. Joe Massara was in love with the glamorous dancer Olga; Rico had little time for women. Joe and Tony, the 20-year-old driver, were soft and yellow; Rico was dependable and gutsy, he was "the goods."

But Rico had flaws. He was trigger-happy. He was awed by the luxurious lifestyle of "The Big Boy," the top Chicago gang leader. And insecurity kept reminding him that he was "just a yegg from Youngstown." (A yegg is a "safecracker" or a "robber.")

Did Rico's strengths bring him to the top? Did his flaws bring his downfall? Read the book and find out.

ML Noir Journal [...]