The Little Giant

Edward G. Robinson is always good, and in this one he does a little take-off on his gangster image. He’s still a hood, but Prohibition has ended and he feels that the bottom has dropped out of the illicit beer business. He decides to move to Santa Barbara and join the upper crust. His attempts are comical, and of course the upper crust wants only his money, since the family of the girl he is in love with will soon be bankrupt, taking all their investors with them. Really rings a bell, doesn’t it? Only when this guy realizes he’s been taken to the cleaners, he has his own methods of teaching them the error of their way, such as putting out cigars on their feet until they sign papers giving the money back. Made me feel good. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could grab all the Wall Street execs who got rich while screwing their investors, the country, and eventually the whole world economy, and do that to them? “When I count to ten, either your signature or your brains will be on that contract.” Sigh. Wouldn’t that be fun?