Smart Money *** (1931, Edward G Robinson, James Cagney, Evalyn Knapp, Ralf Harolde, Noel Francis, Margaret Livingston, Boris Karloff) – Classic Movie Review 12,765

Warner Bros’ 1931 pre-Code crime drama film Smart Money uniquely pairs Edward G Robinson and James Cagney, and is a fascinating cult item. It is the only film the two great gangster actors appeared in together.

Director Alfred E Green’s 1931 Warner Bros American pre-Code crime drama film Smart Money uniquely pairs Edward G Robinson and James Cagney, and is a fascinating cult item. It is the only film Robinson and Cagney appeared in together.

Robinson stars as Nick Venizelos, an immigrant Greek gambling barber with a golden touch and an eye for pretty blondes, who is sent off by his friends with a stack of money to win them all a fortune. When things don’t go as planned and he loses the stack on a fixed game rigged by sleazy operator Sleepy Sam (Ralf Harolde), they send along more cash and his buddy Jack (Cagney), and the duo plot to outsmart the conmen.

Astonishingly, this is the great stars’ sole pairing and they work together a treat, though unfortunately they share too few scenes to elevate a routine underworld picture into a must-see on the level of Little Caesar and or The Public Enemy.

It is entertaining, nevertheless, thanks mainly to the energetic acting, especially by Robinson, the smart, swift moving direction by Alfred E Green, and a good, solid script with nifty dialogue, and a neat story that was special enough to be Oscar nominated. The writing team of Lucien Hubbard and Joseph Jackson were nominated at the fourth Academy Awards in the now defunct Best Story category.

Sadly the smart money at Warner Bros decided that from then on their stars were so big they couldn’t play together again despite both regularly playing gangsters at the studio throughout the 1930s. It was shot after release of Robinson’s Little Caesar and before Cagney’s The Public Enemy, so Cagney is in support.

Boris Karloff plays an early uncredited part as Sport Williams, though it is a prominent role. He was about to hit the big time as the Monster in Frankenstein later the same year.

The cast include Edward G Robinson, James Cagney, Evalyn Knapp, Ralf Harolde, Noel Francis, Margaret Livingston, Boris Karloff, Billy House, Maurice Black, Paul Porcasi, Gladys Lloyd, Polly Walters, Ernie Alexander, Edwin Argus, Spencer Bell, Clark Burroughs, John George, Edward Hearn, Eulalie Jensen, Eddie Kane, Charles Lane, John Larkin, Gus Leonard, Wallace MacDonald, Mae Madison, Charlotte Merriam, Charles O’Malley, Walter Percival, George Reed, Hector Sarno, Harry Semels, and Morgan Wallace.

Smart Money is directed by Alfred E Green, runs 81 minutes, is made and released by Warner Bros, is written by Kubec Glasmon, John Bright, Lucien Hubbard and Joseph Jackson, based on a story by Lucien Hubbard and Joseph Jackson, is shot in black and white by Robert Kurrle, is produced by Alfred E Green, is scored by Leo F Forbstein (conductor), Oscar Potoker (orchestrator) and David Mendoza (title music), and is designed by Robert M Haas.

Release date: July 11, 1931.

Smart Money was released on DVD by Warner Bros in 2008.

The cast are Edward G Robinson as Nick “The Barber” Venizelos, James Cagney as Jack, Evalyn Knapp as Irene Graham, Ralf Harolde as Sleepy Sam, Noel Francis as Marie, Margaret Livingston as District Attorney’s girlfriend, Maurice Black as Greek Barber, Billy House as Irontown Salesman-Gambler, Paul Porcasi as Alexander Amenoppopolus, Polly Walters as Lola, Boris Karloff as Sport Williams (uncredited), Charles Lane as Hotel Clerk (uncredited), John Larkin as Snake Eyes (uncredited), Morgan Wallace as District Attorney Black (uncredited), Gladys Lloyd, Polly Walters, Ernie Alexander, Edwin Argus, Spencer Bell, Clark Burroughs, John George, Edward Hearn, Eulalie Jensen, Eddie Kane, Gus Leonard, Wallace MacDonald, Mae Madison, Charlotte Merriam, Charles O’Malley, Walter Percival, George Reed, Hector Sarno, and Harry Semels.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,765

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