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Post by topbilled on Mar 25, 2024 16:32:25 GMT
Edward G. Robinson became a household name with his iconic performance as a hoodlum in 1931’s LITTLE CAESAR. Like other Warner Brothers leads at the time, he became typecast playing gangster parts. However, he was able to overcome the typecasting by taking comical roles that spoofed the gangster image. And occasionally, he managed to convince the front office that he should be given more diverse characters to play, such as DR. EHRLICH and the detective in CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY. During the war years, he left Warners to freelance, but occasionally Robinson came back. One notable example is 1948’s KEY LARGO, directed by John Huston, where he returns to form as vicious mafia boss Johnny Rocco.
Check out:
LITTLE CAESAR (1931)
THE MAN WITH TWO FACES (1934)
CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY (1939) |
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Post by NoShear on Mar 29, 2024 0:11:32 GMT
Edward G. Robinson became a household name with his iconic performance as a hoodlum in 1931’s LITTLE CAESAR. Like other Warner Brothers leads at the time, he became typecast playing gangster parts. However, he was able to overcome the typecasting by taking comical roles that spoofed the gangster image. And occasionally, he managed to convince the front office that he should be given more diverse characters to play, such as DR. EHRLICH and the detective in CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY. During the war years, he left Warners to freelance, but occasionally Robinson came back. One notable example is 1948’s KEY LARGO, directed by John Huston, where he returns to form as vicious mafia boss Johnny Rocco.
Check out:
LITTLE CAESAR (1931)
THE MAN WITH TWO FACES (1934)
CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY (1939) Glad he both was given more eventual latitude, TopBilled, as well periodically returning to Warner Brothers:  |
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Post by topbilled on Mar 29, 2024 5:57:32 GMT
Robinson had an extraordinary career, and even when the chips were down (the period when he was grey listed) he still maintained a level of dignity. I watched two films he made in the mid-50s, when he was reduced to starring in very modestly budgeted independent films. The two I watched were BLACK TUESDAY (1954) and NIGHTMARE (1956), and I was impressed with how much craftsmanship he puts into his performances when almost everyone else on screen is going through the motions and not really trying their best.
He soon bounced back with his role in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS and it's as if that "down period" for him kept his ego in check and kept him refining his skills as an actor.
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