Leichtes Geld (1931)

Leichtes Geld: Directed by Alfred E. Green. With Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, Evalyn Knapp, Ralf Harolde. A Greek barber has uncommon skills in playing poker and soon rises in the seedy world of illegal gambling, but pretty blondes remain his Achilles’ heel.

“Smart Money (1931)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA clever story about crime and misguided love (quasi-love) and about the love of money. Whatu0026#39;s wrong with that? Nothing here. With a remarkable performance by Edward G. Robinson (as usual), and supporting roles by a young James Cagney and a series of blondes who will more or less look alike at first. It might have been something of a formula production for the cast and crew, but itu0026#39;s during the lively pre-1934 sound era where, especially at a studio like Warner Bros., things manage to pop one way or another.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs much as this is a very good film, completely engaging and without gaffes or sentimental slow downs, it remains secondary for 1931 because of several interesting things. First, Robinson had just become famous for u0026quot;Little Caesaru0026quot; where he had a shining (and roughly similar) role as a sort of good guy gangster. Second, Cagney was in a rare supporting role, not yet famous for his breakout role in u0026quot;The Public Enemyu0026quot; later the same year. Both of these Warner films are better, all around. And a third twist is the appearance early on of Boris Karloff, who was about to launch to superstardom as, yes, u0026quot;Frankenstein,u0026quot; a Universal film from later in, yes, 1931. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut you should watch u0026quot;Smart Moneyu0026quot; for what it does so well–tells a fast, multi-layered story with economy and life, and with great performances by the leads. The story and direction might fall short of classic, but itu0026#39;s still really solid.”