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The Little Giant (1933 film)

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The Little Giant
Directed byRoy Del Ruth
Written byRobert Lord
Wilson Mizner
Produced byFirst National Pictures (now a Subsidiary of Warner Bros.)
CinematographySidney Hickox
M. A. Anderson
Edited byGeorge Marks
Ray Curtiss
Music byLeo F. Forbstein
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • May 20, 1933 (1933-05-20)
Running time
76 minutes

The Little Giant is a 1933 American pre-Code crime comedy romance. It follows the attempts of an ex-gangster to make his way into high society.

The film was directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Edward G. Robinson and Mary Astor. It was produced and distributed through Warner Bros.[1]

The Library of Congress has preserved a print of this film.[2]

Plot

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Mobster Jim (Bugs) Ahearn, Edward G. Robinson, realizing that the end of prohibition is only months away, decides to quit the bootlegging racket and work to elevate his culture and status by reading books and investing in art, and ultimately by leaving Chicago for Santa Barbara, where he attempts to fit into the upper crust of society. He invests in polo ponies, joins a polo team (he's terrible, but is tolerated because of his money), falls in love with Polly Cass, Helen Vinson. He is blind to the woman who truly loves him, Ruth Wayburn, Mary Astor. After sinking a massive amount of cash into Polly's father's investment firm, which, unbeknownst to Bugs, is crooked and on the verge of bankruptcy, the Cass family discovers Bugs' criminal past. They cancel his engagement to Polly and plan to flee to Europe. When Bugs finds out, he calls in his old gang from Chicago, who, through a variety of means, retrieve Bugs' money from the crooked investors. He ultimately realizes that Ruth is the girl for him, and we close on the couple watching his uncouth mobsters playing a most unorthodox version of a polo game.

Cast

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References

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  1. ^ The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:The Little Giant
  2. ^ Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress (<-book title) p.104 c.1978 by The American Film Institute
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