The Original Smart-Mouthed Bull

Little Caesar burst on to Depression-era screens in 1931, the first big sound, gangster film. It defined an American genre and paved the way for Public Enemy, Scarface, and all the rest up to The Sopranos. The movie's reputation rests almost wholly on the performance of Edward G. Robinson and the effect of hearing machine guns roar. There is not much else to recommend the film. Robinson' main supporting players, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Glenda Farrell, are terrible and the story itself is hardly revolutionary. The only other exception to this fact (and a hardly ever mentioned exception) is the performance of Thomas Edward Jackson as Detective Sergeant Thomas Flaherty.

Jackson was a marvelous Warner Brothers character actor who later transitioned to television and stayed obscure throughout his career. He played bit roles (usually uncredited and often as a detective or reporter) in movies like The Thin Man, Angels with Dirty Faces, Fritz Lang's The Woman in the Window & Scarlet Street, The Big Sleep and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. Of particular interest to this blog's focus on street-level heroes, Jackson played Commissioner Weston to Rod La Rocque's Shadow in the film International Crime. Sadly (and a bit macabrely) I cannot find a picture of Jackson, just his grave in Hollywood Hills.

Jackson's portrayal of Flaherty is the perfect contrast to Robinson as "Little" Caesar Enrico Bandello. Where Rico is loud, emotive and proud, Flaherty is soft-spoken, laconic and cynical. But despite Robinson's aura of physical danger, Flaherty projects an equally sinister persona through his monotonal Irish lilt. In the end Flaherty wins, not just to satisfy the morality tale, but because he manipulates Rico and wields a chopper with great dexterity. Rico fathered outrageous gangsters like Cody Jarrett, Sonny Corleone, Tommy DeVito and Paulie Walnuts, but Flaherty helped fathered sardonic detectives willing to take vigilante action like Fat Ollie Weeks, John Munch, Thomas Brant and Sean Dignam.

Here are a few samples of the great interactions between Rico, Flaherty and a few other lesser gangsters (all of which are available on youtube).

Rico: Who invited you here?
Flaherty: You're getting up in the world, aren't you Rico?
Rico: The downstairs is open to anybody even cops, but the upstairs is private.
Flaherty: Thanks, but I like to keep my eye on you, Rico. You see, I am your friend. I like to see a young fellow getting up in the world, that's all. So long.
Rico: Hurry back.
Flaherty: I will.

Flaherty: So somebody finally put one in you.
Rico: Yeah, but they just grazed me though.
Flaherty: The old man will be glad to hear it. He takes such an interest in you.
Rico: You tell him the cops couldn't get me no other way, so they hired a couple of gunmen.
Flaherty: If I wasn't on the force I'd have done the job cheap.
Rico: Did you ever stop to think how you'd look like with a lily in your hand?
Flaherty: No, I never did. I been in this game a good many years, and I put the cuffs on a lot of mugs. Someday, you and I are going to take a ride Rico, and when we do I'll have the cuffs on you too.

Sam Vettori: You ain't got nothing on me.
Flaherty: Nothing, but the bracelets.

Here is a video of Rico drunk dialing Flaherty.

Flaherty: We've missed you Rico. The town has been nice and quiet. I am putting on weight...Yeah, they'll have to build a special noose to get that swelled head of his through.