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(More customer reviews)The fourth collection in Warner's Gangster sets contains more unsung gems from Warner Brothers, the studio whose product stands up the best of all today. The reasons are simple - they had the best actors and their production environment produced dynamic economical unpretentious entertainments. This set contains 4 starring vehicles for Edward G Robinson and 3 supporting roles for Humprey Bogart.
- "The Little Giant" is a pre code 1933 vehicle, a typical smart comic melodrama with Robinson as a beer baron who mixes in society, a not dissimilar theme to the later and far superior "A Slight Case of Murder". In this case, Robinson is still a bit close to "Little Ceasar" to be funny and the main interest is the endless slang and pre-code innuendo.
- From 1937, "Kid Galahad" is an exciting prize fight melodrama. Robinson is paired with a very attractive Bette Davis as his moll and together, they tear up the screen with their magnetism. Bogart and Robinson have a great shoot out at the end of the film.
- "The Amazing Dr Clitterhouse", released in 1938 and based on a successful West End play, stars Robinson as a surgeon who infiltrates a gang to analyse the criminal mind. With Bogart in support as a particularly vicious crook and the attractive and brittle Claire Trevor as the leader of the gang, this film, as directed by Anatole Litvak, is more polished than the usual Warner's programmer. The story is ambiguous with a very clever climax; a most unusual and interesting film.
- by 1939, the gangster cycle had just about runs its course and the Hays Code was more interested in how the gangster reformed than how he operated. "Invisible Stripes" is more a social melodrama than a gangster film and stars the wooden George Raft as an ex-crim trying to re-establish himself while on parole. Bogart is in support again and a very young William Holden appears. It is a dull and predictable film.
- "Larceny Inc", released in 1942, is a very funny comedy with Robinson out of jail and buying a luggage shop adjoining a bank in order to break in. Jack Carson is particularly amusing as a travelling salesman. Watch out for his sales pitch on his range of luggage - hilarious! Also the incomparable Ed Brophy with his hysterical Brooklyn accent appears as one of Robinson's sidekicks.
All the prints are in good condition and the DVDs are packed with extras - cartoons, short films and trailers as part of "Warners's Night at the Movies". A number of the films have expert commentaries. The one for "Larceny Inc" is lousy. A seperate DVD is included which contains a very detailed documentary about the development of the gangster genre at Warner Brothers. The best parts are the snippets of archival interviews with such people as Joan Blondell, that spunky moll essential to the early Warner's product, and directors such as William Wellman ("The Public Enemy") and Raoul Walsh ("White Heat"). If you are interested in the history of Warner Brothers, then the documentary is interesting but keep in mind that most of its content has been covered in commentaries and featurettes included on the DVDs of the films which make up Warners Gangster Collections.
As usual, Warner Brothers have produced a good value package.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 4 (The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse / Invisible Stripes / Kid Galahad / Larceny, Inc. / The Little Giant / Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film) (2008)
The fourth collection in this series includes the films The Amazing Doctor Clitterhouse, Little Giant, Larceny Incorporated, Invisible Stripes, Kid Galahad, and a bonus disc featuring a new documentary, Public Enemies: The Golden Age of Gangster Film.
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