CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

Jacomedi A Surprisingly Unforgettable Movie!

Michelle Ridley The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

LeonLouisRicci Fluffy and Breezy Pre-Code Star-Combo Featuring Robinson and Cagney in a Somewhat Whimsical Tale of a Small Town Gambler Pooling Friends and Money to Score Big Time. Made on the Coat Tails of Little Caesar (1931) and Shot Simultaneously with Public Enemy (1931) Robinson was a "Shooting" Star and Cagney's Signature Role was Yet to be Released. Their On Screen Scenes are a Joy to Watch and the Movie isn't Bad Either. It's All Handled with Such a Soft Touch it is "Gangster Lite". It Emphasizes Character and Both Cagney and Robison Bring It All Home, ed by a Bevy of Blondes and Some Sharp Story Turns.Pre-Code Stuff is Evident Throughout, the Most Glaring is the Racial Rubbing of a Negroes Head for Luck, Not Once, Not Twice, but Three Times. Another is the More Subtle, but Hardly Unnoticeable, Homo-Erotic Relationship Between the Two Leads that is Presented as a Maybe, but Maybe Not, Depending.Overall, Definitely Worth a Watch as an Artifact of its Time Featuring a Number of Popular Culture Flourishes, like Poker Dice at Checkout Counters for Customers to "Gamble" for Merchandise. There are Other Neat Surprises, but the Star Billing is the Main Attraction.Note...The Story was nominated for an Oscar.

JLRMovieReviews Robinson is a barber who owns his own barbershop, but who goes off to gamble with some real card-sharks. He goes to the hotel where the action is and meets the girl at the magazine counter who tells him what room the game is in, after the desk clerk tells him nothing like that is allowed in this hotel. Little does Edward know what's in store for him. Of course Robinson, as the barber, is great, and James Cagney is a secondary character with not much development to make him really interesting. But, it's Robinson that makes this film worth watching. He has such presence, and this is only a sample of what is yet to come in his career. The only problem I have with it is that its ending is rather anti-climatic. But as usual Robinson has the flair to take it all in stride and he makes the viewer feel honored to watch a master of his craft at work.

lastliberal The same year that he starred in Little Caesar and Five Star Final, Robinson made the Oscar-nominated film that shows the rise of a small-town gambler that goes to the big city and gets suckered. Six months later he is back vowing to never let that happen again and he rises to the top of the gambling world.With James Cagney (Yankee Doodle Dandy, Angels With Dirty faces)at his side to watch out for him, he manages to elude capture by the authorities - mainly because he has bought off most of them. But, as he says, he has a weakness for women - especially blonds. That will prove his down fall.It was not the "Little Caesar" Robinson, but a happy-go-lucky guy that just seemed to take things as they come. he was smiling and laying odds as they carted him off to prison. A funny film that is only marred by the racism that was typical of the time.

stuman-2 It seems that several cast sneak a lot of Yiddish within some of the quick dialog. I know that Cagney, brought up in the lower East Side, did actually insert Yiddish into some of his finished product. Seems odd that this would happen. Appreciate it if someone might elaborate as to if mixtures of different languages/dialects were actually permitted in final takes. Obviously this would save funds on retakes and let a well done scene through. Perhaps since this film was done in '31,it didn't matter too much. Yet, much of the dialog is hard to decipher in spots. I enjoyed the film. A cute piece of height of the depression era entertainment.