Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

JohnHowardReid SYNOPSIS: Ex-convict buys a luggage shop next door to a bank. NOTES: The original stage play opened on Broadway at the Morosco on 10 April 1941. Following very unenthusiastic reviews, it closed after only 22 performances. George Mathews, Ruth Weston, Forrest Orr and Phyllis Brooks starred, whilst Shelley Winters made her debut. Romney Brent directed, Courtney Burr produced. This was Robinson's last film for Warner Bros. under his million dollar contract. Thereafter he freelanced.VIEWER'S GUIDE: Despite the censor's "Parental Guidance" rating, I can see no reason to prevent children from seeing this film. Admittedly it's a very noisy farce, but since when have kids been afraid of noise.COMMENT: Plenty of Warner Bros. gloss, including a fine support cast, has gone into this somewhat over-verbose, more than a trifle over-frantic farce. One feels, however, that Robinson is miscast in slapstick comedy. Crawford is also too heavy-handed. The best of the leads are Edward S. Brophy and Jack Carson, both naturally funny men - though Brophy has the lion's share of comic opportunities here. Miss Wyman is okay in the thankless role of the voice-of-conscience, romantic lead. It's a minor but at times reasonably amusing little comedy - "little" in the sense that its one joke is stretched rather thin and doesn't amount to very much. But the director keeps it moving at a commendably brisk pace in order to disguise the film's obvious stage play origins. Too many of the scenes are still set in the luggage shop, but it's an interesting and novel setting nonetheless. The cast is great. What we don't like about the movie is that the plot runs off the rails in the third act. Anthony Quinn's gangster is suddenly introduced and though this does give rise to some amusing scenes and an action-filled climax with lots of extras milling about, the conclusion is both abrupt and unsatisfactory and the Wyman, Carson characters are completely dropped. At this stage in his career, Robinson was heartily sick of straight gangster roles. He had already spoofed the genre in A Slight Case of Murder (1938) and Brother Orchid (1940), both with rather more humorous results than on this occasion.

zardoz-13 Warner Brothers released this gangster comedy during World War II, but you wouldn't know it was made in 1942 because there are no servicemen in the crowds. Indeed, unlike "All Through the Night," there are no Nazi saboteurs lurking in the wings. As the studio that had the greatest success with mob movies, Warner Brothers was foremost, having released both "The Public Enemy" with James Cagney and "Little Caesar" with Edward G. Robinson in 1931. These qualified as the seminal gang pictures of the sound era. Eventually, Warners would lighten up on mobsters and Robinson wound up making crime comedies such as the incomparable "A Slight Case of Larceny" in 1938 and then later "Brother Orchid" in 1940. Once a tough guy with a smoking gun in his fist, Robinson no longer wielded a firearm when he made director Lloyd Bacon's "Larceny, Inc." Actually, this above-average, entertaining, but largely uneven gangster comedy would inadvertently provide him with another character that he would play over the years as he grew older and more distinguished looking. He was no longer a man with a gun in his hand. Instead, he was the leader of a gang with the guns in their hands. Mind you, in "Larceny, Inc." there are few guns to be seen. Robinson's co-star Anthony Quinn brandishes a pistol on several occasions, but our protagonist has a weapon more dangerous than any gun and it is his gift of gab. Sadly, after a promising start and a build-up in the middle, "Larceny, Inc." nosedives. Jack Carson and Jane Wyman are the romantically paired couple and we never learn what happens to them in the long run. Meanwhile, our heroes narrowly stay out of jail the second time. Broderick Crawford plays the muscle man and he gives the best performance as a numskull who fractures his language and makes a fool of himself.The source of all comedy is incongruity and "Larceny, Inc." has the incongruity. J. Chalmers 'Pressure' Maxwell (Edward G. Robinson of "The Hatchet Man") is the brains of his outfit. Jug Martin (Broderick Crawford of "Beau Geste") is his muscle. They get out of prison at the outset of the action and 'Pressure' talks the warden out of suit of clothes so he will look good. Pressure plans to rob a bank. He buys a luggage store near the bank and Martin digs a hole in the cellar so that they can break into the bank vault on the other side of the masonry. The humor that grows out of this situation is that Pressure makes a lot of dough selling luggage. In fact, he helps his fellow entrepreneurs who are having trouble with a contractor. The street in front of their respective businesses is being torn up and the contractor is dragging his heels on the project. Pressure steps in and persuades the contractor to complete the project. Presto, the contractor finishes the job and everybody celebrates Pressure's triumph. Meanwhile, Jug has a jack hammer in the basement tearing a huge hole in the floor while Pressure and Weepy Davis (Edward Brophy of "All Through the Night") try to run off customers so they can finish their tunnel to the bank. No longer has Pressure become the toast of the sidewalk than the bank officials pay him a visit and offer to buy his business. At the same time, Jeff Randolph (Jack Carson of "The Male Animal") is a luggage salesman who sells Weepy lots of luggage and he hits it off with Pressure's adopted daughter, Denny Costello (Jane Wyman of "Honeymoon for Three") and they become a couple. Together, Randolph and Costello drum him up more business. Initially, Pressure had planned to rob the bank. Now, he finds that going straight is going to make him more dough than knocking over a bank.This house of cards collapses when the villainous Leo Dexter (Anthony Quinn of "City for Conquest") breaks out of prison after he learns what Pressure is up to and muscles in on their deal. Pressure had been thinking about letting the bank have the property when Leo shows up with a gun. Years earlier, Robinson would have been the man with a pistol in his fist, but he is the mastermind here. Later, he would reprise this role under different names, but he would play the mastermind of a fabulous robbery as in "Seven Thieves" (1960), "Grand Slam" (1967) and "The Biggest Bundle of Them All" (1968). Lloyd Bacon keeps the action humming in this 95-minute, black & white, mob comedy and the performances are first rate.

kenjha Three criminals buy a luggage store next to a bank so they can tunnel their way to riches, but the luggage business takes off. It takes a while to hit its stride, but it is an enjoyable comedy. The only problem is that it has a tendency to sink to the level of The Three Stooges, with Robinson playing the Moe role. Crawford is amusing as a lovable lug, and Brophy fits in well as the third member of this motley crew. It is not clear if Wyman is Robinson's girlfriend or his "stepdaughter," as he puts it. Anyway, it is Carson and Wyman who provide the romantic subplot. Gleason is hilarious in a bit role as a nosy soda jerk.

jesusmariacastillo This film is real hard , not just to get, but hardly ever's shown on t.v. The last time I saw it was about 15 years ago, man,I miss it,It's a shame, because this film will have you rolling in laughter for at least 3/4 of it. The Late Robinson and Crawford took their tough guys characters and turned them into the funniest you've ever seen ! This movie was made when entertainment WAS entertainment. There are no nude scenes, no foul or vulgar language. There is some shooting action, but the main story line here, is the chemistry between Robinson & Crawford. Around the 6th minute after the movie starts, when Robinson's telling Crawford that the warden's neck tie was the hardest to get from him , is hysterical , not to mention when their playing baseball in the prison's yard, or when they're digging a hole in the basement of the luggage store. This is pure clean comedy !