Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

alexanderdavies-99382 Whilst "Smart Money" was being filmed, Edward G. Robinson had become a star at "Warner Bros," thanks to his film, "Little Caesar." James Cagney had just finished making "The Public Enemy" and that film hadn't yet been released. "Smart Money" isn't another gangster film as the story doesn't allow for that kind of character and Robinson isn't a hoodlum either. He is a professional barber who happens to be a gambler. For a while in the film, Robinson is small time but after avenging himself upon the con men who took all his money, he carves out a gambling empire with Cagney as his right hand man. The District Attorney has had enough of all the gambling and corruption that goes with it and he plans Robinson's downfall. His demise comes in a most unexpected way. Edward G. Robinson dominates "Smart Money" but James Cagney is right there after the half way stage. Their scenes are absolutely superb and I wish the two actors had made more films together. Boris Karloff makes a brief appearance as a gambler. Robinson is a very affable character and his wealth and power does little to change his disposition. The two leads carry this film but the story and narrative are far above average.

Michael O'Keefe A mildly comedic drama directed by Alfred E. Green. A selling point is a the first and only time screen icons Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney would appear together on the silver-screen. The established Robinson and the soon emerging star Cagney play together quite well. Robinson plays an immigrant Greek barber, Nick Venizelos; a guys guy hooked on poker. By chance or talent, Nick knew how to win money and lots of it. But not satisfied being the 'big fish in a little pond'; Nick is backed with money from his friends and goes to "the city" to play with the big boys and bigger money. Nick and his fondness for pretty blondes and a poker game does not mix well. Soon he is "taken to the cleaners" by a card shark, Sleepy Sam(Ralf Harolde). But not totally down on his luck, one of his best pals, Jack(Cagney), shows up in time to turn the tables on the sleazy operator, who cheated Nick out of his bankroll.Story line well constructed with better than average dialogue(for the times.) It appears obvious that Cagney does not want to take anything away from Robinson in the scenes they share. And a nice parade of pretty girls. Rounding out the cast: Noel Francis, Evalyn Knapp, Maurice Black, Paul Porcasi and Margaret Livingston.

calvinnme 1931's "Smart Money" is the only time Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney were paired in a film. Robinson is definitely in the lead here, though. Although it's impossible to really describe Cagney as "subdued" in anything he ever did, he is toned down a bit. Robinson plays Nick the barber, who gets 10K together to gamble in one of the syndicate's big games. This turns out the way you'd expect when a small time guy goes up against the mob and expects them to play on the level. Robinson's character vows revenge as a result of this double-cross. He eventually does become a successful big-time gambler with a gambling syndicate of his own. At this point he begins to attract the attention of law enforcement.Don't expect Robinson's Little Caesar character to show up here - Nick the Barber is a kinder gentler gangster. In fact, he's really not much of a gangster at all. He pretty much limits his law-breaking to participating in and backing gambling until the final scene, which turns out to be the height of irony. Very much worth your viewing time.

classicsoncall You might expect the only screen pairing of Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney to be a hard edged gangster drama on the order of Robinson's own "Little Caesar" or Cagney's "Public Enemy". In fact, "Smart Money" isn't a gangster flick per se, though it has it's seamy under world characters like Sleepy Sam (Ralf Harolde) and Hickory Short. Robinson even has a colorful handle of his own - Nick the Barber. You would think he got the name from cutting the throats of his victims, but he's actually a barber by profession, and a mighty lucky one at that. When his buddy Jack (Cagney) comes up with the idea to stake him for ten grand to go big time, Nick sees it as an opportunity to rise above his meager Irontown surroundings.That's where the story gets a little sloppy for my taste. After Nick gets hustled in 'The City', there are no repercussions over the lost grubstake back in Irontown. Word of his embarrassing loss doesn't seem to faze a new group of financial backers who raise another fifty thousand dollars, which he uses to track down Sleepy Sam in 'Another City' for revenge. I got a bit of a kick out of that actually, why not just call 'Another City' New York, since 'Walter Winchell on Broadway' headed one of his columns on the fast rising card sharp Nick the Barber. Which brings up another question - how would the results from a series of private card games ever make it into the newspaper? Robinson gets to play against a number of pretty blonds in the picture as he fancies himself a ladies man, but boy, the lines they came up with in the 1930's were something else. How about his come on to Marie early in the story - "Say you're a cute little trick"! There's also the blatant racism of the era; when Nick tears a bill in half for the black porter on the train, he states that the other half would be "at the other end of the line, if you're a good boy".Back to Robinson and Cagney together in this film. I almost hate to say it, but Cagney's character was a bit swishy in the story, getting touchy feely with Nick more than once. Any doubt of the homosexual subtext to their relationship is put to rest near the end of the story when they argue over Irene (Evalyn Knapp) staying at Nick's apartment. When Jack demands to know 'how long is this gonna last?', Nick replies "She'll be gone in a couple of days, and then you can be my sweetheart again dearie". Do you know how many times I had to play that over to be sure I heard it right? The one thing that's kind of intriguing if you've seen some of Cagney's very first films, he had a commanding presence in those pictures even when second billed or in a bit part. Here it looks like he might have been asked to tone it down a bit in deference to his co-star. Not to say he was laid back, considering my comments above, but it didn't look like he was willing to upstage Robinson. It's a little surprising that the two actors worked only this one time together, considering they crossed paths with other Warner Brothers contract players numerous times, like Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis and Joan Blondell to name just a few.