SMART MONEY (Warner Bros. 1931) Warner Home Video

In a review, Time Magazine marked Edward G. Robinson as “an actor with the face of a depraved cherub and a voice which makes everything he says seem violently profane”: a description that would have terminated the popularity of any other talent in the business. Fortunately, for Robinson, this snap assessment only seemed to galvanize his reputation as a bankable star at the box office. Indeed, Robinson’s installation at Warner Bros. – the studio known for its gritty ‘of the streets’ melodramas and crime thrillers – became the ideal proving ground for an actor as uncharacteristic as unassumingly apart from his screen persona as any of his fans might have guessed. To his fans, Eddie Robinson will likely always be Rico – a.k.a. ‘Little Caesar’ or perhaps, Barton Keyes, the wily insurance adjuster, about to be brilliant in Billy Wilder’s noir classic, Double Indemnity (1944). In private, Robinson was a refined gentleman, the antithesis of what, on screen, oft translated into an ill-mannered mafia-styled goon, or, at least, an enterprising and ruthless ruffian pursuing self-interests by any crooked means at his disposal. The Romanian-American actor had a prolific career, appearing in 40 Broadway plays and more than 100 films. Perceptive, gentle and erudite, Robinson fluently spoke seven languages, politically leaned to the left, and was one of the most passionate patrons of the arts, accruing a formidable private collection that, unfortunately he was forced to divest himself of to cover his divorce settlement from first wife, Gladys Lloyd in 1956.   

With its shift in focus from violence to laughs, Alfred E. Green’s Smart Money (1931) is notable as the only Warner Bros. film to team two of its resident ‘murderer’s row’ alumni – Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney – together. Sandwiched in the canon of great gangster flicks between the former’s star turn as Little Caesar (1931) and the latter’s yet to be filmed Public Enemy (1931), Smart Money features Cagney in a supporting role – a place of importance that would thereafter be reserved for second-tier newbies on the Warner backlot like (wait for it) Humphrey Bogart! The screenplay by Kubec Glasmon, John Bright, Lucien Hubbard and Joseph Jackson is an ambitious amalgam of twists and turns, all leading to a very predictable outcome. The film begins with Robinson as Nick Venizelos – a barber with big dreams of going to the city to become a celebrated gambler. Indeed, Nick’s local small operation in his backroom ‘establishment’ is good for his business in more ways than one. Presuming himself to be a gambler on par with the best cons in the biz – particularly after he defeats big-time gambler Sports Williams (Boris Karloff) strictly by chance - Nick taps a few friends including his loyal sidekick and fellow barber, Jack (James Cagney) to loan him $10,000 that Nick promises to turn into a million.

Unfortunately for Nick, without a definitive background in con artistry or the chutzpah to present himself as anything but a marked pigeon, he easily becomes the dupe of gangster moll, Irene (Margaret Livingston) and her ruthless band of cutthroats, fronted by Sleepy Sam (Ralf Harolde) and Irontown (William House). Nick loses everything he owns and then some – then, swears to get even if it is the last thing he does. Nick’s first move is to get Jack back at his side. The two aggressively barber their way into some quick cash they successfully bet on the horses. Nick opens up his own gambling den in the heart of the city, suckering the mugs who took advantage of him and stealing Irene in the process. Nick and Irene set up housekeeping together – an arrangement not unheard of in pre-Code Hollywood movies but virtually taboo after 1934. Regrettably for Nick, romantic complications arise after he inadvertently saves another girl, Irene Graham (Evalyn Knapp) from committing suicide. Irene turns out to be a plant – the easy plaything of corrupt District Attorney, Black (Morgan Wallace). Irene wastes no time planting evidence of Nick’s racketeering, likely to send both he and Jack to prison for a very long time. It isn’t that D.A. Black is crusading to clean up his city of illegal gambling; merely, trying to weed out the competition with regards to his own floating crap games. In a shocking bit of pre-Code action, Jack learns of Irene’s motives and physically assaults her – severely – with the unsuspecting Nick walking in and exacting his own bit of utterly misguided revenge. The scene also contains some rather subversive pantomime and obvious references to cunnilingus.

In the final analysis, Smart Money is a rather jolly roller coaster ride – deriving its juices from the anticipated grit and humor one might expect to find in a Warner gangster flick from this pre-Code vintage. The studio has pushed the envelope considerably on ‘permissible’ behavior, and it is the frank and sobering underbelly, exposing the seediness with wry humor, that sets this film apart from its competition. Even today, some of the situations played out herein are refreshingly shocking – particularly for those who continue to view ‘old movies’ as quaintly antiseptic. Cagney, newly hired at the studio, is about as raw and new as talent gets, especially when compared to Robinson’s already well-oiled public persona. Complimentary performances from both actors ought to have suggested to Jack Warner and the powers that be, that another screen teaming of these two powerhouses was in order. Miraculously – or perhaps, fortunately (depending on one’s point of view) – it never happened: Cagney’s swift ascendance to the upper echelons of super-stardom precluding any such notions. So, Smart Money remained the catalyst, bringing two of the studio’s most caustic ships effortlessly to pass one another in the night.

Warner’s DVD transfer can only be described as a disappointment; far below what we’ve come to expect from their usual stellar treatment of classic films. One can only assume that the original film elements were in a delicate state of disrepair, requiring more restoration work than was financially feasible for the studio to incur on such a relatively unknown title. Age-related artifacts are prevalent and quite often distracting, as is built-in image flicker. The gray scale is anemic at best. There are no prominent blacks or whites but very muddy tonalities of middle gray throughout. The image also appears softly focused with a decided loss of fine details. The audio is Dolby Digital 1.0 mono and remarkably in far better shape than the visuals. Extras include an audio commentary by Alain Silver and James Ursini, as well as a litany of trailers and shorts a la the Warner Night at the Movies ilk. Aside: the Silver/Ursini track is a bit too academic for me – front-loaded in facts, that are ‘discussed’ in a sort of lofty lecturer’s way that renders the listening experiences a total snore. Bottom line: Smart Money is an interesting anomaly in Robinson and Cagney’s respective careers. It deserved better consideration on home video than this!

FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)

3.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

2.5

EXTRAS

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