Little Caesar (1931)
Rico (Edward G. Robinson) and Otero (George E. Stone) are queer-coded gangsters in Mervyn LeRoy’s 1931 pre-code Hollywood film adaptation of W.R. Burnett’s 1929 novel “Little Caesar.”
LITTLE CAESAR
1931. USA.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Screenplay: Francis Edward Faragoh, Robert N. Lee, Robert Lord & Darryl F. Zanuck
Based on: “Little Caesar” (1929) by W. R. Burnett
Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Glenda Farrell, George E. Stone, Stanley Fields and Thomas E. Jackson
Caesar (aka Rico) and his buddy Joe (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) move to Chicago for very different reasons: Rico dreams of being a crime-boss and leading a gang of men, while Joe wants to leave their past behind and make a living as a dancer. Upon their arrival in the city, both men get their wish. But Rico won’t let Joe go, repeatedly pulling him back into a life of crime, much to the dismay of his new girlfriend.
Joe and Rico’s past is hazy, but it’s obvious from the beginning that Rico wants more than friendship from him. Rico has no interest in women and is jealous of Joe’s new girl. He tries to keep them apart, even threatening to “plug” them both, but in the end he can’t do it. After he later saves Joe, and the cops are after him, he laments to his bodyguard Otero, “This is what I get for liking the guy too much.”
Now, Otero is probably the most blatantly queer-coded character. He’ll do anything for Rico; he idolizes him, compliments him and is frequently staring at the gangster – lost in adoration.
It’s noted in TCM’s “Forbidden Hollywood,” by Mark A. Vieira, that the film’s subtext was apparent from the beginning. When the author of the original book, W.R. Burnett, first saw this adaptation, he was unhappy that his protagonist was depicted as a homosexual. The producers denied being aware of the hint at a relationship between Joe and Otero. Censorship boards didn’t seem to notice either; they were too distracted by the film’s glorification of gangsters and violence so, despite some of the darker bits being cut by different State censorship boards, the queer subtext remained in this pre-code classic.
LITTLE CAESAR is available on DVD/Blu-ray, streaming on Tubi (USA), and available for rent/purchase through AppleTV, Amazon and YouTube (USA) – it’s also streaming for free on Dailymotion.
