Larceny, Inc.

Pressure Maxwell comes out of prison with a large plan: he will buy the luggage shop next to the bank, dig a tunnel from the cellar and get into the vault. He buys the shop. The digging starts, and a problem appears: the shop begins to do well. Customers come, orders increase, the other traders like him, and without meaning to Maxwell becomes a real businessman. Meanwhile his old partner gets out and comes round asking what happened to the tunnel. Lloyd Bacon directs. Edward G. Robinson plays Maxwell, with Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford, Jackie Gleason and Anthony Quinn in the cast. Robinson was known for gangster parts, and this is one of the comedies that mock that image; the actor uses his own type as parody. The idea is simple and works well: a criminal plan turns into a legitimate business against its owner's will. It was adapted from a stage play and the structure shows it; most of the events take place in one location, inside the shop. Anthony Quinn is early in his career in a small part, and so is Jackie Gleason. The humour is of its period and the tempo is fast; the running time is kept short. Who it is for: viewers who like classic Hollywood comedy and Edward G. Robinson. Who it is not for: the script is simple, the supporting parts are types, and the ending is predictable.