Excellent, a Must See

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

"A Slight Case of a Murder" is also one of a mildly enjoyable gangster comedy, foreseeing the laugh riots Billy Wilder would make two decades later, therefore, the fairest comment I could give is that the film was too decades ahead of its time. At the dawn of the gangster-movies' era, when the distinguished members of the murderer's row, Cagney, Muni and Raft wanted to prove their cinematic value on new fields, Robinson was no exception and the film was precisely marketed at the first comedic attempt on the gangster genre, and Robinson's first comedic role. And I guess that's the film's problem. Indeed, as comedic as it was, it didn't need to get too far from the archetypes forged by the most defining genre of the 30's. Like I said in my review of "Little Caesar", only musicals and gangster movies could drive the popularity of the talkies, and give audiences the very sensations they've been missing for decades, the sound of machine-guns and the outburst of such Napoleon-like figures as Tom Powers and Enrico 'Caesar' Bandalo, or the menacing suaveness of Tony Camonte would fascinate a public, secretly attracted to these rebellious figures fighting against the system. They were murderers, killers, but played by actors and damn good ones, actors, who knew how to inject charisma and sympathy in these (seemingly) irredeemable outlaws. Therefore, it didn't take much distance to make all these archetypes work for comedic purposes, especially for Robinson. With his catfish-like mug, his inseparable cigar, and his nasal fast-paced delivery punctuated by his trademark 'See?" and "Yeah", the figure of Edward G. Robinson was begging to be parodied in cartoons, and "Racketeer Rabbit" with Bugs Bunny was perhaps one of the greatest tributes to Robinson before Bogart would dethrone him in "Slick Hare". The gangster, as played by Robinson, was the perfect inspiration for comedy, but here's a trap where the film could have fallen into, yet thanks to Robinson's natural talent, it didn't.Robinson finds the perfect tone to adapt to comedy: he doesn't do anything, he plays his part with seriousness and it works. Even Cary Grant and James Stewart have to pull off some mimics or eye-language to emphasize their comedic style, Robinson keeps being this irreplaceable authority figure, with his cigars, his elegant suits, and his unique way to boss around his boys.. This is a credit to his naturalness when it comes to acting, he's such a larger-than-life character it's the genre that adapts to his persona, not the opposite. It kind of cancels off the whole publicity over his first comedic performance, he's still the same. Only the situations change, but then, they better be funny.The problem, once again, is that the premises are more interesting than the real thing and the film never leaves up to expectations. It starts with the celebration of Prohibition's ending, in Marko's future ex-speakeasy, a scene that reminded me of "Once Upon a Time in America" where a coffin-like cake carrying the name 'Prohibition' was shown to the guests, as if gangsters were mourning their 'Golden Age' and approaching the new one with anxiety. Yet Marko is optimistic, he plans to open many breweries all over America trusting that his Gold Velvet will be profitable. Needless to say that he'll be severely disappointed for there is a large consensus that people mostly drunk his beer because they had no alternative.Marko's quest for legitimacy is the film's running gag, while his boys, on the top of them Allen Jenkins as Mike, the right-hand man, driver and care taker, are nostalgic of the good old days. Yet it's time for all these thugs with dirty mugs to behave properly, and even Marko's wife, played by the delightful Ruth Donnelly is priceless when it comes to act sophisticated in the present to better hide a shameful past. "A Slight Case of Murder" is less about criminals than ex-criminals, and naturally, for conflict's sake, they'll be mixed up with a tedious criminal plot, making Marko wonder if he should stay on the level or make a few shortcuts with the law. Surprisingly for a gangster movie, most of it is set in Marko's mansion where four robbers were mysteriously killed by a fellow of them (the comments on their deaths are hilarious). Meanwhile, Marko visits an orphanage to pick up one of the kids for his vacation, and it's the opportunity to enjoy Margaret Hamilton as one of the workers, and one of the dead-end kids as the picked kid. Yet, he won't make much as a comic relief, and his antagonism with Jenkins fell flat most of the case. Another minor flaw is the subplot, Jane Bryan, Robinson's sister in" Kid Galahad" and his daughter now, enamored with a dull start trooper, a copper nonetheless. He comes to party with his father who suffers from heart condition, which leads to some funny yet predictable gags. Many visual gags are childish while the comedy should have relied on the screenplay thanks to the trio Robinson - Donnelly- Jenkins. I guess the premise to have Robinson in a comedy gave the film enough publicity, but it was a time where the gangster genre needed a grand finale and it would finally be over with "High Sierra". Speaking of its star Bogart, the world was about to enter a new World, a new Age, film-noir would be the new defining genre, so I guess audiences had it with old-school gangsters, and wouldn't feel the need to laugh at a gangster screwball comedy, "The Dictator" was more a comedy of its time. Even Robinson will shine in such roles as "Double Indemnity" and "Scarlett Street".A nice little comedy, but the context didn't help.

This would seem to have all the elements for a good Thirties comedy. Robinson with his great timing and the great Damon Runyon sounds like a very winning combination. However, the film got rather heavy-handed treatment from the adapters and Damon Runyon's material seems more out-dated than retro chic. The Bowery Boys-like characters make things quite obvious that the treatment will be rather crude and Lloyd Bacon's perfunctory treatment and static direction don't help much either. "Arsenic and Old Lace" is around the corner with Capra's stable of character actors. This seems to just miss the mark.Curtis Stotlar

Veteran actor Edward G. Robinson with tongue-in-cheek pokes fun at his gangster movie image in this comedy about the end of Prohibition. Alcohol once again is allowed to flow freely and former bootlegger Remy Marco(Robinson)decides to go legit, but after four years he faces a money problem. His beer tastes so foul that no one wants to drink it...even legally. He renames his beer and his brewery is about to be taken by the bank...time to take a trip to the vacation house. Headaches don't go away easily when you find four corpses of former enemies in a room upstairs. They are remnants of a gang that robbed a syndicate of bookies. Its really interesting that Marco's daughter(Jane Bryan) is home from school abroad and her new boyfriend(Willard Parker) is a new state trooper...and Marco hates cops, period.This fast paced comedy also stars:Ruth Donnelly, John Litel, Joe Downing, Edward Brophy and Bobby Jordan. A fun look at a different side of tough guy Robinson.

Edgar G. Robinson has the hounds yapping at his rear in "A Slight Case of Murder," a very funny 1938 comedy from Warner Brothers. Robinson sends up his gangster image as Remy Marko (who speaks of himself in the third person), who is a legit brewer now that Prohibition has been repealed. He has a daughter (Jane Bryan) in one of the best schools in Europe. However, his brewery has been steadily failing because his beer tastes horrible - and no one's told him. The bank is calling his half a million dollar mortgage, his daughter comes home engaged to a state trooper, and when he arrives at his country home, one of his men finds four dead bodies who had been playing cards in an upstairs bedroom. On top of all of this, he's chosen a young boy from his alma mater, an orphanage, to spend the summer in Saratoga. Let's put it this way - the head of the orphanage asked that this kid, Douglas Fairbanks Rosenbloom, be released from the cellar in order to accompany Remy. No bright spots anywhere.Robinson is a riot as a complete thug who believes he should be President of the Community Chest, and Ruth Donnelly is good back-up as his wife who yells at the gangsters who surround her if they don't call her ma'm and act like servants. When their daughter's fiancé arrives in uniform, the couple is thrown into a complete panic because they think the police want them for something. When his well-to-do parents arrive, Remy agrees to accept them even though they have a cop in the family, to the complete effrontery of the boy's father. Then the four dead bodies - who are believed disposed of on the various porches of Remy's enemies - show up again, and the orphans finds the spoils of a robbery.It's non-stop chaos and giggles. Robinson plays his part like he's Little Caesar and he's fabulous. Allen Jenkins is very good as one of his henchmen, and Jane Bryan, who would quit her career to marry the owner of Rexall Drugs, is lovely as his daughter. Her fiancé, played by tall, athletic Willard Parker, may be recognizable to baby boomers from "Tales of the Texas Rangers." Here, he's serious and uptight, which the role calls for, and seems older than his 26 or so years.Extremely enjoyable and really shows that Robinson, like Bogart and Cagney, could do just about anything.