Description
JULIUS SIZZER – 1931 – LENA MALENA – RARE DVD
In January of 1931 virtually no one in the world knew who Edward G. Robinson was, but when the movie “Little Caesar” premiered on January 25, 1931 Robinson immediately sky-rocketed to fame, and by the summer of 1931 his future was assured and he went on to become a legendary actor. In January of 1931 comedian Benny Rubin was making comedy shorts and was famous for being able to imitate many different accents and dialects, but usually stuck with a thick Russian-Jewish accent. After watching the immense success of Edward G. Robinson as Little Caesar he did what the best comedians do even today . . . he decided that it would be funny to create a comedy spoofing the movie that everyone had seen and was talking about. If this happened today it would probably be a skit on Saturday Night Live, but in 1931 there was no television network with a late night comedy show, so Benny Rubin used the medium of the day, motion pictures. By September of 1931 Benny Rubin’s spoof was ready for theaters, while everyone was still talking about and remembering the Edward G. Robinson blockbuster. In his spoof gangster Little Sizzer wields a pair of scissors like most gangsters handle a gun, and he tries to protect his twin brother Julius from the gangsters that want to kill him. To really enjoy this spoof you should first watch the original movie, Little Caesar, but since it is not public domain yet you’ll need to pony up some cash and buy a copy – but if you don’t have a copy already you have been missing a great classic that no fan of motion pictures should be without. After you watch Little Caesar with Edward G. Robinson, pop another bowl of white kernel popcorn and get ready for a pioneering example of comedy by spoof, and enjoy the show.
Director: Edward Ludwig
Stars: Benny Rubin, Gwen Lee, Lena Malena
