The gangster narrative and the christian morality in Mervin Leroy’s Little Cesar

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5433/1678-2054.2015v29p21

Keywords:

Gangster, Literature, Cinema, Adaptation

Abstract

This article discusses Little Caesar (Mervyn LeRoy, 1930) in order to observe how the adaptations made from W. R. Burnett’s novel of the same name published in 1929 altered the original text, mainly regarding the Christian moralistic tone of the narrative. Our aim is to identify, through the analysis of some of Little Caesar’s scenes, these adaptations and their effect on the narrative.

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Author Biography

Elder Kôei Itikawa Tanaka, Universidade de São Paulo

Master and PhD student in North American Literature and Cinema at the Universidade de São Paulo.

References

BERGMAN, A. We’re in the Money: Depression America and its films. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1992.

BUHLE, P. & WAGNER, D. Radical Hollywood. New York: The New Press, 2002.

BURNETT, W. R. Little Caesar. New York: The Dial Press, 1958.

CARR, V. S. Dos Passos: a life. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 2004.

HAMILTON, I. Writers in Hollywood 1915-1951. London: Faber & Faber, 2011.

JEWELL, R. “Commentary”. In: Little Caesar. Direção: Mervyn LeRoy. Burbank: Warner Home Video, 2005. 1 DVD (78 min), NTSC, P&B.

KAMINSKY, S. M. “Little Caesar’ and its Role in the Gangster Film Genre”. In: Philadelphia: Journal of Popular Film, Philadelphia, Vol. 1, n. 3, p. 209-227, summer 1972.

LITTLE Caesar. Direção: Mervyn LeRoy. Burbank: Warner Home Video, 2005. 1 DVD (78 min), NTSC, P&B.

MCGILLIGAN, P. & MATE, K. “W. R. Burnett: The Outsider”. In: Backstory: interviews with screenwriters of Hollywood’s golden age. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1986. p. 49-84,

RICE, R. The Business of Crime. London: Victor Gollancz LTD, 1956.

Published

2015-12-05

How to Cite

Tanaka, Elder Kôei Itikawa. “The Gangster Narrative and the Christian Morality in Mervin Leroy’s Little Cesar”. Terra Roxa E Outras Terras: Revista De Estudos Literários, vol. 29, Dec. 2015, pp. 21-29, doi:10.5433/1678-2054.2015v29p21.

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