Little Caesar (film) portrayals that stretched up to 1968's "Never a Dull Moment". Robinson occasionally parodied his "Little Caesar" gangster persona, as in the 1933 film "The Little Giant." The box office triumph of "Little Caesar" also spawned the production of several successful gangster films, many of which were also made by Warner Brothers. This is an example of Hollywood self-censorship during the pre-Code era: in the novel the line reads "Mother of God, is this the end of Rico?", and a take was filmed with Robinson saying it verbatim. However, the studio worried that some state and local censors would insist that
Little Caesar (film) Desperate and alone, Rico "retreats to the gutter from which he sprang." While hiding in a flophouse, he becomes enraged when he learns that Flaherty has called him a coward in the newspaper. He foolishly telephones the cop to announce he is coming for him. The call is traced, and he is gunned down by Flaherty behind a billboard - an advertisement featuring dancers Joe and Olga - and, dying, utters his final words, "Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?" The film made Robinson a star and was the beginning of a long line of his gangster