Edward G. Robinson made 14 films between 1930 and 1932. Robinson went to Universal for "Night Ride" (1930) and MGM for "A Lady to Love" (1930) directed by Victor Sjöström. At Universal he was in "Outside the Law" and "East Is West" (both 1930), then he did "The Widow from Chicago" (1931) at First National. Robinson was established as a film actor. What made him a star was an acclaimed performance as the gangster Caesar Enrico "Rico" Bandello in "Little Caesar" (1931) at Warner Bros. Robinson signed a long term contract with Warners. They put him in another gangster film, "Smart Money" (1931),
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