Deck the Halls December: Larceny Inc. (1942)

It's the holiday season and we are watching movies. Why don't you join us?

RODNEY BOWCOCK: A few small-time crooks (Edward G. Robinson and Broderick Crawford) learn of an easy mark of a bank to rob while in prison and upon their release they purchase the leather goods store next to said bank with the plans to dig a tunnel underneath the bank into the vault. Soon however, business starts improving on the struggling store and Pressure Maxwell finds himself becoming a distinguished member of the business district. While this is going on, Pressure’s daughter (Jane Wyman) finds herself increasingly smitten with a high-pressure suitcase salesman (Jack Carson).

SAMANTHA GLASSER: The story is based on a play by Laura and S.J. Perelman called The Night Before Christmas. S.J. is notable for his affiliation with the Marx Brothers. Oddly the studios did not realize they could capitalize on the holiday theme by releasing films in conjunction with that season, so Larceny Inc. came out in May.

RB: Woody Allen is a fan of Perelman and while he has never acknowledged this, it’s an undeniable fact that the plot of his (pretty funny) 2000 comedy Small Time Crooks bears a strong resemblance to this film, although Allen moved the action from a suitcase shop to a bakery. He’s never been one to exactly shy away from borrowing from his influences.

SG: The scene where Pressure reluctantly sells a piece of luggage to a persistent customer who requests that it be gift wrapped could be studied by comedy students. The pacing is wonderful; Robinson's building frustration make me crack up.

RB: It’s beautiful timing and shows what we know now, but audiences were just realizing in 1942. Robinson is so much more than his “Little Ceaser” character which has been parodied to the point where it has lost all punch. He sparkles in this film though.

SG: There is something so appealing about people not taking themselves seriously. With Larceny Inc. we get a group of established gangster actors doing comedy, poking fun of the personas that made them famous. This movie is swimming with great character actors. Broderick Crawford is the muscle digging the hole in the basement. Ed Brophy provides a lot of comic relief as a complete pushover. Barbara Jo Allen (AKA Vera Vague) is a high-strung business owner on the street who flirts with Pressure. Other business owners are played by familiar faces George Meeker and John Qualen. In one scene, two Ohio boys enter, and I cheered for Grant Mitchell and Fred Kelsey.

RB: It’s an undeniably great cast, and at least in the case of Barbara Jo Allen, I feel that she was underutilized. She can often be hilarious, but her supporting role here didn’t really showcase the level of zaniness that she can often rise to. But, if you love character actors, and I assume that everyone reading this does, you’ll find so much to love. Brophy is especially good.

SG: I am a big Jane Wyman fan, and this movie is from the period of her career where she was a perky, cute face who wasn't given much to do. There is no indication of the major dramatic star she would become. I love the dichotomy of her career, and it makes me wonder how many other pretty faces also had the potential to do something really great if given the chance.

RB: Wyman is definitely underutilized but handles her simple role as Pressure’s conscience and biggest supporter well. We’re still a few years out from The Lost Weekend. This was actually a bigger role for her at this time. She was usually being put in films like The Body Disappears and the Jimmy Durante wartime farce You’re In the Army Now.

SG: It is possible that the people involved did not understand what a gem they made with this movie. Edward G. Robinson barely mentions its existence in his memoir. Possibly the tepid reviews altered their perception of the film. The kooks at the Majestic Theatre in Conway, New Hampshire called the movie "just fair."

RB: I wanted to find a review from the neighborhood theaters to kind of refute the “just fair” assessment of the time, but I couldn’t. They all felt the same way, and even if they begrudgingly admitted that the movie was fun, they had to admit that business was off, and a local exhibitor wasn’t going to care about art nearly as much as putting butts in seats.

SG: Harrison's Reports wrote, "Although the story is trite and develops in routine fashion, the action is steady and manages to hold the attention... One cannot feel sympathy for the characters, for there are no redeeming features to their crookedness... It is strictly adult fare; its demoralizing nature makes it unsuitable for children."

Some theaters complained that the film was a comedy, rather than the gangster film they expected. That poor marketing contributed to the negative reaction.

RB: It’s hard to discuss this film without discussing how completely absurd the marketing campaign was. There seems to be some sort a perverse insistence on making audiences believe that Wyman was Robinson’s love interest, which has absolutely no truth when you actually watch the film. There is also an emphasis on Wyman being portrayed as some sort of a moll, which is also untrue. The Warners publicity team had pushed a limerick contest where the winner was to receive two tickets to the film for writing the last line of a ditty. For Jane Wyman’s character, it read this way: “The Gay Moll of Larceny Inc. – Whose favorite coat is a mink – Tries a bite at the hook – Of a swell-dressed young crook…” Is this even the same movie??

SG: It is also a missed opportunity as a Christmas movie. We get very little of what we have come to expect from a holiday film. The store isn't decorated for the season until the very end, and we don't hear holiday music until then either.

I saw this movie more than a decade ago with a friend who now lives in another country. It was a great experience all around and pops into my mind occasionally with the fog of fond nostalgia. I wondered if my affiliation with my friend Tim colored my enjoyment of the movie, and I'm sure it did to a degree, but I delighted in this second watch and would recommend Larceny Inc. wholeheartedly. 5 stars.

RB: While the fog of nostalgia can sometimes cloud our perception of a movie, you aren’t wrong here. Virtually everything about this film works, and it’s sharp and modern. Four and a half stars from me.