A SLIGHT CASE OF MURDER

A Slight Case of Murder is a 1938 comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon. The film is based on a play by Damon Runyon and Howard Lindsay. The offbeat comedy stars Edward G. Robinson spoofing his own gangster image as Remy Marco.

Plot:

With the end of Prohibition, bootlegger Remy Marko becomes a legitimate brewer; but he slowly goes broke because the beer he makes tastes terrible, and everyone is afraid to tell him so. After four years, with bank officers preparing to foreclose on the brewery, he retreats to his Saratoga summer home, only to find four dead mobsters who meant to ambush him, but were killed by their confederate whom they meant to betray. More and more problems begin to pop up in the life of the former bootlegger, as he has taken in a bratty orphan, and his daughter comes home with a fiancé that turns out to be a state cop.

Critical reaction:

The film continues to receive positive reviews. A Classic Film Guide review calls it "a satisfying comedy, which is enhanced by some great character work by veteran supporting players": Allen Jenkins, Edward Brophy, and Harold Huber as members of Remy's former gang gone legitimate; Margaret Hamilton as Mrs. Cagie, director of the orphanage where Marko grew up; and Paul Harvey as Marko's daughter's prospective father-in-law.

Featured cast:

Edward G. Robinson — Remy Marco

Jane Bryan — Mary Marco

Allen Jenkins — Mike

Ruth Donnelly — Nora Marco

Willard Parker — Dick Whitewood

John Litel — Mr. Post, banker

Edward Brophy — Lefty

Harold Huber — Giuseppe 'Gip'

Eric Stanley — Mr. Ritter, banker

Paul Harvey — Mr. Whitewood

Bobby Jordan — Douglas Fairbanks Rosenbloom