I’ve enjoyed watching Larceny, Inc. rise over the years as people dig to discover fresh Christmas gems. It’s recently played on TCM for Edward G. Robinson month and as part of Christmas in July, and got new fans when it played at Tarantino’s theater, The New Beverly, at the start of this month. I first saw it in 2013, and my initial thought was that the plot gets away from it towards the end but there are a lot of jokes, the cast is stacked with every familiar face from the 1930s and 40s, and it’s worth rewatching just to see Robinson in a Santa Claus suit, belt slung low and cigar hanging from his mouth.
Larceny, Inc. benefits most from being one of the most quotable films ever made. It has the same stickiness as Anchorman, Caddyshack and Monty Python (which all rise above similar plot problems.) The delivery of simple lines like “Tea… how lovely,” or “I wish a bag” is instantly memorable because of Edward Brophy (voice of Timothy Mouse in Dumbo) and Broderick Crawford. There’s the screwball chops of Jane Wyman, the threat of Anthony Quinn, the fast patter of Jack Carson and the goofy body language of Jackie Gleason. It isn’t all in the dialogue either. The funniest scene is watching an angry Robinson trying to wrap a package.
I used to think the first 10 years of Pixar was the best run of any Studio in history, but then I discovered Warner Bros. from 1936-1946. This was the era of Casablanca, Robin Hood, of James Cagney and Bette Davis. To work on these films is to witness the height of cinema history. Yet, if I was on the Warner Lot back then and could pick one film to crew, I would want to spend my days in and around that luggage store in Larceny, Inc. It’s a Christmas Classic.
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