Edward G. Robinson: Hollywood's Literal OG — Little Caesar, the Blacklist Era, and the Man Behind the Movie Gangster

Edward G. Robinson helped invent the modern movie gangster. As Rico Bandello in Little Caesar, he made the short, sharp-eyed criminal not only the centre of a Hollywood picture, but a defining figure in American pop culture. And in doing so, he became a star almost overnight.

This episode follows Robinson from his early years as Emanuel Goldenberg, a Romanian Jewish immigrant and serious Broadway actor, through Little Caesar, the Warner Bros. gangster cycle, and his long fight to prove he could be more than Rico. Along the way came The Whole Town's Talking, Confessions of a Nazi Spy, Double Indemnity, The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, and Key Largo.

Also along the way came the House Un-American Activities Committee — HUAC — and the threat of the Hollywood blacklist.

Robinson was never a Communist, but his public support for liberal and anti-fascist causes made him a target. He was not formally blacklisted, but "graylisted" — pushed from major pictures into smaller films and television.

What began as a fight to be seen as more than the gangster became a fight to remain in Hollywood at all.

This is the story of Edward G. Robinson — one of Hollywood's greatest screen actors, far more than the role that made him famous — and of his fight not only to build a career beyond the gangster, but eventually to save it when Hollywood decided he was through.

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When They Were Making It is written, produced, and hosted by Patrick Rankin. Original artwork by Simone Beech and original music by Lionel Ziblat.

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Creators and Guests

Host

Patrick Rankin

Creator and host of When They Were Making It, a narrative documentary podcast exploring classic Hollywood — from the silent era through the early 1960s.

What is When They Were Making It?

The real human stories behind classic Hollywood's greatest films and legends.

Marilyn Monroe. Casablanca. Audrey Hepburn. The Wizard of Oz. Charlie Chaplin. Breakfast at Tiffany's. Alfred Hitchcock. Sunset Boulevard.

What do they all have in common?

They had to make it first.

Each week, we go beyond the legend to explore classic Hollywood's biggest icons and most beloved films.

Not the myths. Not the takedowns. The whole human story.

From the silent era to the early 1960s — the people, the films, and the impossible work of becoming a legend.

WTWMI is written, produced, and hosted by Patrick Rankin. Original artwork by Simone Beech and original music by Lionel Ziblat.

A new chapter every Tuesday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts.