bkoganbing
Edward G. Robinson certainly showed what the movie going public were destined to see in The Widow From Chicago. It was the film immediately proceeding his breakthrough and forever identifiable role as and in Little Caesar.He's got a job to do and need's some out of town talent so he imports Neil Hamilton sight unseen. But the police get wind of it and have a cop gain entree to Robinson's gang by posing as Hamilton. Then Robinson gets wise and the cop is bumped off.After that both Hamilton does show up and the sister of the slain officer shows up claiming to be Hamilton's wife. I have to say these two think fast on their feet and Hamilton decides to not expose Alice White the sister.White was very effective in her role though I think for propriety's sake her sending Hamilton out of her room was a bit much even for 1930 audiences to follow. I mean they could have done a Walls of Jericho like arrangement.It's sad what happened to Neil Hamilton who went from an A list player gradually down to some really horrid B flicks. That strong voice and clear diction should have made him a big star in talkies, bigger than the silent screen. But the man did have a thirst problem. He did bounce back as a character player later on and is now best known as the Caped Crusader's number one fan Commissioner Gordon on Batman.Still this film is Robinson's show, but he had a much bigger show just awaiting him.
MartinHafer
This is a very forgettable gangster film that Edward G. Robinson made a year before becoming a mega-star with his breakout movie, "Little Caesar". While he isn't bad in "The Widow From Chicago", the film itself is really ridiculous and I am sure it didn't do much for his career.When the film begins, Polly (Alice White) learns that her brother is a cop and is planning on infiltrating Dominic's gang. He's going to pretend he's Swifty--a gangster who the authorities believe is dead. However, his real identity is discovered and he's soon murdered...perhaps by Dominic (Robinson) himself. The spunky Polly decides her next course is to infiltrate Dominic's mob and she gets a job as a dance hall girl. She quickly gains Dominic's trust by pretending to be Swifty's wife but a serious glitch occurs when the REAL Swifty (Neil Hamilton) arrives! Here is where it gets REALLY hard to believe...as Swifty decides to go along with it and pretends Polly really IS his wife!! Why?? I have no idea!! The rest is exciting...but ultimately completely ridiculous due to the inexplicable relationship between Swifty and Polly. Well worth seeing but totally ludicrous.
Alex da Silva
Polly (Alice White) infiltrates a group of gangsters headed by Dominic (Edward G Robinson) in order to find out who killed her brother Jimmy (Harold Goodwin).The plot develops at a pace which just about allows you to keep up with the story. It's a bit complicated at the beginning but things fall into place so keep watching. Alice White is super cute and likable but I'm not convinced about her ability to survive in the underground world. She'd be dead if she wasn't mixing with lightweights such as Neil Hamilton who plays "Swifty". It comes as a surprise when she ruthlessly shoots a policeman although there is a twist that runs alongside this. Another lightweight is Harold Goodwin - the film gets off to a good start when he gets shot. Overall, this film holds an interest but it is nothing special.
frankfob
Edward G. Robinson and Alice White star in this early Warner Bros. gangster flick. White is the sister of a murdered policeman, and she sets out to find her brother's killer by impersonating the widow of a dead gangster and cozying up to Robinson, a rackets boss. There are even more complications in this, frankly, badly directed film (Edward F. Cline fared much better as a comedy director at Universal later in his career), several of the supporting performances are either weak or hammy, the film tends to meander and has quite a few dead spots, but Robinson and the unjustly neglected (and very sexy) Alice White do quite well despite the convoluted plot. It's main interest is as a precursor to the classic WB '30s gangster films, and you can see the famous Warners style emerging. It's just a pity that the film itself is so mediocre. It's worth a look to see where Warners was going with the gangster genre, and you can see a lot of Joan Blondell in the vivacious Alice White, but other than that, it's nothing really special, and doesn't hold a candle to Robinson's later work in "Little Caesar" and "Smart Money," which came out a year later.
AD
