---
name: "Edward G. Robinson"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/edward-g-robinson"
fi1m_id: "edward-g-robinson"
imdb_id: "nm0000064"
tmdb_id: 13566
wikidata_id: "Q83812"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "12 December 1893"
died: "26 January 1973"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 76
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-09-25T04:00:57.900146+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Edward G. Robinson

## Identity

Edward G. Robinson

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/edward-g-robinson
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** edward-g-robinson
- **IMDb ID:** nm0000064
- **TMDB ID:** 13566
- **Wikidata ID:** Q83812
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_G._Robinson, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q83812, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000064/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/13566

Actor. Born 12 December 1893 in Bucarest, Roumanie. Died 26 January 1973.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 12 December 1893, Bucarest, Roumanie
- **Died:** 26 January 1973
- **Active:** 1931–1956
- **Also known as:** Emanuel Goldenberg, E.G. Robinson, Edward Robinson, Эдвард Дж. Робинсон, Эмануэль Голденберг
- **Frequently works with:** [Hal B. Wallis](https://film.one/person/hal-b-wallis.md), [Mervyn LeRoy](https://film.one/person/mervyn-leroy.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 76, as actor, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 72 (2), 1940s 84 (2), 1950s 67 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 78 to 73 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 3 of 5 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Crime 4, Drama 3, Thriller 2, Action 1, History 1
- **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $130m across 5 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_G._Robinson, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q83812, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000064/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/13566

## Streaming the US now

- **Hulu:** [*The Stranger*](https://film.one/film/the-stranger.md) (76)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Ten Commandments*](https://film.one/film/the-ten-commandments.md) (67)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Edward G. Robinson

> Edward G. Robinson’s forceful speech made him a convincing gangster, but we value the warmth he could bring to authority. In *Double Indemnity*, he makes the approval of a clever man matter enough to hurt.

When Edward G. Robinson’s Barton Keyes talks to MacMurray’s Neff in *Double Indemnity* (1944), a quick answer is no longer enough. Keyes is too intelligent to be brushed aside, and Robinson makes his good opinion worth having. His conversational authority puts pressure on Neff without making their exchanges feel like a succession of interrogations. The pleasure is in hearing a demanding man talk to someone he likes. We warmed to Keyes because Robinson lets that affection come through without making him any less exacting.

The gangster image began with his breakthrough as Rico Bandello in *Little Caesar* (1931), and it proved difficult to shake. Short and stocky, with rapid, emphatic delivery, Robinson had the physical and vocal force for men who expected to be obeyed. Yet the mild-mannered men were also part of his work: *Scarlet Street* (1945) offered an ordinary man drawn into moral compromise. By *Key Largo* (1948), he was back playing a gangster, Johnny Rocco, opposite Humphrey Bogart. Treating the snarl as the whole performance leaves too much of this actor out.

*Double Indemnity* also makes a useful case for acting that need not resemble casual conversation. Its dialogue is conspicuously written, and anyone wanting naturalistic speech will need a few minutes to adjust. Robinson’s precision makes the adjustment worthwhile, especially alongside MacMurray. Billy Wilder gives the two men room to build the film’s strongest relationship, making Neff’s behaviour feel meaner because we know whose good opinion matters to him. We would not trade those exchanges for more ordinary talk.

His opportunities narrowed in the early 1950s, before Dathan in *The Ten Commandments* (1956) helped restore him to prominent roles. The work continued through Sol Roth in *Soylent Green* (1973), his final film. Those later parts are worth keeping in view when the gangster image threatens to take over again. Begin with *Double Indemnity*, then try the ordinary man in *Scarlet Street* before returning to the gangsters.

## Biography

Edward G. Robinson was an American actor. Born Emanuel Goldenberg in Bucharest, Romania, on 12 December 1893, he emigrated to the United States as a child and grew up in New York. He trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and began his career on the Broadway stage before making his film debut in the silent era.

Robinson appeared in more than 100 films. He is known for roles including Caesar Enrico 'Rico' Bandello in *Little Caesar* (1931), Barton Keyes in *Double Indemnity* (1944), Johnny Rocco in *Key Largo* (1948), Dathan in *The Ten Commandments* (1956) and Sol Roth in *Soylent Green* (1973). He received a posthumous Honorary Academy Award in 1973.

*Sources: imdb.com, britannica.com.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *The Ten Commandments* (1956), Fi1m 67, as Dathan — [page](https://film.one/film/the-ten-commandments.md)
- *The Stranger* (1946), Fi1m 76, as Federal Agent Wilson — [page](https://film.one/film/the-stranger.md)
- *Double Indemnity* (1944), Fi1m 92, as Barton Keyes — [page](https://film.one/film/double-indemnity.md)
- *Five Star Final* (1931), Fi1m 70, as Joseph W. Randall — [page](https://film.one/film/five-star-final.md)
- *Little Caesar* (1931), Fi1m 74, as Caesar Enrico 'Rico' Bandello aka 'Little Caesar' — [page](https://film.one/film/little-caesar.md)

## Complete filmography (114)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Away with Words* (2026), as Edward G. Robinson
- *Warner at War* (2008), as (archive footage)
- *Soylent Green* (1973), as Sol Roth
- *Neither by Day Nor by Night* (1972), as Father
- *Mooch Goes to Hollywood* (1971), Actor
- *Night Gallery* (1970), series, as Abraham Goldman
- *Song of Norway* (1970), as Krogstad
- *The Old Man Who Cried Wolf* (1970), as Emile Pulska
- *The Silent Force* (1970), series, Actor
- *Bracken's World* (1969), series, Actor
- *Operation Heartbeat* (1969), as Dr. Lee Forestman
- *Mackenna's Gold* (1969), as Old Adams
- *It's Your Move* (1968), as Sir George McDowell
- *Never a Dull Moment* (1968), as Leo Joseph Smooth
- *The Biggest Bundle of Them All* (1968), as Professor Samuels
- *Operation San Pietro* (1967), as Joe Ventura
- *Grand Slam* (1967), as Prof. James Anders
- *The Blonde from Peking* (1967), as CIA Chief Douglas
- *Planet of the Apes Test Reel* (1966), as Dr. Zaius
- *Batman* (1966), series, as Edward G. Robinson (uncredited)
- *The Cincinnati Kid* (1965), as Lancey Howard
- *Born a Man* (1965), as Narrator
- *Cheyenne Autumn* (1964), as Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz
- *The Outrage* (1964), as Con Man
- *Good Neighbor Sam* (1964), as Simon Nurdlinger
- *Robin and the 7 Hoods* (1964), as Big Jim Stevens (uncredited)
- *The Prize* (1963), as Max Stratman/Walter Stratman
- *Sammy Going South* (1963), as Cocky Wainwright
- *The Lucy Show* (1962), series, as Edward G. Robinson
- *Two Weeks in Another Town* (1962), as Maurice Kruger
- *My Geisha* (1962), as Sam Lewis
- *Pepe* (1960), as Edward G. Robinson
- *Seven Thieves* (1960), as Theo Wilkins
- *The Right Man* (1960), as Theodore Roosevelt
- *The Detectives* (1959), series, as 'Big Jim' Riva
- *NBC Sunday Showcase* (1959), series, as Daniel Webster
- *A Hole in the Head* (1959), as Mario Manetta
- *The Ten Commandments* (1956), as Dathan — Fi1m 67, [page](https://film.one/film/the-ten-commandments.md)
- *Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre* (1956), series, as Victor Bers
- *Nightmare* (1956), as Rene Bressard
- *Hell on Frisco Bay* (1955), as Victor Amato
- *Illegal* (1955), as Victor Scott
- *A Bullet for Joey* (1955), as Raoul Leduc
- *Tight Spot* (1955), as Lloyd Hallett
- *The Violent Men* (1955), as Lee Wilkison
- *Black Tuesday* (1954), as Vincent Canelli
- *Climax!* (1954), series, as Josef Vadassy
- *The Glass Web* (1953), as Henry Hayes
- *Big Leaguer* (1953), as John B 'Hans' Lobert
- *Vice Squad* (1953), as Capt. 'Barnie' Barnaby
- *General Electric Theater* (1953), series, as Bert Alquist
- *The Ford Television Theatre* (1952), series, as John Derwent, Baron
- *Actors and Sin* (1952), as Maurice Tillayou (segment Actor's Blood)
- *Lux Video Theatre* (1950), series, as Sir Wilfrid Robarts
- *My Daughter Joy* (1950), as George Constantin
- *It's a Great Feeling* (1949), as Edward G. Robinson (uncredited)
- *House of Strangers* (1949), as Gino Monetti
- *Night Has a Thousand Eyes* (1948), as John Triton
- *Key Largo* (1948), as Johnny Rocco
- *All My Sons* (1948), as Joe Keller
- *The Red House* (1947), as Pete Morgan
- *Okay for Sound* (1946), Actor
- *The Stranger* (1946), as Federal Agent Wilson — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/the-stranger.md)
- *Scarlet Street* (1945), as Christopher Cross
- *Journey Together* (1945), as Dean McWilliams
- *Our Vines Have Tender Grapes* (1945), as Martinius Jacobson
- *The Woman in the Window* (1944), as Professor Richard Wanley
- *Mr. Winkle Goes to War* (1944), as Wilbert Winkle
- *Double Indemnity* (1944), as Barton Keyes — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/double-indemnity.md)
- *Tampico* (1944), as Capt. Bart Manson
- *Flesh and Fantasy* (1943), as Marshall Tyler (segment 2)
- *Destroyer* (1943), as Steven 'Boley' Boleslavski
- *Tales of Manhattan* (1942), as Larry Browne
- *Larceny, Inc.* (1942), as 'Pressure' Maxwell
- *Moscow Strikes Back* (1942), as Narrator (English version) (voice)
- *Unholy Partners* (1941), as Bruce Corey
- *Manpower* (1941), as Hank McHenry
- *The Sea Wolf* (1941), as 'Wolf' Larsen
- *A Dispatch from Reuters* (1940), as Paul Julius Reuter
- *Brother Orchid* (1940), as Little John T. 'Johnny' Sarto
- *Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet* (1940), as Dr. Paul Ehrlich
- *Blackmail* (1939), as John R. Ingram
- *Confessions of a Nazi Spy* (1939), as Edward 'Ed' Renard
- *I Am the Law* (1938), as John Lindsay
- *The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse* (1938), as Dr. T.S. Clitterhouse
- *A Slight Case of Murder* (1938), as Remy Marko
- *The Last Gangster* (1937), as Joe Krozac
- *Kid Galahad* (1937), as Nick 'Nicky' Donati
- *A Day at Santa Anita* (1937), as Edward G. Robinson (uncredited)
- *Thunder in the City* (1937), as Dan Armstrong
- *Bullets or Ballots* (1936), as Johnny Blake
- *Barbary Coast* (1935), as Luis Chamalis
- *The Whole Town's Talking* (1935), as Arthur Ferguson 'Jonesy' Jones / 'Killer' Mannion
- *The Man with Two Faces* (1934), as Damon Welles / Jules Chautard
- *Dark Hazard* (1934), as Jim 'Buck' Turner
- *I Loved a Woman* (1933), as John Mansfield Hayden
- *The Little Giant* (1933), as James Francis 'Bugs' / 'Jim' Ahearn
- *Silver Dollar* (1932), as Yates Martin
- *Tiger Shark* (1932), as Mike Mascarenhas
- *Two Seconds* (1932), as John Allen
- *The Hatchet Man* (1932), as Wong Low Get
- *Five Star Final* (1931), as Joseph W. Randall — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/five-star-final.md)
- *Smart Money* (1931), as Nick 'The Barber' Venizelos
- *The Stolen Jools* (1931), as Gangster
- *Little Caesar* (1931), as Caesar Enrico 'Rico' Bandello aka 'Little Caesar' — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/little-caesar.md)
- *The Widow from Chicago* (1930), as Dominic
- *East Is West* (1930), as Charlie Yong
- *Outside the Law* (1930), as Cobra Collins
- *Every Woman's Longing* (1930), as Tony
- *A Lady to Love* (1930), as Tony
- *The Night Ride* (1930), as Tony Garotta
- *The Hole in the Wall* (1929), as The Fox
- *The Bright Shawl* (1923), as Domingo Escobar
- *Arms and the Woman* (1916), as Factory Worker

## Gallery

- ![Edward G. Robinson](https://film.one/media/person/103476/gallery-8a234dbed7c8.jpg) Edward G. Robinson — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Edward_g_robinson.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![L. to R. : Louisa Horton, Edward G. Robinson, Chester Erskine (producer) & Burt Lancaster on the set of All My Sons (1948) - publicity still.](https://film.one/media/person/103476/gallery-4a9bd3d98b24.jpg) L. to R. : Louisa Horton, Edward G. Robinson, Chester Erskine (producer) & Burt Lancaster on the set of All My Sons (1948) - publicity still. — unknown (Universal Pictures), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/All_My_Sons_%281948%29_1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Poster for the 1939 film Blackmail.. The item has no copyright markings on it as can be seen in the links above. At bottom left is "C" (for poster version "C"),](https://film.one/media/person/103476/gallery-e17bf6067c2e.jpg) Poster for the 1939 film Blackmail.. The item has no copyright markings on it as can be seen in the links above. At bottom left is "C" (for poster version "C"), — MGM, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Blackmail_%281939_film%29_poster.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Edward G. Robinson & Humphrey Bogart in Brother Orchid - publicity still (1940)](https://film.one/media/person/103476/gallery-3e958f161b92.jpg) Edward G. Robinson & Humphrey Bogart in Brother Orchid - publicity still (1940) — unknown (Warner Bros.), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Brother_Orchid_%281940%29_still_1.jpg/1280px-Brother_Orchid_%281940%29_still_1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Edward G. Robinson](https://film.one/media/person/103476/gallery-90daf5eeae49.jpg) Edward G. Robinson — Image via TMDB
- ![Edward G. Robinson](https://film.one/media/person/103476/gallery-b8744a767d3f.jpg) Edward G. Robinson — Image via TMDB
- ![Edward G. Robinson](https://film.one/media/person/103476/gallery-a220395694a0.jpg) Edward G. Robinson — Image via TMDB
- ![Edward G. Robinson personal pipes and two pairs of slippers at the Debbie Reynolds Auction Breaks Up Historic Hollywood Collection (The Paley Center for Media i (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/103476/gallery-bdcd6ef320c0.jpg) Edward G. Robinson personal pipes and two pairs of slippers at the Debbie Reynolds Auction Breaks Up Historic Hollywood Collection (The Paley Center for Media i (2011) — Doug Kline from Los Angeles, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Debbie_Reynolds_Auction_-_Edward_G_Robinson_personal_pipes_and_two_pairs_of_slippers.jpg/1280px-Debbie_Reynolds_Auction_-_Edward_G_Robinson_personal_pipes_and_two_pairs_of_slippers.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Theatrical poster for the 1944 film Double Indemnity.](https://film.one/media/person/103476/gallery-271cee4daf7c.jpg) Theatrical poster for the 1944 film Double Indemnity. — "Copyright 1944 Paramount Pictures Inc.", Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Double_Indemnity_%281944_poster%29.jpg/1280px-Double_Indemnity_%281944_poster%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Edward G. Robinson](https://film.one/media/person/103476/gallery-ce0cd7934dda.jpg) Edward G. Robinson — Image via TMDB
- ![Edward G. Robinson](https://film.one/media/person/103476/gallery-11d2f26123cd.jpg) Edward G. Robinson — Image via TMDB
- ![Edward G. Robinson](https://film.one/media/person/103476/gallery-2d9320f88da2.jpg) Edward G. Robinson — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 1 won, 1 nominated

- Academy Honorary Award 1973: Academy Honorary Award (won)
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play 1956: Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play (nominated)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/edward-g-robinson