Like father like son. Gang kingpin Joe Krozac looks forward to the day his now-infant son will walk in his bloody footsteps and run his crime racket. The Feds have other ideas. They convict Joe of tax evasion and put him behind triple-steel bars for 10 years. During that time, Joe's wife divorces him, builds a reputable new life in another city with a new husband, raises her son and fears the day Joe may find them. He does.

The Last Gangster stars one of the screen's first gangsters: Edward G. Robinson in snarling, imperial, brutal Little Caesar mode. James Stewart, on the cusp of renown, co-stars. And William A. Wellman, whose The Public Enemy matched Little Caesar in seminal gangster-era impact, co-wrote the film's story.

Edward G. Robinson offers an excellent turn as a crime lord obsessed with the welfare of his son in this melodramatic crime story. The lad is born while the notorious Robinson serves 10 years. Unfortunately, the press hound the babies mother and constantly derider her until a kinder reporter takes pity and begins writing stories to support her. This angers his editor who fires him. One day Robinson's wife goes to visit him and he behaves like a brute. She is so shocked that she ends her marriage and hooks up with the reporter. Together, they move far away to start successful new lives. A decade later, Robinson gets out and begins searching for his boy. Unfortunately, he also gets talked into his gangster activities by an old cohort. The gang, however turns on him and forces him to reveal the location of a large cache of loot that he hid before entering the slammer. Tough old Robinson won't tell them, so they kidnap his son.
Fortunately, Robinson and the lad escape. The gangster tries to get to know his boy, but the child wants nothing to do with him. Angered, Robinson swears vengeance upon his ex and her new spouse.