Scarface (1932)

               Scarface              

NETFLIX SYNOPSIS:  Mobster Tony Camonte (Paul Muni) seizes control of Chicago’s bootlegging racket in this classic crime drama, which also stars George Raft, Boris Karloff and Osgood Perkins (Anthony Perkins’s father). From director Howard Hawks and producer Howard Hughes, Scarface set the benchmark for future gangster films. Karen Morley portrays Camonte’s love interest and Ann Dvorak the gangster’s beloved sister.

REVIEW:  Scarface marks director Howard Hawks’ first significant film after a string of mostly silent films.  It has all the hallmarks of a classic Hughes production: witty banter between well-developed characters, a brisk pace and female leads who can do more than swoon and scream.  Due to its notorious violence, Scarface was unable to pass many censor boards; producer Howard Hughes delayed the film’s release while making changes, including an entirely different ending.  When the film still didn’t pass the censors, Hughes had the film restored (the alternate ending is included on the DVD) and released it to great acclaim in states without censor boards.  The story of a young thug working his way up in the mafia is loosely based on the life of Al Capone (whose nickname was “Scarface”), and rumor has it he enjoyed the film so much he owned a copy.  The film has certainly influenced every mafia film that followed (at one point, I heard the line: “how am I funny?”) although its age shows in the blurry and jittery cinematography and the worst Italian accents since Chico Marx.  Watch for Boris “Frankenstein” Karloff as a mafioso who gets whacked at a bowling alley.

4 stars
HAWK