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Scarface (1932)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
9 April 1932 (USA) morePlot:
An ambitious and near insanely violent gangster climbs the ladder of success in the mob, but his weaknesses prove to be his downfall. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
1 win moreNewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Film School 101: Protagonists (From Atomic Popcorn. 1 November 2009, 4:57 AM, PST)
Gabriel Byrne: The Hollywood Interview
(From The Hollywood Interview. 10 April 2009, 2:49 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
What a sensational film! What an actor Paul Muni! more (84 total)Cast
(Complete credited cast)| Paul Muni | ... | Antonio 'Tony' Camonte | |
| Ann Dvorak | ... | Francesca 'Cesca' Camonte | |
| Karen Morley | ... | Poppy | |
| Osgood Perkins | ... | John 'Johnny' Lovo | |
| C. Henry Gordon | ... | Insp. Ben Guarino | |
| George Raft | ... | Guino Rinaldo | |
| Vince Barnett | ... | Angelo | |
| Boris Karloff | ... | Gaffney | |
| Purnell Pratt | ... | Mr. Garston, publisher | |
| Tully Marshall | ... | Managing editor | |
| Inez Palange | ... | Mrs. Camonte | |
| Edwin Maxwell | ... | Chief of detectives |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
93 minCountry:
USAColour:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
UK:15 (video rating) | UK:A (original rating) | Finland:K-15 (2005) (DVD) | Netherlands:6 (DVD rating) | Brazil:14 | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | West Germany:16 (f) | Norway:16 (1984) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG (re-release) | USA:Passed (original rating)Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The film's release was delayed almost a year due to producer Howard Hughes' protracted battles with the Hays Office and regional censor boards. moreGoofs:
Continuity: When Poppy visits Tony, she hold the flower, but Tony has it in the next shot. moreQuotes:
Tony Camonte: There's only one thing that gets orders and gives orders.[points to Tommy Gun]
Tony Camonte: And this is it. That's how I got the south side for you, and that's how I'm gonna get the north side for you. It's a typewriter. I'm gonna write my name all over this town with it, in big letters!
John 'Johnny' Lovo: Hey, stop him somebody!
Tony Camonte: Get out of my way Johnny, I'm gonna spit!
[starts firing]
more
Soundtrack:
Some of These Days moreFAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (84 total)
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One of the best directors ever makes one of the best films ever: Howard Hawks makes "Scarface". Everything is outstanding in this masterpiece of cinema, the exciting, neatly told story of the raise and fall of Tony Camonte (Al Capone's alter-ego). Powerful script, magnificent black and white photography, excellent camera-work, an important and courageous social message, just four years after the St. Valentine's massacre.
Great action and great psychological design of the characters are perfectly woven into the story. One brilliant, innovative idea follows another. An example is the not-shown-scene of the St. Valentine's massacre. Another beautiful intuition: a key-point of the story is the arrival on the scene of the machine guns, destined to bring the gang-wars to an unheard-of level of violence. Look at Tony's scaring bliss when he handles the terrible weapon for the first time... The montage is extraordinary. Take the celebrated bowling-hall scene: we have a dozen of distinct, splendid shots, perfectly tied together. "Scarface" has a pace impressive for intensity. Not a single second is wasted in its narration.
The cinematic language attains its highest level. Look how Guino Rinaldo (the great George Raft) is introduced. A man is reading a newspaper in a barber shop. The approaching siren of a police-car is heard. Without even leaving his chair, the man throws his gun in the basket of towels, and, impassive, he restarts to read. In few seconds we have got a precise hint of the personality of Guino: smart, cool-headed, laconic, professional. Soon we will see that in fact he is the cornerstone of Tony's power and success in crime.
Another gem of cinematic language. Tony and his boss Lovo in the chamber of Poppy, Lovo's girl-friend. Poppy is doing her make-up. Tony tries to chat with her. Poppy doesn't pay attention. She is even rude with him. Her dressing-gown has slipped, showing Poppy's legs. Tony peeps at them. Poppy clearly notes it and she DOES NOT fix the dressing-gown...
George Raft, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley (Poppy), Osgood Perkins (the spine-less boss Lovo) make a fantastic job. And then there is Paul Muni as Tony Camonte... how good an actor he is could only be eye-witnessed, words can't describe the power of his performance. Tony is cruel, loathsome, brutal, hideous: we all hate him. Tony's clash with Lovo, with the sadistic suspense he deliberately creates, is a really ghastly scene. Nonetheless, Muni succeeds to be even touching, when Tony shows his childish enthusiasm for bad-taste "expensive" stuff, ties, silk shirts, luxury restaurants etc. Tony's final nervous breakdown is essential for the moral message of "Scarface", but it could have been a weakness of the film. Yet Muni is so great, so intense, that he can render Tony's disgusting sudden cowardice in a smooth, realistic way, and without provoking in the audience any sympathy for the gangster (an important aim for the film-makers).
A crucial theme of the movie is Tony's morbid affection (to say the least) toward his sister Cesca (Ann Dvorak). Well... "Scarface" would deserve a book, not just a comment. Let me skip this important motive of "brotherly love", which is extremely difficult to judge correctly, in my opinion.
How can a comic character like the illiterate "gangster-secretary", who never gets the name at the telephone, fit so well in the tragic, action-packed story of "Scarface"? The answer is: Hawks' artistic genius.
"Scarface", Muni, Hawks... That is great Art of Cinema.