Scarface (1932 film)
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| Scarface | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Howard Hawks Richard Rosson |
| Produced by | Howard Hughes |
| Written by | Armitage Trail (novel) Ben Hecht |
| Starring | Paul Muni George Raft Ann Dvorak Karen Morley Boris Karloff |
| Cinematography | Lee Garmes L.W. O'Connell |
| Editing by | Edward Curtiss |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | April 9, 1932 |
| Running time | 93 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English Italian |
Scarface (also known as Scarface: The Shame of the Nation and The Shame of a Nation) is a 1932 American gangster film, directed by Howard Hawks and starring Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley, Osgood Perkins, C. Henry Gordon, George Raft, Vince Barnett, Edwin Maxwell, and Boris Karloff. Howard Hughes produced the film. Produced in the Pre-Code era, the film centers on gang warfare and police intervention when rival gangs fight over control of a city.
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[edit] Production
The movie was adapted by Ben Hecht, Seton I. Miller, John Lee Mahin, and W. R. Burnett from the novel Scarface by Armitage Trail.
The film is loosely based upon the life of Al Capone (whose nickname was "Scarface"). Capone was rumored to have liked the film so much that he owned a print of it.[1] Ben Hecht also said that Capone's men came to visit him to make sure that the film was not based on Capone's life.[2]
After repeated demands for a script rewrite from the Hays Office, Howard Hughes ordered Hawks to shoot the film and "make it as realistic, as grisly as possible." Hawks shot the film at three different locations: Metropolitan Studios, Harold Lloyd Studios and the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles. Shooting took three months with the cast and crew working seven days a week. Hawks decided to include an X symbol above each of Camonte's victims and offered each crew member a hundred dollars to think of a different way to depict the X for every murder. Several accidents happened on the set. Comedian Harold Lloyd's brother Gaylord Lloyd lost an eye when he visited the set and was accidentally shot with live ammunition. George Raft also received a head injury during the death scene of his character when he accidentally hit the door frame while he was slumping to the floor.[3]
The first version of the film (Version A) was completed on September 8, 1931, but censors would not allow its release until 1932, because of concerns that it glorified the gangster lifestyle and showed too much violence. Several scenes had to be edited, the subtitle "The Shame of the Nation" as well as a text introduction had to be added, and the ending had to be modified. However, this version still did not pass some censors, so Howard Hughes disowned this version and released the original in the states that lacked strict censors.
Two other gangster films produced at about the same time were Little Caesar and The Public Enemy (both of which were Warner Bros./First National films released in 1931).
[edit] Cast
- Paul Muni as Antonio "Tony" Camonte
- Ann Dvorak as Francesca "Cesca" Camonte
- Karen Morley as Poppy
- Boris Karloff as Gaffney
- Osgood Perkins as John "Johnny" Lovo
- C. Henry Gordon as Inspector Ben Guarino
- George Raft as Guino "Little Boy" Rinaldo
- Vince Barnett as Angelo
- Edwin Maxwell as Chief of Detectives
- Inez Palange as Mama Camonte
[edit] Alternate ending
With the disapproval of several censors regarding the film, producer Howard Hughes, being wealthy enough to spend as much money as needed on the picture, willingly brought the film back to production by re-shooting an alternate ending.
The alternate ending differs from the original ending (Version A), in the manner that Tony is caught and in which he dies. Unlike the original ending where Tony Camonte escapes the police and dies getting shot several times, the alternate ending begins with Tony reluctantly handing himself over to the police. After the encounter, there is a scene where a judge is addressing Tony (who is offscreen, probably because Paul Muni was not involved in production anymore) during sentencing. The next scene is the finale where Tony (seen from a bird's eye view, probably played by a stand-in) is brought to the gallows where he is finally put to an end by being hanged as soon as the policemen cut the ropes.
After such effort, the censors still rejected this version. Afterwards, Hughes discarded Version B, restored the film to its original ending and screened the film in states where there was little censorship of films, thus leading to bona-fide box office status and positive critical reviews.
[edit] Legacy
In 1994, Scarface was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The character of Tony Camonte ranked at number 47 on "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains" list.
The film was named the best American sound film by critic/director Jean-Luc Godard in Cahiers du Cinéma. Brian De Palma directed a 1983 remake which has become a cult favorite in its own right. A 2005 DVD special edition release of the 1983 version included a copy of its 1932 counterpart.
In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Scarface was acknowledged as the sixth best in the gangster film genre.[4]
On Rotten Tomatoes, Scarface has a 100% fresh rating with all 22 reviews being positive.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Mcadams, William. Ben Hecht: The man behind the legend. Scribner. (1990). p. 128. ISBN 0684189801.
- ^ Hecht, Ben. A Child of the Century. Simon and Schuster. (1954). p. 487.
- ^ McCarthy, Todd. Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood. Grove Press. (2000). pp 122-56. ISBN 0802137407.
- ^ "AFI's 10 Top 10". American Film Institute. 2008-06-17. http://www.afi.com/10top10/gangster.html. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ^ "Scarface (1932)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
[edit] External links
- Scarface (1932) at the Internet Movie Database
- Scarface (1932 film) at the TCM Movie Database
- Scarface at Rotten Tomatoes
- The World is Yours: The Writing of the Original Scarface by Stephen Jacobs at Creativescreenwriting.com
- Bibliography
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