Scarface (1932 film)

:"This article is about the 1932 film. For the 1983 remake, see Scarface."Infobox Film | name =
name = Scarface


caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Howard Hawks
producer = Howard Hawks
Howard Hughes
writer = Screenplay:
Ben Hecht
Seton I. Miller
John Lee Mahin
W. R. Burnett
Novel:
Armitage Trail
Uncredited:
Fred Paisley
Howard Hawks
starring = Paul Muni
Ann Dvorak
George Raft
Karen Morley
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor = United Artists
released = April 9, 1932 (USA)
runtime = 93 min.
country = USA
language = English
Italian
budget =
amg_id = 1:43081
imdb_id = 0023427

"Scarface" (also known as "Scarface: The Shame of the Nation" and "The Shame of a Nation") is a 1932 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.

Production

The movie was adapted by Ben Hecht, Fred Paisley (uncredited), Seton I. Miller, John Lee Mahin, W. R. Burnett and Howard Hawks (uncredited) 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 had his own copy of it.Fact|date=July 2008

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 didn't pass some censors, so Howard Hughes disowned this version and released the original in the states that lacked the strict censors.Two other gangster movies 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).

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

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 is not different from the original ending (Version A), except for a certain sequence of events. 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" and restored the film to its original ending and wisely screened the film in states where the censors have not affected them, thus leading to bona-fide box office status and positive critical reviews.

ignificance

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. [cite news | publisher = American Film Institute | title = AFI's 10 Top 10 | date = 2008-06-17 | url = http://www.afi.com/10top10/gangster.html | accessdate=2008-06-18]

ee also

* Boris Karloff filmography

References

External links

*
* [http://hollywood-legends.webs.com/munipaul/paulmuni.htm Paul Muni: Scarface and Beyond]
* [http://www.creativescreenwriting.com/csweekly/picture/06_01_07_Scarface.html The World is Yours: The Writing of the Original "Scarface"] by Stephen Jacobs at Creativescreenwriting.com
* " [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1018323-scarface/ Scarface] " at Rotten Tomatoes
* [http://film.virtual-history.com/film.php?filmid=2083 Bibliography]