66. Scarface (1932)

Directed By Howard Hawks

Synopsis

See Public Enemy (1931), plus his sister dies.

Review

Ok, this is a good film, but it is really not that great. Firstly the main plot is almost exactly like Public Enemy; lowlife rises to power through force of weapons. Unfortunately Scarface isn't quite as brutal as Public Enemy. Scarface was actually finished in 1930 but was only released in 32, making it come out in the coat-tails of Enemy, which made it no favours. Had it been released first...

There's another couple of films which influenced this film very directly, and curiously they are European film, and both by Fritz Lang. The scene at the end in the house, shooting the police outside is almost exactly like the silent Dr. Mabuse, Der Spieler, with the boarded up windows and the rifles. The appearence of Tony at the beggining of the film as a shadow, whistling a tune before he kills a man, is also lifted from Lang's M, and like in M the tune recurrs when Scarface is about to do a killing. This is slightly strange, as M came out in 1931, when Scarface was supposedly already finished in 1930... if that is so, the simiarities are too strong for mere coincidence.

That said, it is a particularly well directed film, and visually it beats Public Enemy, the appearence of the emblematic cross throughout the film, either as shadows or as someone writing it as a strike in a bowling score sheet, is very well done as is the World Is Yours sign used ironically at the end. The whole light and shadow play is very film noir and that's where this film gets points.

Paul Muni is a great actor, but unfortunately the same part had been played better by James Cagney in Public Enemy. Another thing that grates on my nerves is the usage of weird comic relief characters here, where they aren't really needed. Such as the slightly retarded Dope or the over stereotyped Italian characters... it's just unecessary. The film almost redeems itself completely with a truly great ending, it doesn't quite manage however.

Still, it is worth watching. Buy it at Amazon UK or US.

Final Grade

7/10

Trivia

Alternate Ending, which is a bit crap and the studio made Hawks use this, fortunately new editions return to the old ending:



Wikipedia:

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.

The film was completed in 1930 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 and epilogue had to be added, and the ending had to be modified. Howard Hawks disowned this version and it was created without his input. In the modified ending, the main gangster goes to trial and is hanged; in the original ending, which is also the one usually shown today, the gangster is shot dead by police.