(6 votes, average: 4.17 out of 5)
Loading …Rent Movie.com movie reviews presents Scarface 1932 movie review a 1932 film starring Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak and directed by Howard Hawks, Richard Rosson An ambitious and near insanely violent gangster climbs the ladder of success in the mob, but his weaknesses prove to be his downfall. Big Louis Costillo, last of the old-style gang leaders is slain, and his former bodyguard Tony Camonte is taken into custody. Since Costillo’s body has never been found, the police have to release him, though they strongly suspect Johnny Lovo paid Tony to remove Big Louis. Tony begins taking over the rackets in town with violent enforcement, and he becomes a threat to Johnny and the other bosses unless they work for Tony. Meanwhile, Tony’s sister wants to be more independent, but finds it difficult to escape from her brother’s overprotective grasp. The dissatisfaction of the other bosses and the relentless pursuit of the police push Tony towards a major confrontation Howard Hawks’s Scarface was one of the first “talkies” to reclaim the fluidity of the late-silent masterpieces, while also tapping into a feral new energy that came with talking smart and moving smarter on the motion picture screen. Outgunning such contemporaries as Little Caesar and The Public Enemy–in terms of both its ferocious death-dealing and dynamic style–the movie was interfered with by censors and kept out of circulation for decades thanks to its eccentric producer, Howard Hughes. It remains the gold standard among classic gangster pictures. Paul Muni’s portrayal of Al Capone surrogate Tony Camonte etched a screen original: a merciless assassin who’s not only reflexively criminal but pre-civilized, almost pre-evolutionary, a simian shadow ready to rub out the world if he can’t have it for his own. This is still one of the greatest, darkest, most deeply exciting films American cinema has produced. Those demonically ubiquitous X’s–starting with that titular scar gouged into Tony’s cheek–rival “Rosebud” for resonance. –Richard T. Jameson
Comment by Heather L. Parisi “Heather & Robert Parisi”
# January 2, 2007,
A “TALKY” THAT CARRIES QUITE A WALLOP — for 99 MINUTES!,
IN A NUTSHELL: NO GLAMORIZING OF PUBLIC ENEMIES HERE
A dark and dank insight into the depraved and exciting world of bootlegging gangsters at their worst.
WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT: [WARNING — CONTAINS PLOT SPOILERS BELOW]
Tony Camonte [Paul Muni], is the lead, and a character patterned after Al Capone (also called “Scarface”)but not in every way. The obviously amoral Camonte gradually seizes control of the bootlegging racket, from Johnny Lovo (Osgood Perkins), his boss, through a series of barbaric murders which eventually include Johnny Lovo. Apparently, Camonte’s ambition is translated into brutality as his sole constructive force, which is hardly constructive at all. There is no bargaining, communicating or making deals, Camonte simply kills everyone that stands in his way even if it is really not needed. I think I counted 26 murders in the film, but others have stated that they counted 28.
BACK TO THE ACTION:
After bumping off his boss Lovo, with the aid of henceman Guino Rinaldo [George Raft], Camonte took up with Lovo’s mistress, Poppy [Karen Morley]. Though he has lusted after Poppy from the start, Tony has shown oddly incestuous interest in his own sister, Cesca [Ann Dvorak] that seemed more emotionally deep than that for his newly found trophy girl. There were hints about the incestuous nature of their relationship throughout the film with their mother, who Tony never implied was anything more than a domestic servant, constantly warning Cesca about Tony’s intentions in veiled but unmistakable language.
Believe it or not, there is actually humor woven into “Scarface” throughout, with one of the best examples being the murder of Gaffney, [Boris Karloff] while he was bowling. The camera pans to Gaffney’s bowling ball knocking down all the pins which is a strike, and one of the many examples of the “X” being used to indicate a murder being committed throughout the film. This reduced the explicitness of the violence, but was perhaps more effective and thought provoking through the implicitly clear outcome.
In the end, Camonte got what he had coming and took it like a weasel, which was required by the censors, but it also removed the romanticism that frequently was given to the many violent criminals of the day, especially Capone. His sister died with him, actually before him. At which point he became a defeated man, ready to throw in the towel, but not before he provided proof that he was no hero and unworthy of anyone’s respect, which the police had told us to expect.
ABOUT THE TONE OF THE FILM AND ITS TIME:
Hughes had all kinds of problems with the censors of the day, and we are told that two versions of the film were released. One without the censors approval and one with. Also, that a moral prologue had to be added at the beginning of the film, and added several times during it, to make clear that this was a bad thing we were seeing, [the ruthless life of a killer] and that it was not okay to emulate. In essence, to make clear that the message of the film was NOT to encourage this kind of lifestyle.
MY TAKE ON THE MESSAGE:
To me, the lead character, Tony Camonte, is a vicious swine whose courage came in the form of a gun in his hand. His lusts’ and interests’ were both perverted and dispicable, making him an unsympathetic character, and a blight in any civilized society. Good - because that is how he was meant to be seen. That, in no way, diminishes the potency of this film. Instead it punctuates and highlights the right from the wrong, the good from the bad. We may not be sure what the good and right is, after seeing this film, but we can be sure what is bad and wrong, because we have seen it for 93 minutes by the time the film ends.
—–*- PRINCIPAL ACTORS -*
Paul Muni - Tony Camonte
Ann Dvorak - Cesca Camonte
Karen Morley - Poppy
George Raft - Guino Rinaldo
Boris Karloff - Gaffney
Osgood Perkins - Johnny Lovo
—–*- PRODUCTION CREW -*
Howard Hawks - Director / Producer / Screenwriter
Howard R. Hughes - Producer
W.R. Burnett - Screenwriter
Ben Hecht - Screenwriter
John Lee Mahin - Screenwriter
Seton Miller - Screenwriter
Fred Palsey - Screenwriter
Armitage Trail - Book Author
ABOUT THE DVD: I FIRST SAW IT ON VHS - THEN RECENTLY DVD
I originally saw this film on VHS. On VHS, the video quality was variable, but it was watchable from beginning to end. The sound was even better, with very little of the background hiss that we can expect from a 74 year old film.
The DVD plays in all-regions, and plays like a new version of the video edition, but with several scenes that seem longer. It seems to have a cleaner video transfer, but that could be because the video I have was not new when I got it, and DVDs retain their playing quality, as long as they are undamaged, unlike VHSs, that degrade over time unless they are never played and hermetically sealed. Naturally, that isn’t the way it is, so an equal DVD is a better way to go, especially since the price differential is minute, at this time.
BOTTOM LINE: IMPLICIT VIOLENCE & BRUTALITY DONE TO PERFECTION
An excellent film and an excellent companion for the more recent remake of Scarface,1983, Directed by Brian De Palma and starring Al Pacino. When one recalls that Scarface was made in 1932, before film-noir, and actually during prohibition [1920-1933] it reminds us of what a gem this “talky” is. In the end, this talky shines, by showing rather than telling us, what life was like for and around Scarface, and showing, though more challenging to execute, is always the best way to tell a story.
Comment by Beautiful.Failure “art student, designer, burlesque model, boxer”
# January 2, 2007,
The first “Scarface” I was exposed to was that which stars Al Pacino, which was produced the same year as my birth. Though I am a fan of modern action movies with their obscene violence, gratuituous special effects and lack of subtlety, the art student in me loves true film. I was first exposed to HH’s “Scarface” in a film class, and immediately I fell for it. Thus, Al Pacino takes a seat behind Paul Muni in my book.
Howard Hawk’s “Scarface,” starring Paul Muni as Tony Camonte, is based loosely on the life and times of notorious gangster Al Capone. It is compelling and entertaining without the use of fake blood. The artistry lies in the film’s ability to tell the viewer without words; that which is visible has become knowledge. Much like the Godfather’s kiss, a coin tossed repeatedly and an X or a cross are marks of death. Shadows, bowling pins, and other objects are used to symbolize death. These marks are key characteristics that make this film almost timeless. With underlying “forbidden love” stories (involving his pretty sister) and comedy relief characters (the not-so-PC-by-modern-standards “secretary,”) the 1932 “Scarface” is a landmark film. Not only did it pave the way for gangster movies, it was also ahead of it’s time, bearing, among other things, heavy shadows, extreme close-ups, and overhead shots that would become film noir a decade later.
Though many are fixated on the remake, devout fans of the 1983 “Scarface” can still enjoy this prohibition-era film. The imagination comes up with things that truly can’t be captured on film. See what yours can do.