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Scarface (1932 film) |
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008) |
| Scarface | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Howard Hawks |
| Produced by | Howard Hawks Howard Hughes |
| Written by | 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 |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | April 9, 1932 (USA) |
| 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 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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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.citation needed
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).
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.
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, although it was probably confused with the newer version.1
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