When you’re layin’ in an alley with your head blown off, maybe you’ll learn how this business ought to be run. – Scarface (1932)
Scarface (1932) – Too Violent for Its Time Now a Classic
What happens when a man with too much ambition, too much fire, and no fear of death decides he wants it all? In the gritty underworld of Prohibition-era America, one ruthless gangster claws his way to the top, leaving a trail of bodies, broken loyalties, and shattered lives behind him. He wants power. He wants respect. But most of all, he wants to be remembered.
This isn’t your average rags-to-riches story. It’s a cautionary tale soaked in violence, ego, and obsession. With machine guns blazing and moral lines disappearing, the rise and fall of this mobster isn’t just thrilling—it’s terrifying. His hunger for control takes over everything, including his own family.
We’re going to find out right now!
Hello to all of the classic people who are returning. I am glad you are back. I want to welcome any new visitors. Today on Classic Movie Review, we are taking on Scarface (1932). This film, which would technically be a pre-noir, is listed on IMDb.com as a Film Noir, so I will refer to it as such.
It is a good criminal rise-and-fall story with the likes of Edward G. Robinson’s Little Caesar (1931) and James Cagney’s The Public Enemy (1931). When I watched this film recently, I was amazed by how much of the plot was used in Scarface (1983). The second film, which was made over half a century later, had very few new ideas to spread around its graphic violence. No shade on Al Pacino. He is always great.
On IMDb.com, this film has a decent 7.7 rating[1]. On Rottentomatoes.com, the film has a damn impressive 98 percent on the Tomatometer and 86 percent on the audience Popcorn score[2]. Yeah, it’s that good.
When this movie was released, it was attacked by the general public[3]. One positive review came from Variety on May 24, 1932, stated: “…that powerful and gripping suspense which is in all gangster pictures is in this one in double doses and makes it compelling entertainment”, and that the actors play “as if they’d been doing nothing else all their lives.”[4]
Paul Muni in Scarface (1932) completes the trifecta of early criminal films with James Cagney’s The Public Enemy (1931)and Edward G. Robinson’s Little Caesar (1931).
Actors – Scarface (1932)
Returning
Boris Karloff played the role of the ill-fated English criminal Gaffney. It is always interesting to see the great actor of Frankenstein (1931) and The Mummy (1932) in diverse roles.
Karen Morley played the role of gangster girlfriend Poppy. Morley was covered briefly in the horror film The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932).
New
Paul Muni played the role of rising gangster Tony. Muni was born in 1895 in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in what is now Ukraine. His family was ethnically Jewish and spoke Yiddish. The family moved to Chicago in 1902 when Muni was seven.
Muni worked in Yiddish theater across the northeast. In 1908, He joined the Yiddish Art Theatre in New York. Muni began working in English-language theater in 1926. He worked on Broadway and made his first film in 1929. For this first role in The Valient (1929), Muni received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Muni threw himself into each role, including makeup and beards. I guess he was a proto-method actor submersing himself into each role. To me, this tended to make his film great or terrible. He only had 23 films, but the majority of them were very impactful films.
Today’s film, Scarface (1932), was only his third film. This was followed by I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932), The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), The Life of Emile Zola (1937), The Good Earth (1937), and Juarez (1939). He was great in many of these films, such as in The Life of Emile Zola (1937), but was so into character for Juarez (1939) that he was stiff and made the movie unenjoyable.
Four of the above films, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932), The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), The Good Earth (1937), I will defer on the discussion of Yellow Face, and The Life of Emile Zola (1937), were nominated for the best picture Oscar with The Life of Emile Zola (1937) winning the prize. Muni was also nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for these films, with the exception of The Good Earth (1937). He won the Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar for The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936).
After Juarez (1939), Muni still had good roles, such as Hudson’s Bay (1940) and Angel on My Shoulder (1946). Due to poor health, Muni retired by the end of the 1950s. Muni received another Best Actor nomination for his last film, The Last Angry Man (1959). He died in 1967.
George Raft, in his first significant role, was pretty solid as coin-flipping gangster Rinaldo. Raft was born in 1901 in New York City. Both his parents had German and Jewish ancestry. The young Raft grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, one of the toughest neighborhoods at the time.
Like James Gagney, Raft was a very good dancer from a young age. Later, great dancer Fred Astaire attested to Raft’s dancing chops. Raft was also friends with several people who later figured prominently in the organized crime rackets. These relationships continued, and there was a constant rumor that he was backed by mobsters.
James Cagney said in his autobiography “Cagney By Cagney” in 1976 that Raft used his connection to stop a murder attempt against Cagney, who at the time was president of the Screen Actors Guild.
Raft began acting in films in 1929. He had small parts and often played a dancer. His gangster role in Scarface (1932) put him on the path to playing a host of criminals and thugs. A few Raft films that iMDB.com lists as Film Noirs include The Glass Key (1935), She Couldn’t Take It (1935), Invisible Stripes (1939), Each Dawn I Die (1939), They Drive by Night (1940), The House Across the Bay (1940), Johnny Angel (1945), Nocturne (1946), Intrigue (1947), Johnny Allegro (1949), Black Widow (1954), and A Bullet for Joey (1955).
For some reason, Raft declined lead roles in High Sierra (1941), The Maltese Falcon (1941), which gave Humphrey Bogart his big break, and Double Indemnity (1944), effectively derailing his career. Raft continued to make films, but the roles were not important. He was parodied or cameoed in Some Like It Hot (1959), Ocean’s Eleven (1960), Casino Royale (1967), and The Cotton Club (1984).
Raft was reduced to working as a greeter for the mob-owned Hotel Capri casino in Havana. Of course, this ended on January 1, 1959, when Fidel and Che stormed into town. Do you remember that bit being recreated in The Godfather II (1974)? Raft died in 1980.
Ann Dvorak played the role of Cesca, the sister of Tony (Paul Muni). Dvorak was born in 1911 in New York City. She was born to Anna Lehr, a silent film star, and Edwin McKim, a silent film director.
Dvorak was a student at St. Catherine’s Convent in Manhattan. She then attended Clark School for Girls. Finally, she attended the Page School for Girls in California at what is now Figueroa and Avenue 45. Dvorak graduated at the age of 15 in 1927.
Dvorak started as a child actor in the film Ramona (1916) when she was four years old. Her last child film was in 1920. Dvorak returned to film work, mostly as a member of the chorus, from 1929 into the 1930s. It is often rumored that she was one of Dracula’s brides in the OG horror classic Dracula (1931). However, this was actress Geraldine Dvorak.
Her first big break came when she was cast as Cesca in Scarface (1932). She appeared in the criminal thriller The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932). Dvorak acted in ‘G’ Men (1935) with James Cagney. Scarface (1932) and ‘G’ Men (1935) tell a very similar story. Her last major film was The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937), a Perry Mason film, where Dvorak played the pivotal role of Della Street.
Married to an English actor, Dvorak spent time in England working in the war effort. Her film career ended in 1951 when she retired. Dvorak died in 1979.
Story – Scarface (1932)
The film begins with a warning that the people must demand the end of the gangster era.
Inside a nightclub on 22nd Street, “Big” Louis Costello (Harry J. Vejar) has just finished hosting a night for the ward boys. One of the men with “Big” Louis mentions that Lovo (Osgood Perkins) is making moves on the south side. “Big” Louis doesn’t care, thinking he has enough.
After the other are gone, “Big” Louis is gunned down by a man seen only in shadow. Of course, it’s clear that the killer is Tony Camonte (Paul Muni).
A newspaper editor says that “Big” Louis is the last of the old-time gangsters, and this murder means there will be a five-year turf war with lots of killing.
Tony is in a barbershop, covered with towels. Rinaldo (George Raft) is reading a newspaper. Rinaldo gives a warning as a car full of cops arrives. Both gangsters hide their guns in the towel bin.
Detective Guarino (C. Henry Gordon) tells Rinaldo he is going downtown. Tony is a little harder to roust. When the towel is removed from Tony’s face, he has a big scar on his left cheek. Tony lights a match on Guarino’s badge. This is the second-best use of a strike-anywhere match in a movie. Number one is when Sefton, played by William Holden, strikes a match on Duke’s face, played by Neville Brand, in Stalag 17 (1953). The detective slugs Tony for the match bit, and they are taken away.
Down at the police station, the Detective Chief (Edwin Maxwell) reads off a list of charges Tony has faced in the past. They also say he is responsible for the killing of “Big” Louis for his new gangster boss, Lovo (Osgood Perkins). Tony says he was “Big” Louis’ bodyguard, and the two were very tight. The Detective Chief says they know Lovo paid Tony the previous night in a barbershop.
Guarino is getting ready to beat the truth out of Tony, but the gang’s lawyer brings in a writ of Habeas Corpus. Tony and Rinaldo walk out, mocking the cops as they go.
Tony goes to see Lovo. Lovo is living the high life with his swanky girlfriend, Poppy (Karen Morley). Tony can’t keep his eyes off the scantily clad female, but she couldn’t care less what the two men are up to. Poppy mentions the razor cut on Ton’s check. He responds that he got it in the war. This was a lie that Al Capone told, although he had never served in a war[5]. Capone was actually stabbed in a bar by a smaller man.
Lovo gives Tony some money and says he will be working on a percentage from now on. Lovo says that they will be taking over the south side. Tony mentions that he wants to challenge O’Hara on the north side. Lovo chews Tony out and says he will do the thinking. Tony says he is going to wait until after “Big” Louis’ funeral before he meets with the beer distributors. Tony is more concerned with Poppy.
Tony is now the number one boy to Lovo. Later, Tony shares some of the money with his right-hand man, Rinaldo. Rinaldo had waited outside while Tony killed “Big” Louis. Tony then starts bad-mouthing “Big” Louis, saying if O’Hara was so tough, he would have knocked over “Big” Louis first. Tony says he will be the boss of the entire operation one day if they are patient.
Later, Tony has dinner at his home. His mother waits on him as if he were helpless. Tony is grousing because his sister, Cesca (Ann Dvorak), is missing supper. Tony hears a noise and finds Cesca with some guy’s tongue down her throat. He runs the guy off and roughs up Cesca a little like he was her boyfriend. He gives her some money to have fun. Their mother is very unhappy, saying Tony’s money is bad and will cause trouble. Cesca says she will be fine.
Cesca throws a coin to an organ grinder’s monkey, but Rinaldo catches the coin. Boom. They are hit by the thunderbolts. The primate was named Jocko the Monkey, and he appeared in the King Kong (1933) precursor The Lost World (1925).
Lovo, Tony, Rinaldo, and Angelo (Vince Barnett) go to the 1st Ward Social Club: read – “Big” Louis gang headquarters. They smash the door window, and Tony announces that Lovo is in charge. A few guys are missing. Lovo says he will make more money for the guys who fall in with him. One guy talks back, and Tony puts him down. The others fall in line.
Tony is in charge of taking the orders, forcing the bars to take Lovo’s beer. Tony visits the bars and forces the owners to take more than they need. Meehan and Berzini controlled the territory before Tony and Lovo came.
The gang terrorizes other bars and even bombs one they can’t get to come over. Tony and company go to “The Shamrock” bar. There is an unseen gunfight inside before Tony and crew run out.
Tony goes to a diner and tells Lovo that Meehan and Berzini have retired from the business. The newspaper reports that Meehan will live. Tony goes to the hospital with a bundle of flowers and kills Meehan. Failed hit on a Don, followed by another attempt at a hospital. Does that sound like The Godfather (1972)?
A flipping calendar and the sound of machine gun fire indicate the passing of time.
Tony runs into Poppy, and he continues to flirt with her and asks her out. She tells him to get a girl. Tony is trying to upgrade his image with new clothes, jewelry, and cars, but he is still from the streets.
Tony reports to Lovo. Lovo is hot because Tony busted up a lakeside joint that belongs to O’Hara and the north side. He tears into Tony about following directions. Tony says O’Hara is not tough because his headquarters is at a florist. As they leave, a speeding car throws out the body of Keech. There is a note attached that says, “Keep out of the north side.”
In an attempt at humor, Tony’s dull assistant can take messages properly. This happens a few times. Rinaldo comes in wearing a carnation. Rinaldo has killed O’Hara at Tony’s orders. The intercom buzzes, and Tony is told Poppy is on the way up. Tony takes the carnation from Rinaldo before he leaves.
Poppy comes in, and Tony gives her the carnation. She says that O’Hara was killed earlier in the morning. She is setting herself up to be with the man who is going to be on top. Tony gives her a tour of his house, showing the steel shudders with firing slots on the windows. He shows her a Cook’s Tour sign outside that says, “The World is Yours.” Poppy notices the amount of money Tony has been spending on clothes and furniture.
Tony begins to put the moves on Poppy, but he gets informed that the cops are downstairs. He shows her an escape route and says he will meet her at the 4th Street restaurant. Guarino takes Tony in for questioning about the O’Hara killing.
In a warehouse, British gangster Gaffney (Boris Karloff) is unpacking crates of Tommy guns. At the same time, he says Tony is not going to run this town. Gaffney mentions that O’Hara, late from the north side, had the guns shipped across the border.
Gaffney gets word from one of his gang that Tony has left the police station and is being trailed. Gaffney orders guns and men loaded into cars.
Tony and Rinaldo go to a local restaurant. Poppy is waiting when they arrive. Tony gets a call and sends Angelo, the comic relief gangster, to the phone. A parade of Gaffney’s cars roll by and riddle the restaurant with .45 slugs. The shooters don’t manage to hit anyone.
Tony thinks he could use machine guns that you can carry. Rinaldo shoots a gunner and captures a dropped Tommy gun. Tony is excited about his new toy.
When the group gets back to their headquarters, they find that it has been shot up as well. Lovo comes out, wounded, and he is hot as a $2 pistol. Tony is ready to go against Gaffney and the former O’Hara mob. Tony tries to stop Tony, but it’s too late; he has lost control of his mob.
Tony executes his machine gun attacks on many north side joints and hoods. As the attacks in the north continue, the Chief Detective sends Guarino to check a 22nd Street freight house where he thinks the machine guns are arriving in fruit boxes. The North Side gang is virtually wiped out.
A scene is shown in a shadowy warehouse. Seven gangsters are lined up against a wall and shot down with machine guns. This is modeled on the actual 1929 St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, where two gangsters dressed as cops and two other men “arrested” and executed seven men from another gang. It is believed that the killings were ordered by Al Capone against Bugs Moran’s north-side gang[6]. There is also a pretty good movie about this called The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (1967). The story is told in a documentary fashion. It has Jason Robards as a great Al Capone, and legendary voice talent Paul Frees does the narration.
The cops pick up Gaffney and take him to the murder site. He says two of the killers were wearing police uniforms. Gaffney is horrified by the dead bodies. He then hides out with a couple of hoods in a wrecked building. A reporter tracks Gaffney to his location.
The cops then decide they need to get the newspapers to turn the public against the gangsters. The cops put pressure on the newspaper owners. The newspaperman thinks the problem is that new laws are needed. He recommends martial law, the use of the Army, and more deportations. That’s insane.
Tony, Rinaldo, and Angelo go to see the play, “Sadie Thompson.” Tony goes outside for a smoke. It is not long until another gang member arrives to say they have found Gaffney in a bowling alley. Tony wants to see the last act of the play. Tony finally agrees to go make the hit. He leaves Angelo to report on the ending of the play.
Tony has his gang surround the bowling alley. They slowly move inside as Gaffney bowls. They shoot down Gaffney in mid-stride.
Tony and the boys go to the Paradise nightclub. Tony joins Poppy and Lovo at a table. Poppy pulls out a cigarette, and both men offer to light it. Poppy takes the light from Tony, showing Lovo has lost. A small gunfight takes place on the dance floor, but Tony is too cool to be worried.
Tony’s sister, Cesca, puts the full-court press on Rinaldo. Rinaldo tries to get her to leave because she is Tony’s sister and only 18. Cesca does a provocative dance for Rinaldo. She finally leaves mad and finds another mug to dance with.
Over Lovo’s objection, Tony and Poppy start dancing. When Tony sees Cesca on the dance floor, he goes nuts. He punches the guy and drags Cesca outside and then home. Tony threatens to kill his sister if she comes to places like the Paradise Club. Tony slaps her and tears her fancy dress. Cesca runs to her mother, and they go upstairs.
Tony feels bad for not being smart enough to understand. When he goes outside, someone begins firing at him with a machine gun. Tony jumps in a car and flees. This works fine until the killers shoot out his tires. Both cars crash over an embankment.
Tony goes into Pietro’s store and is let inside by the owner. The owner helps, and Tony calls the Paradise Club to locate his gang. Neither Rinaldo nor Love is in the club. Tony eventually locates Rinaldo at one of his girlfriend’s apartments. Tony tells Rinaldo to come to Pietro’s.
Rinaldo arrives, and Tony suspects Lovo ordered the hit. He pays Pietro to call Lovo, telling the story that he is one of the shooters and that he saw Tony getaway. Tony and Rinaldo rush to the office where Lovo is, so they can watch his reaction when the call comes in.
Lovo is shocked to see Tony alive. The call plays out as Tony expected, and he knows Lovo ordered the hit. Rinaldo flips his coin, Tony whistles, and Lovo knows he is going to die. Lovo begs for his life. Tony walks out, and Rinaldo shoots Lovo.
Tony goes directly to Poppy’s place and has her pack a bag. He shows her the “the world is yours” sign. Tony and Poppy go to Florida for a vacation. While they are away, Cesca goes to the headquarters to see Rinaldo. She offers the whole dish.
The newspaper report says Tony is coming back to town. They also say the government is really trying to find a cause to arrest Tony.
Tony goes to his mother’s place, where he finds out that Cesca has moved out and is living with a man. Tony is enraged and heads to Cesca’s place. Cesca has a really nice place with a full-size grand piano. After she sings, she and Rinaldo confess their love to each other.
Tony buzzes the bell, and Rinaldo answers the door. Before Cesca can explain, Tony guns down his friend Rinaldo. Cesca freaks out, calling Tony a butcher. As she sobs, Cesca says that they were married the day before. Tony tries to calm her, but it is too much.
The police issue a bulletin to have Tony picked up for Rinaldo’s murder. Tony retreats into his house as some of his gang and the police have a shootout. Angelo is shot but manages to answer the phone correctly before he dies.
The phone call is from Poppy. Tony just says, “I didn’t know.”
The Detective Chief orders Tony’s compound surrounded.
Cesca comes into Tony’s compound through the secret door. She has a gun and seems ready to kill Tony. However, when the cops surround the building, she starts begging Tony to escape. The pair cries and hugs as the police shine spotlights into the building.
Tony and Cesca try to exit through the secret door, but the cops are already moving in. He gives Cesca a rifle and begins shooting his machine gun out the window. He is laughing like a crazy person as he closes the steel doors. A bullet recoches and his Cesca. Tony is scared of being alone. Cesca shows contempt for Tony when she sees he is afraid. She says Rinaldo’s first name, Guino, a couple of times before she dies.
The cops fire teargas into Tony’s compound. Tony calls for Cesca and other dead members of his gang as he chokes on the gas. Guarino leads the cops as they storm the compound. Guarino shoots Tony, and Tony begs for a break. Tony runs past the cops in his doorway and is gunned down by machine gun fire. He dies in the street as the “The World is Your” sign is shown.
There was an alternate ending, but I have never seen it. In this ending, Tony is arrested, found guilty, and sentenced to death. His legs are tied together, and a bag is placed over his head. The trapdoor is ordered to be released, and Tony dies off-screen.
Scarface (1932) vs Scarface (1983)
If you have watched Scarface (1983) in the last four decades, it is clear that it took the best of today’s film and turned the blood flow skyward. I am going to look at a few points of similarity. Both of Tony’s were from immigrant populations. Tony Montana (Al Pacino) was a 1st generation Cuban who arrived in the Mariel boatlift. Tony Camonte (Paul Muni), although it was never said, given his accent, was a 2nd or 3rd Italian immigrant.
Tony Camonte’s story is set in Chicago during Prohibition, when booze was illegal. Tony Montana’s story was set in Miami in the 1980s when illegal cocaine was coming into the country at a phenomenal rate. Both men worked their way up in the gang, but Tony Montana’s story begins before he is a gang member. Tony Camonte is already a valued member of the gang when his story begins. Both Tony’s have found a route to wealth through a product the government is restricting.
As they rise, both men buy things to show their wealth and status. Tony Camonte buys things that will give him protection and items that make him seem classier. Tony Montana buys security items, but also, such as tigers.
Both men are insanely ambitious, feeling they can never die and nothing can stop their rise to power. They are also both ruthless killers. Their attitudes tended to harm everyone around them. Of course, the line of work they choose would eventually lead to their downfall.
In both films, as the Tonys climbed the ranks, they became interested in their bosses’ girlfriends. Both men obtained their goal but had to kill their mentor to accomplish it. You might be able to steal Poppy (Karen Morley from Lovo (Osgood Perkins), but I can see how it would be possible to steal Elvira (Michelle Pfeiffer) from Frank (Robert Loggia).
Both Tony’s had a best friend and an unnatural attraction to their own sister. Tony Camonte’s right-hand was Rinaldo (George Raft), while Tony Montana’s sidekick was Manny (Steven Bauer). When Rinaldo married Cesca (Ann Dvorak), and Manny married Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), the Tonys murdered their brother-in-law before ever finding out about the marriage. Both sisters died in the final attack.
In Tony Camonte’s case, the final attack came from the police as they were trying to arrest him. In the case of Tony Montana, the final attack came from the Sosa gang. Both men had secure compounds where they assumed they would be safe. However, once alone, there was no stopping the attack, even with steel doors and a little friend. Both criminals end up dead.
There are some interesting similarities in the movies. The 1932 film was directed by Howard Hawks, while the latter film was directed by Brian De Palma. Both of these directors were very talented and in top form when they made these movies.
Screenwriter Ben Hecht, for the 1932 film, was a former journalist who lived in Chicago during the Al Capone and Prohibition eras. Screenwriter Oliver Stone of the 1983 film, well, let’s just say he has seen some stuff.
All of the violence in the 1932 film was played out off-screen or in shadows. For the 1983 film, the limiters were off, and blood was spraying everywhere. This includes a scene of a man being killed with a chainsaw.
Conclusion – Scarface (1932)
Screenwriter Ben Hecht claims to have been visited by a couple of mob boys who were concerned that he was writing a film about Capone. Hecht allegedly said the film was based on “Big” Jim Colosimo, and the use of Scarface was just a Hollywood trick to fill the theaters. The men reportedly left satisfied.
This event would have taken place during the time “Scarface” Capone was being tried under the Volstead Act, for tax evasion, and other crimes. I am not sure if this movie would be on his radar at the time.
On IMDb.com, it contradictorily states that Johnny Lovo of Scarface (1932) and Don Corleone of The Godfather (1972) were based on Johnny Torrio, the gang boss who brought Capone from New York to Chicago.
One thing that I enjoyed very much in Scarface (1932) is that Xs were shown prior to people being killed. These were as subtle as the X on a bowling score sheet for a strike or more overtly as a shadow or latticework.
Like all old gangster films, this one had a lot of machine gun fire. These were the days when trained sharpshooters fired live ammo around the actors as they did their scenes. So, as you watch, when you see a chick of brick fly off the wall, it was not done with an exploding squib package.
The machine guns were never called Tommy guns in this film and were referred to as machine guns, bean shooters, and a typewriter. A sometimes used name for the Tommy gun is a Chicago Typewriter.
This film is one of the “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die,” a book edited by Steven Schneider. It was also placed on the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1994.
See it as soon as you can!
World-Famous Short Summary – I’ll quote Alvin York from Sergeant York (1941) – Him that be a living by the sword will be a dying by the sword.
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As a technical note, references and citations are listed for each show on the site at classicmovierev.com. There is a lot of information on the site.
Beware the moors.
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023427/
[2] Scarface | Rotten Tomatoes
[3] Scarface (1932 film) – Wikipedia
[4] Scarface – Variety. May 24, 1932.
