Scarface (1932)
Scarface (1932)
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently Scarface is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Microsoft Store, Vudu, DIRECTV
Streaming in:πΊπΈ United States
This Movie Is About.
Cast & Crew.
Paul Muni
Tony
Ann Dvorak
Cesca
Karen Morley
Poppy
Osgood Perkins
Lovo
C. Henry Gordon
Guarino
George Raft
Rinaldo
Vince Barnett
Angelo
Boris Karloff
Gaffney
Purnell Pratt
Publisher
Tully Marshall
Managing Editor
Inez Palange
Mrs. Camonte
Howard Hawks
Director
Edwin Maxwell
Chief of detectives
Jean Harlow
Blonde at Paradise Club
Armitage Trail
Writer
Henry Armetta
Pietro - Barber (uncredited)
Ben Hecht
Writer
Gus Arnheim
Orchestra Leader (uncredited) / Music Director
Seton I. Miller
Writer
John Lee Mahin
Writer
Eugenie Besserer
Citizens Committee Member (uncredited)
Lee Garmes
Cinematographer
Maurice Black
Jim - Headwaiter (uncredited)
James Conaty
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
L. William O'Connell
Cinematographer
Gino Corrado
Waiter at Columbia Cafe (uncredited)
Edward Curtiss
Editor
Virginia Dabney
Mabel (uncredited)
William B. Davidson
Citizens Committee Member (uncredited)
James Durkin
Newspaper Man (uncredited)
Bill Elliott
Man Outside Theatre (uncredited)
Eddie Fetherston
Reporter (uncredited)
Paul Fix
Hood with Gaffney (uncredited)
Dick Gordon
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Brandon Hurst
Citizens Committee Member (uncredited)
Sydney Jarvis
Bartender (uncredited)
John Kelly
One of Costillo's Hoods (uncredited)
Hank Mann
Stag Party Janitor (uncredited)
Frank McLure
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Frank Mills
Hood (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien
Waiter (uncredited)
Dennis O'Keefe
Night Club Patron (uncredited)
Jack Perry
One of Costillo's Hoods (uncredited)
Pedro Regas
Tony - Bodyguard (uncredited)
Warner Richmond
Cesca's Dance Partner (uncredited)
Constantine Romanoff
Henchman (uncredited)
Ronald R. Rondell
Hood (uncredited)
Bert Starkey
Epstein - Lawyer (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan
One of Costillo's Hoods (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook
One of Costillo's Hoods (uncredited)
Helen C. Thompson
Sadie Thompson (uncredited)
Nick Thompson
One of Costillo's Hoods (uncredited)
Ellinor Vanderveer
Theatregoer (uncredited)
Harry J. Vejar
Big Louis Costillo (uncredited)
Sailor Vincent
One of Costillo's Hoods (uncredited) / Stunts
Douglas Walton
Cesca's Boyfriend (uncredited)
Media.
Details.
Release DateApril 9, 1932
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 33m
Box Office$600,000
Genres
Wiki.
Scarface (also known as Scarface: The Shame of the Nation and The Shame of a Nation) is a 1932 American gangster film directed by Howard Hawks and produced by Hawks and Howard Hughes. The screenplay, by Ben Hecht, is based loosely on the 1929 novel by Armitage Trail, which was inspired by Al Capone. The film was developed and released during the pre-Code era of Hollywood. The film stars Paul Muni as Italian immigrant gangster Antonio "Tony" Camonte who violently rises through the Chicago gangland, with a supporting cast that includes George Raft and Boris Karloff. Camonte's rise to power dovetails with his relentless pursuit of his boss's mistress while his own sister pursues his best hitman. In an overt tie to the life of Capone, a version of the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre is depicted.
After purchasing the rights to Trail's novel, Hughes quickly selected Hawks to direct and Hecht to write the film's screenplay. Beginning in January 1931, Hecht wrote the script over an eleven-day period. Scarface was produced before the introduction of the Production Code in 1934, which enforced regulations on film content. However, the Hays Code, a more lenient precursor, called for major alterations, including a prologue condemning gangsters, an alternate ending to more clearly reprehend Camonte, and the alternative title The Shame of a Nation. The censors believed the film glorified violence and crime. These changes delayed the film by a year, though some showings retained the original ending. Modern showings of the film have the original ending, though some DVD releases also include the alternate ending as a feature; these versions maintain the changes Hughes and Hawks were required to make for approval by the Hays Office. No completely unaltered version was known to exist until the limited-edition set of Scarface (1983) was released on October 15, 2019.
Audience reception was positive, but censors banned the film in several cities and states, forcing Hughes to remove it from circulation and store it in his vault. The rights to the film were recovered after Hughes's death in the 1970s. Alongside Little Caesar and The Public Enemy (both 1931), Scarface is regarded as one of the most significant and influential gangster films.
Scarface was added to the National Film Registry in 1994 by the Library of Congress. In 2008, the American Film Institute listed Scarface as the sixth-best gangster film. It was remade as the 1983 film of the same title starring Al Pacino.