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I liked it...I wasn't blown away by it, but I did appreciate it, especially for it's place in film history. I try to judge films by the standards of the day, and I can image that the audiences in 1932 were blown away when they first seen Scarface.
The realistic violence in the film is like nothing I've seen in 1930s movies. After the Hays Office enforced the Production Codes, such violent scenes would be parred down....I mean there's bodies flying right and left! They really go at it!
The death scene of Scarface's secretary Angelo (Vince Barnett), was especially brutal for the day and well done too! Old movies don't usually show someone suffering from a gun shot wound, not at least for extended amount of time. Angelo's scene was touching in how he kept trying to do his duty by locking the front door and attempting to answer the phone as he was dying. I thought that was pretty great scene.
I know the acting seems to be caricaturization instead of more natural acting, but this is a film from the early days of sound. It was released in early 1932, and, it was held for a year after production was wrapped to try and pass the New York censors. As Mark pointed out in his post, they went back and shot an alternative ending and added in the disclaimer about gangs and governments in the title credits. So...for a film made in 1931 it's understandable that the actors would perform a broader style as if they were still on the stage, as sound films were still new. And the actors were more use to stage work.
I know that Paul Muni is an accomplished actor and was nominated six times for Best Actor and won once. But he was a bit plodding in his role here and I had a hard time understanding his words. Still I like him.
I think Ann Dvorak was my favorite, I've liked her in other 30s films. I'm not familiar with the actress who played Poppy (Karen Morley) she was pretty enough and had a hard edge to her that was believable for a gun moll.
It's impressive that so many different set ups (shooting locations) were used. It made the film feel big, and lots of early 30s films hunker down in just a few spots and don't do world building.
Scarface (1932)
Directors: Howard Hawks
Writers: Armitage Trail (novel), Ben Hecht (screenplay)
Cast: Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley, George Raft
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Writers: Armitage Trail (novel), Ben Hecht (screenplay)
Cast: Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley, George Raft
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
"An ambitious and near insanely violent gangster climbs the ladder of success in the mob, but his weaknesses prove to be his downfall."
I liked it...I wasn't blown away by it, but I did appreciate it, especially for it's place in film history. I try to judge films by the standards of the day, and I can image that the audiences in 1932 were blown away when they first seen Scarface.
The realistic violence in the film is like nothing I've seen in 1930s movies. After the Hays Office enforced the Production Codes, such violent scenes would be parred down....I mean there's bodies flying right and left! They really go at it!
The death scene of Scarface's secretary Angelo (Vince Barnett), was especially brutal for the day and well done too! Old movies don't usually show someone suffering from a gun shot wound, not at least for extended amount of time. Angelo's scene was touching in how he kept trying to do his duty by locking the front door and attempting to answer the phone as he was dying. I thought that was pretty great scene.
I know the acting seems to be caricaturization instead of more natural acting, but this is a film from the early days of sound. It was released in early 1932, and, it was held for a year after production was wrapped to try and pass the New York censors. As Mark pointed out in his post, they went back and shot an alternative ending and added in the disclaimer about gangs and governments in the title credits. So...for a film made in 1931 it's understandable that the actors would perform a broader style as if they were still on the stage, as sound films were still new. And the actors were more use to stage work.
I know that Paul Muni is an accomplished actor and was nominated six times for Best Actor and won once. But he was a bit plodding in his role here and I had a hard time understanding his words. Still I like him.
I think Ann Dvorak was my favorite, I've liked her in other 30s films. I'm not familiar with the actress who played Poppy (Karen Morley) she was pretty enough and had a hard edge to her that was believable for a gun moll.
It's impressive that so many different set ups (shooting locations) were used. It made the film feel big, and lots of early 30s films hunker down in just a few spots and don't do world building.