68: Scarface

USA  95m  Dir: Howard Hawks  Key Cast: Paul Muni

Scarface is the most famous of the gangster films that were made in the early 1930s. It's perhaps the least subtle and nuanced of them and instead focuses more on violence and spectacle. The Hays Code, the production code of the time, was pretty lenient and didn't have a great deal of power but even so it asked for quite a few changes in order to ensure the film didn't glamourize the life of gangsters. 

It's unquestionably the most violent film I've seen in this journey so far with huge machine gun battles. This wasn't special effects either- they really did shoot machine guns at the sets and then made it look like the actors were in the room. Though some critics saw the quality of the film many were scathing about the level of violence and there was public outcry which led to a underwhelming box office returns. The film was banned by many cities and countries across the world. Even Nazi Germany banned it and if the Nazis thought it was morally wrong you knew you'd made something that society found shocking. 

All this goes to show how much cinema and indeed society has changed. Scarface may feel shocking when comparing it to other films of it's era but as a modern viewer it's pretty tame. I also find it fascinating that the Hays Code felt the film should made it overtly clear that Tony's life isn't want to strive for with a damning prologue and the subtitle 'Shame of a Nation'. It didn't credit audiences to have their own interpretation of the film- I find it really hard to conceive that  without these alterations viewers would have watched the constant tension and violent drama, see how Tony is utterly awful to his sister and then aspire to be like him. 

Perhaps part of the reason the film was so disturbing to the general public is that it is based closely on real events and real people. Though it's not a direct adaption of Al Capone's life it's very clear that Tony Camonte is a fictionalised version of the famous gangster and there's a lot of detail in the film that echoes real life. Tony though was shown as happy to do the grunt work and dying in battle which is someway from Capone who was in prison for tax evasion when the film was released. 

The film is excellent and it's style influenced every gangster film that followed. It's largely set at night and uses pools of placed light and the contrast between black and white in dark rooms and silhouettes. It also has dynamic cinematography which follows the action of the film really effectively. Paul Muni is also great as Tony, fierce and and angry whilst always hiding a certain vulnerability. 

A powerful and thrilling gangster film with Paul Muni giving an excellent performance. It may have been shocking in it's day but now it stands up as just a great early gangster film.