Paul, George and Boris get it started.
Anyone who has seen the wide array of gangster films over the past 80 years will find so many images originating with this gritty tale mixing portions of Al Capone's story with the Borgias. Viewers who know just the basics of Capone can identify most of the characters by their real-life names. This is so much more than simply the original version of the Al Pacino cult flick. Paul Muni, a brilliant and flexible actor, is the lowest of low-lifes, base and amoral with incestuous leanings. There isn't a hint of respect for human life. There is nothing glamorous in his portrayal of Tony or in the film at all. As repellent as he is, Muni is riveting.
Of huge importance in the long-range scope of crime film is George Raft's image here. Though his Guino "Little Boy" Rinaldo is a still man with few lines, he leaves a whammy of an impression. His constant flipping of a coin - suggested by Howard Hawks - created a prototype for nearly all gangster films and spoofs to follow. It was also an inside joke in "Some Like It Hot." Every gangster film needs a sharp-dressing wise-guy coin flipper - and you'll even see it in softies like "Singin' in the Rain," "Guys and Dolls" and even the weasels in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" This is where it started. When other gangster film stars got a "break-through," it was in a starring role. Raft's came here, as a killer and ladykiller hovering in the background with a face the camera loved like a woman. It helped that he was surrounded by plain and ugly thugs.
Like the cinematic use of the X's, Hawks used the coin flip as a signal of death. And there are a lot of deaths. Such imagery by cinematographer Lee Garmes contributes significantly to the power of this film. By the time Raft meets his stunningly restrained end, the audience has already had the warning of it telegraphed through these images. While this is a very black, violent film there is also bleak humor, such as Boris Karloff's fate in a bowling alley. And the added scenes sternly disclaiming the adulation of such criminals can also provoke a laugh.
Anyone who has seen the wide array of gangster films over the past 80 years will find so many images originating with this gritty tale mixing portions of Al Capone's story with the Borgias. Viewers who know just the basics of Capone can identify most of the characters by their real-life names. This is so much more than simply the original version of the Al Pacino cult flick. Paul Muni, a brilliant and flexible actor, is the lowest of low-lifes, base and amoral with incestuous leanings. There isn't a hint of respect for human life. There is nothing glamorous in his portrayal of Tony or in the film at all. As repellent as he is, Muni is riveting.
Of huge importance in the long-range scope of crime film is George Raft's image here. Though his Guino "Little Boy" Rinaldo is a still man with few lines, he leaves a whammy of an impression. His constant flipping of a coin - suggested by Howard Hawks - created a prototype for nearly all gangster films and spoofs to follow. It was also an inside joke in "Some Like It Hot." Every gangster film needs a sharp-dressing wise-guy coin flipper - and you'll even see it in softies like "Singin' in the Rain," "Guys and Dolls" and even the weasels in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" This is where it started. When other gangster film stars got a "break-through," it was in a starring role. Raft's came here, as a killer and ladykiller hovering in the background with a face the camera loved like a woman. It helped that he was surrounded by plain and ugly thugs.
Like the cinematic use of the X's, Hawks used the coin flip as a signal of death. And there are a lot of deaths. Such imagery by cinematographer Lee Garmes contributes significantly to the power of this film. By the time Raft meets his stunningly restrained end, the audience has already had the warning of it telegraphed through these images. While this is a very black, violent film there is also bleak humor, such as Boris Karloff's fate in a bowling alley. And the added scenes sternly disclaiming the adulation of such criminals can also provoke a laugh.