{"id":43276,"date":"2019-03-31T13:19:01","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T20:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43276"},"modified":"2020-11-28T12:56:53","modified_gmt":"2020-11-28T19:56:53","slug":"scarface-the-shame-of-the-nation-1932","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43276","title":{"rendered":"Scarface, The Shame of the Nation (1932)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Colorful?! What color is a crawling louse?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Poster-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-43277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Poster-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Poster.jpg 654w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA ruthless aspiring ganglord (Paul Muni) zealously protects his young sister (Ann Dvorak) from suitors while wooing the sultry mistress (Karen Morley) of his boss (Osgood Perkins); meanwhile, with help from his loyal henchman (George Raft), he wreaks murderous havoc on rival gangsters while attempting to take over new territory in Chicago.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ann Dvorak Films<\/li>\n<li>Boris Karloff Films<\/li>\n<li>Gangsters<\/li>\n<li>George Raft Films<\/li>\n<li>Howard Hawks Films<\/li>\n<li>Karen Morley Films<\/li>\n<li>Paul Muni Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary begins his review of <em>Scarface<\/em> by noting that this &#8220;best of the early gangster films was completed by Howard Hawks in 1930 but was held up by censors until several changes were made&#8221;, in order for &#8220;the public to understand that the motion-picture industry was also infuriated by crime.&#8221; However, as Peary points out, this film hardly glamorizes gangster life, given that &#8220;Paul Muni&#8217;s Tony Camonte, who, like many movie gangsters, was based in part on Al Capone, is a stupid, loutish, ugly brute &#8212; his scar is his best facial feature since he&#8217;s made up to resemble an apeman (he&#8217;s like <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=40400\">Fredric March&#8217;s Mr. Hyde<\/a> minus the fangs).&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Muni2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Muni2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"528\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-55514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Muni2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Muni2-300x220.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Muni2-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Muni2-368x270.png 368w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He adds that &#8220;screenwriter Ben Hecht based his crime family on the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/House_of_Borgia\">Borgias<\/a>, so he had a model for the corruption, cruelty, power-lust and decadence that exists&#8221; &#8212; including &#8220;an incest theme&#8221; but minus any parental influence; Tony&#8217;s father is non-existent and his mother (Inez Palange) is completely ineffectual. Peary correctly notes that &#8220;no one who sees this film would want to emulate the lives of these criminals&#8221; &#8212; but with that said, the &#8220;film has exciting, atmospheric cinematography by Lee Garmes; taut, inspired direction by Hawks; and a powerful script by Hecht (with additional dialogue credit going to John Lee Mahin, Seton I. Miller, and W.R. Burnett).&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>In <em>GFTFF<\/em>, Peary outlines several of the film&#8217;s highlights, including &#8220;the opening, in which the camera pans for several minutes across an emptying party room and ends up showing the first victim being murdered&#8221;; and &#8220;gangster Boris Karloff being shot just as he bowls &#8212; the camera follows the ball down the lane, where it knocks over all the pins, including the king pin, which spins for a while and topples over.&#8221; In <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em> &#8212; where he names this the Best Film of the Year &#8212; Peary writes that &#8220;for real, reel-to-reel excitement, no film filled the bill better than&#8221; <em>Scarface<\/em>, &#8220;the best and most ferocious of the gangster cycle.&#8221; He notes that &#8220;the gangster world Hawks presents is unsavory, sordid, and not enticing&#8221; &#8212; though &#8220;males might be drawn to the beautiful, trampy women played by Ann Dvorak and Karen Morley (two of the great unsung actresses of the period).&#8221; (Indeed, Dvorak &#8220;almost steals the film&#8221;.) Peary adds that &#8220;the gangsters themselves are childlike, ignorant brutes who could stand no other company but their own and play dangerously stupid games&#8230; We don&#8217;t want to be like them and we don&#8217;t want to walk the streets when they&#8217;re around.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>In <em>GFTFF<\/em>, Peary writes that Muni &#8220;gives one of his finest performances &#8212; it is his one character for whom you can feel no sympathy&#8221;, and he awards Muni Best Actor of the Year in <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>, noting that &#8220;Muni plays his character as if he were a cocky punk teenager. Unsophisticated and immature (like all other gangsters), he&#8217;s self-impressed, overrates his intelligence (he is proud to use the word <em>disillusioned<\/em>), boasts nonstop, acts tough, doesn&#8217;t listen to his mother&#8230;, and is always looking for a good time.&#8221; He considers machine guns &#8220;toys&#8221;, women &#8220;meat&#8221;, and &#8220;likes anything that is &#8216;hot&#8217;.&#8221; While he &#8220;is usually having a good time&#8221; &#8212; at which moments &#8220;we fear his recklessness&#8221; &#8212; he &#8220;suddenly shifts from being carefree to being serious&#8221; and is &#8220;downright creepy.&#8221; As &#8220;Muni&#8217;s eyes, face, and tone of voice quickly change&#8221;, we &#8220;realize what a frightening, depraved individual Tony is.&#8221; I find Muni&#8217;s performance a tad overdone, but would agree he&#8217;s fully invested in his role and quite memorable &#8212; as is the entire atmospherically filmed narrative, which is well worth a look by all film fanatics.   <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Strong performances throughout<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Muni.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Muni.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"528\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Muni.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Muni-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Muni-300x220.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Dvorak.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Dvorak.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"528\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43279\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Dvorak.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Dvorak-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Dvorak-300x220.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Lee Garmes&#8217; cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"528\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Cinematography.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Cinematography-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Cinematography-300x220.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"528\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Cinematography2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Cinematography2-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Cinematography2-300x220.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Cinematography3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Cinematography3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"528\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43283\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Cinematography3.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Cinematography3-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Scarface-Cinematography3-300x220.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Ben Hecht&#8217;s script<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as an early gangster classic. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=1784#classic\">Genuine Classic<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0023427\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1932\/05\/20\/archives\/paul-muni-as-scarface-tony-in-a-story-of-chicagos-murderous-beer.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jigsawlounge.co.uk\/film\/scarface.html\">Jigsaw Lounge Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/scar.html\">FilmSite Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/89192\/scarface#articles-reviews?articleId=90484\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Colorful?! What color is a crawling louse?&#8221; Synopsis: A ruthless aspiring ganglord (Paul Muni) zealously protects his young sister (Ann Dvorak) from suitors while wooing the sultry mistress (Karen Morley) of his boss (Osgood Perkins); meanwhile, with help from his loyal henchman (George Raft), he wreaks murderous havoc on rival gangsters while attempting to take over new territory in Chicago. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Ann Dvorak Films Boris Karloff Films Gangsters George Raft Films Howard Hawks Films Karen Morley&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43276\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43276"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55515,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43276\/revisions\/55515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}