When one says Scarface, a picture of an f-bomb dropping, coked up Al Pacino as ruthless gangster Tony Montana would no doubt pop into your head. Yet after watching the Howard Hughes produced, Howard Hawks directed 1932 gangster morality play original, Pacino et al. will become a faded memory when compared to this originator of violent gangster pictures, which has inspired crime illuminati’s Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and of course, Brian De Palma, who directed the 1983 remake.     

Loosely based by the exploits of infamous gangster Al Capone, who ruled the mean streets of Chicago during the prohibition era of the 1920’s, Scarface focuses on the rise and fall of ferocious criminal Tony Camonte, a new breed of gun loving gangster who lives by the creed “Do it first, do it yourself, and keep on doing it”.

Camonte was played by celebrated 1930’s character actor Paul Muni, with all of the flamboyance he could muster. This was to be expected: with such a flashy character, an equally flashy performance is needed, and Muni provides an exceptional example on how to play over the top without losing his characters emotional grounding. Ironically, the only other actor who could do this as well as Muni would be Al Pacino. 

The beginning of the film has Camonte playing hitman for mob boss Johnny Lovo (Oswood Perkins). Yet his lofty aspirations for power quickly see him climb to the top of the Chicago mafia, taking out Lovo and stealing his girl (Karen Morley) in the process. However, his fierce love for his sister Cesca (Ann Dvorak) places everything on the line when she falls in love with Camonte’s right hand man, Rinaldo (George Raft).  

Whilst watching Scarface, the viewer must take into account that this film is a product of its time. It’s depictions of Italian American’s  in particular relies heavily on stereotype, especially in its use of speech, with “eh?” placed on the tail end of any sentence. For example, “I gotta do a this; I gotta do a that, eh?”

Also, while the films violence is tame compared to the intense standards of today’s cinema, one must also appreciate that Scarface circa 1932 was a very violent film for its time, which brought on the wrath on censors and saw producer Howard Hughes battling the Hays Office and regional censor boards, delaying the films release for up to a year. So viewing the film in a historical context is a must.

However, this does not deter from the fact that Scarface is a highly entertaining film due do its daring, extravagance, engrossing plot developments, and strong emotional centre, in particular the relationship between Camonte and his sister, which is developed further in the 1983 remake.  

Yet – outside of Muni’s performance – the most memorable feature of Scarface has to be Howard Hawks’ brilliant direction and use of visual symbolic touches: a dead body slumped on the corner of Under and Taker Streets; the use of the letter “X” as a prophetic tool towards death; the use of shadow (with thanks to cinematographers Lee Garmes and L. William O’Connell).

A trend setter and instigator, dated in some parts, ageless in many others, Scarface is essential viewing not only for lovers of crime movies, but for lovers of cinema.