Scarface, the Shame of a Nation

1932 Howard Hawks production

Rating: 16/20

Plot: Tony Camonte is a little gangsta with a big heart and even bigger dreams. After gang leader Louis Costello is knocked off, police suspect that Camonte is their man, but since there's not a body, they can do nothing about it. Habeas Corpus, Latin for "there ain't no body nowhere so's there's nothin' nobody can do about nothin'." Camonte continues to work his way up the gangster ladder but begins ticking off his peers and create some conflicts within the gangster community when he starts to extend his responsibilities with some freelance work. Another conflict develops when his sister, with whom he is overly protective, starts wanting a little more freedom.

I'd give this the slight edge over the too-long 80's Scarface. It's very good for an early talkie even though it does suffer from the staginess and over-acting and occasional stuffiness of those early 30's productions. This version of Scarface is packed with some great character actors who give the somewhat pedestrian script some flavor. It's also got action scenes that are way ahead of their time. Car chases, shoot 'em ups, etc. all in crisp black 'n' white and drenched in shadows. The introductory scene, one of those long shots I'm a sucker for, is really nice, the camera smoothly moving from the street to inside a club and then lingering just long enough for a gangster's whistling shadow to stroll in and take care of business. It's a great scene that sets the stage. I also like some of the (admittedly heavy-handed) symbolism in this. Paul Muni is a good Scarface although I don't always like his accent and the horrible bow tie/collar combination he sports. Another thing that annoyed me was the preachiness. The movie starts out by proclaiming itself as an "indictment of gang rule and the callous indifference of the government." That's fine, I guess, but the story really grinds to a halt with a sententious speech in the middle of the movie and some other didactic moments. It's just too much, and it seems odd as somebody could easily accuse the filmmakers of glorifying the gangster lifestyle as much as they are criticizing it.