SCARFACE (1932)

Chicago/Prohibition week (3 of 7)


Day 3 Scarface: The Shame of the Nation (1932)

I had never seen this film before and of the three from this era(Little Caesar, The Public Enemy) this is the most powerful and brutal of all of them. And Paul Muni is most menacing in his Al Caponesce role.

Random Thoughts: I never much cared for Brian De Palma’s remake of Scarface, but since there are so many elements of the original that were brought into the remake (especially the relationship between Scarface and his sister) that I probably should give the De Palma film another go.

Also of note, if you have the DVD, make sure to see the alternate ending that was tacked on to satisfy the censors (and fortunately discarded by producer Howard Hughes).

“We’ll lick them all. The South Side.The North Side. We’ll lick the whole world!”

THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931)

Chicago/Prohibition week (2 of 7)

Day 2 The Public Enemy (1931)
The second film for this week is the gangster film that made a star of Jimmy Cagney and remains an entertaining story of bootleggers during prohibition. It is also interesting to see a film about prohibition that was made before it was repealed.

Random thoughts: It’s interesting to note that Cagney was originally supposed to play the main character’s sidekick, but was recast in the lead role at the last minute. Edward Woods, who was demoted from the lead to the secondary role, had a relatively short career in Hollywood thereafter while Cagney became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. The famous grapefruit scene from this movie isn't quite as jarring as I remember it, but the ending is still pretty powerful.

It’s interesting that The Public Enemy and Scarface both have a scene where the tough guys force a beer proprietor to buy their beer over those of the competition.

“I aint’ so tough”

LITTLE CAESAR (1930)

"It was what happened in the streets of Chicago that made that city synonymous with murder and mayhem for a generation.” –from the Ken Burns’s documentary Prohibition

Chicago/Prohibition week (1 of 7)

Dramatic gold has been spun by Hollywood depicting lawless Chicago during the days of prohibition. Sometimes it’s in the forefront, as in Little Caesar and sometimes it’s on the periphery, as in Some Like It Hot. The 1001 Movie list has six movies that I can find depicting lawless Chicago in some form during Prohibition.

Day 1 Little Caesar (1930)
The prototype for the American gangster movie and first in a trilogy of films from this era depicting a rise to power of a lowly hood and establishing the gangster movie into how we still define that genre.

Random thoughts: The rules are all set out for the prohibition gangster from Chicago. Stick to your territory and everything will be fine. But once you break the rules set out for you or venture outside your prescribed region, you will always find trouble and plenty of it! Well, it happens here and it will happen again, but crime doesn't pay, Rico!

Edward G. Robinson doesn’t look like your typical movie star, but he sure is fun to watch. When I think of him, I still remember the line he says to fellow poker hustler Steve McQueen in The Cincinnati Kid, ‘You’re good kid, but as long as I’m around, you’ll always be second best.” (Line most effective if you do a Robinson impersonation while repeating it.)

I think Little Caesar would make a great double bill with the Robinson/Cagney vehicle Smart Money, where Edward G. plays a kindler/gentler version of his Little Caesar character.

“Listen you crummy, flatfooted copper…I’ll show you whether I lost my nerve…I’m coming after you see, and I’m gonna put one in your dirty hide for every lying crack you made about me, see? I’ll show you who’s gonna finish up in the gutter…Get your hat and start running, see, because you’re all through. Call up the papers and tell them that you rotten dirty, lying copper!”

NOW, VOYAGER (1942), MILDRED PIERCE (1945), WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE (1962)

In 1981, you basically couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing the Kim Carnes song, “Bette Davis Eyes.”

Why do I bring this up?

I guess because I just couldn’t think of very much to say about the Bette Davis film, Now, Voyager. It’s a nice enough story about a woman finding herself and features some notable performances from a good supporting cast including the always reliable Claude Reins and is a definite showcase for Ms. Davis. There’s some pretty good dialogue (though at times it’s a little too mushy.) And James Cameron did steal the scene from this film for Titanic where Bette Davis is making out with her lover on a car hidden aboard a ship. However, this film probably wouldn't make my book, but it was made with more of a female audience in mind.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In 1981, the reputation of Joan Crawford took a hit with the release of the film, Mommie Dearest, that it still hasn’t recovered from. Even the DVD featurette on Joan Crawford says the first thing many people thing of when they hear the name Joan Crawford involves Faye Dunaway spitting out the line from the above film “No more wire hangers!”

But let us not forget that Joan Crawford was one of the biggest female stars in Hollywood for many, many years. Her Oscar winning performance in Mildred Pierce is (like Now, Voyager is for Davis) a real showcase for its lead actress. The film starts off like a film noir, but quickly becomes more of a domestic drama centering on the relationship between Mildred (Joan) and her daughter, Vera. Vera is played by Ann Blyth, who in the 70’s did a series of cupcake commercials that would always start, “This is Ann Blyth for Hostess,” though since most kids watching Saturday morning Hostess commercials probably hadn’t seen Mildred Pierce and didn’t know who the hell Ann Blyth was! But I digress.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After watching these two films, I wanted to rewatch (after about twenty-five years) the only collaboration between Davis and Crawford, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? This film was made during the 60’s when both stars were past their prime, but the film was a hit and still has a quite a cult following. Bette has the more showy role where she plays a former child star with severe mental and emotional problems. Joan plays Bette’s wheelchair bound sister who gets terrorized by Baby Jane on a regular basis. This film has more than its share of drama, horror and plenty of its share of camp as well. We also get to see the blustery Victor “King Tut” Buono in a memorable supporting role.


Just for the record, other Bette Davis films on the 1001 list include:
Jezebel
All About Eve

And some Bette Davis films I’m surprised aren’t on the 1001 Movie List include:
Of Human Bondage
Dark Victory
The Petrified Forest

Other Joan Crawford films on the 1001 list include:
The Unknown
Johnny Guitar

And some Joan Crawford films I’m surprised aren’t on the 1001 Movie List
Grand Hotel
The Women
Possessed