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MONEY
Did you know
Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Al Capone
"His True Shocking Story...Filmed with Bullet Force!"
1959 1h 44m EN
👍
6.6
SOLID
⭐
6.7
IMDB
★6.6TMDB · 57★6.7IMDB · 1,939
ActionAdventureCrimeDrama
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.
“His True Shocking Story...Filmed with Bullet Force!”
Cast
Rod Steiger
Al Capone
Fay Spain
Maureen Flannery
James Gregory
Schaefler (narrator)
Martin Balsam
Mac Keeley, reporter
Nehemiah Persoff
Johnny Torrio
Murvyn Vye
George 'Bugs' Moran
Robert Gist
Dion O'Banion
Lewis Charles
Earl Weiss
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Richard Wilson
- Writers
- Malvin Wald, Henry F. Greenberg
- Languages
- English
- Countries
- United States of America
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 8
ERA
Did you know
67 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by Richard Wilson, shot by Lucien Ballard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Original score by David Raksin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor Walter Hannemann shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Rod Steiger and Fay Spain and James Gregory carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 8
FACT
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "His True Shocking Story...Filmed with Bullet Force!".
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt0052543 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr · trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Richard Wilson directs. Lucien Ballard behind the camera. David Raksin scores. Walter Hannemann cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
- 267 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
- 3Directed by Richard Wilson, shot by Lucien Ballard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 4Original score by David Raksin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 5Editor Walter Hannemann shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 6Rod Steiger and Fay Spain and James Gregory carry the top of the cast.
- 7Marketing tagline: "His True Shocking Story...Filmed with Bullet Force!".
- 8IMDB entry: tt0052543 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 9Only 57 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Lucien Ballard
- Original score
- David Raksin
- Editing
- Walter Hannemann
- Runtime
- 104 min · 1h 44m
- Aspect ratio (typical)
- 1.37:1 (Academy)
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $1,000,000
- Box office
- $2,500,000
- Return
- 250% of budget
- Original language
- EN
- IMDB
- Al Capone (1959)
- IMDB rating
- 6.7/10 · 1,939 votes
- MPAA
- Approved
Awards
1 win & 1 nomination
Also by
Richard Wilson
Stills · wallpapers
Selected frames
Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- John Chard★ 7/10
Nobody who's smart goes hungry in Chicago. Al Capone is directed by Richard Wilson and written by Malvin Wald and Henry F. Greenberg. It stars Rod Steiger, Martin Balsam, Nehemiah Persoff, Fay Spain, Joe DeSantis and Murvyn Vye. Music is by David Raksin and cinematography by Lucien Ballard. Alphonse Gabriel Capone, it's a name synonymous with gangsters of 1920s America, and of course of cinematic films. Richard Wilson's film is one of the better gangster biopics out there, filmed in semi-doc style, it unfolds with great human drama without glorifying the subject matter. If anything it's refreshingly unsentimental in its approach. Steiger is Capone (never Caponee!) and he puts his method stomp all over the role, carrying the film squarely on his well cast shoulders. He has all the ticks and mannerisms of Capone to either chill the blood or charm the other characters in the play, it is very much a powerhouse performance. As a history lesson it's not wholly accurate, but much of it is rigid in the life and times of the famous criminal. The period detail is splendid, with the backdrops boosted no end by the gorgeous monochrome photography served up by Ballard. Enthralling, sometimes violent and always intriguing, this is well worth a look. 7/10
Production companies
Who made it
- AL
Allied Artists Pictures
US
Key crew
- EditorWalter Hannemann
- ProducerJohn H. Burrows
- ProducerLeonard J. Ackerman
- GafferLloyd Garnell
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- gangster
Release history · US
When it landed
- Theatrical1959-03-25
