Bugsy Malone

"Every year brings a great movie. Every decade a great movie musical!"

1976 1h 33m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

🍅

79%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★6.6TMDB · 328🍅79%Rotten Tomatoes●71Metacritic★6.8IMDB · 20,666

DramaActionComedyMusicFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

New York, 1929, a war rages between two rival gangsters, Fat Sam and Dandy Dan. Dan is in possession of a new and deadly weapon, the dreaded "splurge gun". As the custard pies fly, Bugsy Malone, an all-round nice guy, falls for Blousey Brown, a singer at Fat Sam's speakeasy. His designs on her are disrupted by the seductive songstress Tallulah who wants Bugsy for herself.

“Every year brings a great movie. Every decade a great movie musical!”

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Cast

Scott Baio
Bugsy Malone
Florrie Dugger
Blousey
Jodie Foster
Tallulah
John Cassisi
Fat Sam
Martin Lev
Dandy Dan
Paul Murphy
Leroy Smith
Sheridan Earl Russell
Knuckles
Albin 'Humpty' Jenkins
Fizzy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alan Parker
Writers: Alan Parker
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, 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 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

50 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alan Parker, shot by Michael Seresin. 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 Paul Williams. 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 Gerry Hambling 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

Scott Baio and Florrie Dugger and Jodie Foster carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Every year brings a great movie. Every decade a great movie musical!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0074256 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alan Parker directs. Michael Seresin behind the camera. Paul Williams scores. Gerry Hambling cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

150 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
3Directed by Alan Parker, shot by Michael Seresin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Paul Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Gerry Hambling shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Scott Baio and Florrie Dugger and Jodie Foster carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Every year brings a great movie. Every decade a great movie musical!".
8IMDB entry: tt0074256 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 10 themes, including "new york city", "prohibition era", "gangster", "gang war".

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Seresin
Original score: Paul Williams
Editing: Gerry Hambling
Production design: Geoffrey Kirkland
Costume design: Monica Howe
Makeup / hair: Sandra Exelby
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): G
IMDB: Bugsy Malone (1976)
Rotten Tomatoes: 79% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 71/100
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 20,666 votes
MPAA: G
US box office: $2,783,840

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 5 wins & 11 nominations total

Also by

Alan Parker

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-07-26
★ 6/10
There is something cartoon-like about this gangster spoof. The characters are all played by children and instead of spraying their rivals with bullets, they find themselves being creamed to death. The plot centres around the turf wars between "Dandy Dan" (Martin Lev) and "Fat Sam" (John Cassisi) and the shrewd manoeuvrings of the eponymous character (Scott Baio). Add to the mix the seductive, sultry, "Tallulah" (Jodie Foster) and you have the makings of a gently comedic production. There's quite a decent list of songs to keep it moving - "Bugsy Malone", "Down and Out" and "So You Wanna be a Boxer". Not songs you might recognise by their titles, but ones your toes start instinctively tapping to when the ensemble break into their well choreographed delivery. It's an OK watch, this, but I found that the initially innovative joke wore a bit thin quite quickly and the scenarios prove just a little too repetitive. That said, Foster and Baio work quite well together and it does look good - sending up all things Al Capone! Worth a watch, but nothing great.

Production companies