Scarface

"The rise and fall of a power hungry mobster."

1932 1h 33m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 720

CrimeActionDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1920s Chicago, Italian immigrant and notorious thug, Antonio 'Tony' Camonte, aka Scarface, shoots his way to the top of the mobs while trying to protect his sister from the criminal life.

“The rise and fall of a power hungry mobster.”

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Cast

Paul Muni
Antonio 'Tony' Camonte
Ann Dvorak
Francesca 'Cesca' Camonte
Karen Morley
Poppy
Osgood Perkins
John 'Johnny' Lovo
C. Henry Gordon
Insp. Ben Guarino
George Raft
Guino Rinaldo
Vince Barnett
Angelo
Boris Karloff
Gaffney

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Howard Hawks
Writers: Ben Hecht, Howard Hawks
Languages: English, Italian
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 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 75% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

94 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Howard Hawks, shot by Lee Garmes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Adolph Tandler. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Edward Curtiss shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Paul Muni and Ann Dvorak and Karen Morley carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Howard Hawks directs. Lee Garmes behind the camera. Adolph Tandler scores. Edward Curtiss cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 75% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
394 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.
5Directed by Howard Hawks, shot by Lee Garmes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Adolph Tandler. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Edward Curtiss shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Paul Muni and Ann Dvorak and Karen Morley carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "The rise and fall of a power hungry mobster.".
10IMDB entry: tt0023427 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 16 themes, including "chicago, illinois", "sibling relationship", "based on novel or book", "police".
12Released under 17 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Lee Garmes
Original score: Adolph Tandler
Editing: Edward Curtiss
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $800,000
Box office: $600,000
Return: 75% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: Scarface (1932)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Howard Hawks

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-13
★ 7/10
Odd to see Howard Hawks on this genre, but he directs this workman-like gangster effort steadily, managing to convey some semblance of the environment of fear and violence without actually turning it into a visual gory bloodbath. Paul Muni may have had top billing, but for me George Raft steals this - charisma a-plenty. Boris Karloff appears oddly miscast, but Dvorak and Morley play the roles of the molls quite effectively and Osgood Perkins plays the cowardly bully Lovo well. Holds up remarkably after almost 90 years!

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