Scarface (1932), the Most Ferocious of That Era's Gangster Films
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September 9, 2003 (VII:3) HOWARD HAWKS. 30 May 1896, Goshen, Indiana—26 December 1977 (aftermath of falling over his dog). Began as an actor in silents, producer for nearly all his films. From Leonard Maltin’s Film Encyclopedia: “It would not be imprudent to label Hawks the greatest American director who is not a household name. Yet his films continue to enchant audiences everywhere and but for a very few exceptions (Ford, Welles, Hitchcock), his is the name most often cited by modern filmmakers as an influence. His visual style is clean, uncluttered, almost invisible; and unlike many directors who preferred to work in one or two genres, Hawks did them all. His best films celebrate "the group": professionals bound together by camaraderie and their work, to whom the ultimate compliment is "you're good." Another reason Hawks' films seem so fresh is that the women are just as smart, tough, and fast-talking as the men, sometimes more so; indeed, he staged scenes with dialogue that always sounded natural and real. This was immediately apparent in his first sound film, The Dawn Patrol (1930), in which the actors "talked," rather than emoting in the then normal style of early talkies, and in Scarface (1932), the most ferocious of that era's gangster films. Hawks defined the then-new subgenre of screwball comedy with his frenetic Twentieth Century (1934), SCARFACE: THE SHAME OF A NATION which made Carole Lombard a star. Later in the decade he helmed three masterpieces (1932, 93 min. Caddo & United with Cary Grant: the definitive screwball comedy, Bringing Up Baby (1938), the mail- Artists) National Film Registry 1994 pilot adventure Only Angels Have Wings (1939), and the breathless "Front Page" remake Paul Muni.... Tony Camonte His Girl Friday (1940). In 1944 he launched the film career of 19-year-old Lauren Bacall Ann Dvorak.... Cesca Camonte and teamed her with Humphrey Bogart in To Have and Have Not. When romance Karen Morley.... Poppy erupted, he quickly cast them in the even more successful The Big Sleep (not released till Osgood Perkins.... John 'Johnny' 1946). Red River (1948) was his first Western and first film with John Wayne; it also was Lovo the debut of young Montgomery Clift. He gave Marilyn Monroe two key early roles in C. Henry Gordon.... Inspector Ben Monkey Business (1952) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953, featuring her legendary Guarino George Raft.... Guino Rinaldo "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" number), and in 1959 made what some consider his Vince Barnett.... Angelo finest film, Rio Bravo which encapsulated virtually all his themes and moods.” Boris Karloff.... Gaffney Purnell Pratt.... Mr. Garston, BEN HECHT 28 Feb 1894 NYC-18 April 1964, NYC (thrombosis). From Leonard Publisher Maltin’s Film Encyclopedia: “One of the most prolific and accomplished screenwriters in Tully Marshall.... Managing Editor Hollywood history was a man who claimed to hate Hollywood and all it stood for. But Inez Palange.... Tony's Mother the cynical mercenary in him could not resist the lure of "easy money." Hecht was raised Edwin Maxwell.... Chief of Detectives in Racine, Wisconsin, and as a young man moved to Chicago, where he became a Francis Ford.... Prison Guard reporter and, eventually, a short-story writer and novelist. He traveled in literary circles (Alternate Ending) (uncredited) that eventually landed him in New York, where he met young movie mogul David O. Howard Hawks.... Man on Bed Selznick; the two were to be lifelong friends and frequent collaborators (although Hecht's Dennis O'Keefe.... Dance Extra contributions to Selznick's films, such as his intertitles for Gone With the Wind often Directed by Howard Hawks (Richard went uncredited). Rosson, co-director) Writing credits Armitage A now-famous telegram from friend and fellow scribe Herman Mankiewicz promising Trail (novel), Ben Hecht that "your only competition is idiots"-summoned him to Hollywood, where he Hecht (screenplay), Fred scripted Josef von Sternberg's classic gangster story, Underworld (1927), and won an Pasley (adaptation, uncredited), Oscar for his work at the very first Academy Awards presentation. Hecht worked very W.R. Burnett (dialogue), Howard quickly (he claimed in his autobiography that he completed most of his scripts in two Hawks (uncredited) Produced by Howard Hawks & Howard Hughes (uncredited) Cinematography by Lee Garmes and LW O’Connell weeks), and the credits piled up. His most famous work was the semiautobiographical stage comedy "The Front Page," which he wrote with frequent collaborator Charles MacArthur; it was first translated to film in 1931 and three times since, most notably as Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday in 1940. Hecht and MacArthur indulged their "artistic" sides by writing, directing, and producing a handful of unusual, serious films that qualify mainly as oddities: Crime Without Passion (1934), The Scoundrel (1935, specially crafted as a starring vehicle for their friend and fellow playwright, Nöel Coward; the screenplay won an Oscar), Once in a Blue Moon (1935), Soak the Rich (1936), and Angels Over Broadway (1940), most of which were directed more by cinematographer Lee Garmes than by the writing duo. Although Hecht wrote scripts for just about every genre, his sharp wit and native cynicism made him a natural for the frantic screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s, which he helped define with Twentieth Century (1934). Hecht's other screenplays and screen stories, written alone or in collaboration, include Scarface (1932), Turn Back the Clock, Design for Living (both 1933), Viva Villa!, Upperworld (both 1934), Barbary Coast (1935), Nothing Sacred (1937), Gunga Din, Wuthering Heights, It's a Wonderful World (all 1939), Comrade X (1940), Lydia (1941), Tales of Manhattan, The Black Swan (both 1942), Spellbound (1945), Notorious (1946), Kiss of Death, Ride the Pink Horse (both 1947), Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950), Monkey Business (1952), Ulysses (1955), Miracle in the Rain (1956, adapted from his own novel), Legend of the Lost, A Farewell to Arms (both 1957), and Circus World (1964). PAUL MUNI ( Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund ) 22 September 1895 Lemberg, Austria-Hungary [now Lviv, Ukraine]—25 August 1967 Montecito, California, USA. (heart problems) received Oscar nominations for his first (The Valiant, 1929) and last (The Last Angry Man, 1959) screen appearances. Began in Yiddish theatre in NYC. Some of his other films: Angel on My Shoulder (1946), Commandos Strike at Dawn (1942), The Life of Emile Zola (1937, Oscar nomination), The Good Earth (1937), The Story of Louis Pasteur (1935, Oscar), and I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932, Oscar nominatio). In 1955 he won a Tony for his portrayal of Clarence Darrow in the Broadway play Inherit the Wind, a role played by Spencer Tracy in the screen adaptation. GEORGE RAFT 26 September 1895 NYC—24 November 1980 (leukemia) was in about 70 films, usually as a tough or bad guy. His coin-flipping role in Scarface made him a star. Some of his better-known films are Some Like It Hot (1959), Nocturne (1946), Johnny Angel (1945), They Drive by Night (1940), Each Dawn I Die (1939), and The Glass Key (1935). " \l 5 BORIS KARLOFF 23 November 1877 London, England-2February 1969, Sussex, England (emphysema). A appeared in about 170 films, beginning with a bit part in The Dumb Girl of Portici in 1916. His career was pretty much cast in concrete with his 70th film role as the monster in Frankenstein. He had some regular roles after that, but more and more he played monsters, mummies, mad doctors and revenants–characters with names like Professor Morland, Dr. Maniac, Gravelle, Mord, Voltan, Dr. Scarabus and, most often, The Monster. His last film was El Coleccionista de cadáveres (1970)—variously translated as Children of Blood, The Corpse Collectors, Death Comes from the Dark, and The Shrinking Corpse. from Who The Devil Made It Conversations with Legendary Film Directors. Peter Bogdanovich. Ballantine NY 1997 Where did the story for Scarface come from? play, doing the lead in a love story; George Raft I saw at a prizefight; Ann Dvorak was a chorus girl down at Metro- Hughes had a story about two brothers. One was a cop and one Goldwyn, making forty a week, and I got her out of her was a gangster. Same old story you’ve heard a few hundred contract because a vice-president at Metro-Goldwyn liked me; times, and he wanted me to do it. I got an idea and I asked Ben Karen Morley went around with some fellow I knew, and I Hecht, “Would you do a picture?” Ben said, “What?” and I thought she was attractive. Boris Karloff had just been in The said, “A gangster picture.” He said, “You don’t want to do Criminal Code. He said, “I don’t care how small it is—I’m that,” and I said, “Well, Ben, this is a little different. This is the going to have a part.” He thought I was good for him. Little Borgia family in Chicago today, and Tony Camonte is Caesar Vince Barnett had been hiring out as a waiter—insulting people Borgia.” And he said, “We’ll start tomorrow morning.” We at the Coconut Grove. So we just collected actors and went into took eleven days to write the story and dialog. And then we a little dust-covered studio and opened it up. We were an entity showed it to Hughes and he kind of grinned and said “This is unto ourselves and we made a picture. The whole thing was a quite a story. Where’s the brother?” “Well, Howard,” I said, challenge and a lot of fun. Then it turned out very well and “you can’t just use that story all over again.” He said, “What became a kind of legend.