1919, Chicago. A young scar-faced hoodlum joins one of the underworld gangs terrorising the city. Surrounded by corruption and murder, only the most ruthless will survive and rise to the top. This is the story of the man who became a legend.
Rod Steiger is ideally cast as the ruthless gangster chieftain in this better-than-average biography.
He had played a gangster masquerading as a lawyer in On the Waterfront(1954) and a gangster masquerading as a Hollywood mogul in The Big Knife(1955).
Steiger, of course, brings all his Method mannerisms to play – he’s petulant, coarse, with a touch of Iago and Richard III, and it’s fascinating to compare his portrayal with later ones by Jason Robards in The St Valentine’s Day Massacre(1967) and Robert De Niro in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables(1987).
Steiger’s excellent energetic performance is enhanced by fine support from Spain and Balsam.
The documentary account follows Capone’s Prohibition days in Chicago up to his imprisonment for income tax evasion rather than slaughter on the streets of Chicago.
Directed by Richard Wilson, a former associate of Orson Welles, the picture revived interest in Capone, led to the TV series of The Untouchables and stands comparison with the best gangster pictures of the 1930s.
Al Capone
Rod Steiger Maureen Flannery
Fay Spain Keely
Martin Balsam Tom Schaeffer
James Gregory Bugs Moran
Murvyn Vye Johnny Torrio
Nehemiah Persoff Big Jim Colosimo
Joe De Santis Hymie Weiss
Lewis Charles O’Banion
Robert Gist
Director
Richard Wilson
Related Posts
McConnell Story, The (1955) This real-life biopic portrays the unlikely rise of Captain Joseph C 'Mac' McConnell Jr (played here by Alan Ladd, who…
Suddenly Last Summer (1959) This wonderfully overheated drama - an adaptation of a one-act play by Tennessee Williams with a screenplay by Gore Vidal…
Sapphire (1959) A pregnant woman is found stabbed to death on Hampstead Heath and the subsequent police investigation initially follows her fiancé…
And Justice For All (1979) Scruffy and idealistic Baltimore lawyer Arthur Kirkland (Al Pacino) fights corruption and favouritism in the American judicial system during a…
Rocket Man, The (1954) In the days before zero-tolerance policies and school shootings, kids were allowed to bring truth-telling alien rayguns to school anytime…
Drums across the River (1954) Crown City is a played-out mining town. Just a few yards away across the river there are vast reserves of…
Dangerous Profession, A (1950) Former LA cop Vince Kane (George Raft) and not too scrupulous self-made man Joe Farley (Pat O'Brien) are partners in…
Price of Fear, The (1956) Wealthy Investment Counselor Jessica Warren (Merle Oberon) is involved in a hit-and-run car accident and eventually stops to call the…
