dir. Howard Hawks
writ. Ben Hecht (screenplay), Armitage Trail (novel)
feat. Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley, Osgood Perkins, C. Henry Gordon, George Raft
Hawks toys with the gangster rise to power story with Scarface, working out his style that will show more clearly in later works. Muni rides the line between big dumb ape and slick streetwise hood, more nimble than he might seem in moments while Dvorak eventually aligns as his tragic pairing, similarly taking all she can get without caring for those around her, as though simply for the sake of consumption. Though the film may officially decry the acts of such gangsters, it's easy to surmise a hint of sympathy for the plight of the depression-era immigrant.
Note Hawks' use of quiet when Guino (Raft) flips his coin, a better source of suspense than any number of loaded machine guns.
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