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Al Capone

"His True Shocking Story...Filmed with Bullet Force!"

In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.

Top Cast

  • Rod Steiger

    Rod Steiger

    Al Capone

  • Fay Spain

    Fay Spain

    Maureen Flannery

  • James Gregory

    James Gregory

    Schaefler (narrator)

  • Martin Balsam

    Martin Balsam

    Mac Keeley, reporter

  • Nehemiah Persoff

    Nehemiah Persoff

    Johnny Torrio

  • Murvyn Vye

    Murvyn Vye

    George 'Bugs' Moran

  • Robert Gist

    Robert Gist

    Dion O'Banion

  • Lewis Charles

    Lewis Charles

    Earl Weiss

  • Joe De Santis

    Joe De Santis

    Big Jim Colosimo

Overview

In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.

Rating

6.6 / 10
56 Reviews
1 Popular

1 Reviews

  • John Chard
    John Chard
    7 Sep 20, 2015

    Nobody who's smart goes hungry in Chicago. Al Capone is directed by Richard Wilson and written by Malvin Wald and Henry F. Greenberg. It stars Rod Steiger, Martin Balsam, Nehemiah Persoff, Fay Spain, Joe DeSantis and Murvyn Vye. Music is by David Raksin and cinematography by Lucien Ballard. Alphonse Gabriel Capone, it's a name synonymous with gangsters of 1920s America, and of course of cinematic films. Richard Wilson's film is one of the better gangster biopics out there, filmed in semi-doc style, it unfolds with great human drama without glorifying the subject matter. If anything it's refreshingly unsentimental in its approach. Steiger is Capone (never Caponee!) and he puts his method stomp all over the role, carrying the film squarely on his well cast shoulders. He has all the ticks and mannerisms of Capone to either chill the blood or charm the other characters in the play, it is very much a powerhouse performance. As a history lesson it's not wholly accurate, but much of it is rigid in the life and times of the famous criminal. The period detail is splendid, with the backdrops boosted no end by the gorgeous monochrome photography served up by Ballard. Enthralling, sometimes violent and always intriguing, this is well worth a look. 7/10

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