Scarface (1932 film)

Howard Hawks's 1932 masterpiece Scarface is a dark, brutally violent film depicting the horror of mob intimidation. Paul Muni gives his best performance as the thug Tony Camonte, who gradually insinuates himself as the leader of a small ring of hoods, wooing away the boss's girl (Karen Morley) and further terrorizing his rivals with the latest in gang warfare, the tommy gun. But as Tony's thirst for power grows, so does his recklessness and temper, increasing his already frightening obsession with protecting his sister (Ann Dvorak) as well as sending him on a collision course with the law that won't end with a clean getaway. Hawks reverses the usual structure of the gangster tragedy: Camonte's not driven by his ego to challenge the world so much as to embrace its natural chaos and violence.

The supporting actors include Osgood Perkins, Boris Karloff, Vince Barnett, and George Raft (flipping his coin).

Scarface was added to the National Film Registry in 1994.

Not to be confused with the 1983 film of the same name.


 * Anti-Villain: Tony Camonte
 * Deadpan Snarker: Poppy
 * Defrosting the Ice Queen: Somewhat more successful here, as Tony not only manages to win over Poppy but pretty much stays with her
 * Despair Event Horizon: for Tony. The fact that Tony can even be scared seems to be Cesca's own Despair Event Horizon in turn.
 * The Ditz: Angelo, Tony's "seckertary"
 * Easily Forgiven: Although she initially plans to kill him, Cesca is rather quick to forgive Tony
 * Heads or Tails: The Trope Codifier for gangsters who do this. Has been parodied in later movies, too.
 * Villainous Incest: Even more blatant than in the 1983 film of the same name, and it doesn't seem to necessarily be one-sided, either.
 * Villain Protagonist