Method actor Rod Steiger probably spent a lot of time prepping his impersonation of Twenties Chicago mobster Al Capone for the film of the same name. Method actors tend to do that sort of thing. Sometimes it works, at other times it doesn't. In Steiger's case, it's 'spot on.' Eschewing any pretence at subtlety, his coarse, sweaty, psychotic Capone is pure evil, street-smart scum who can preside over a hit from another time zone while simultaneously enjoying good music, expensive scotch and a civilized conversation with a fascinated, old aristocrat.
Based upon the life of racketeer Alphonso Capone, AL CAPONE violently traces the hood's 1920s rise from journeyman bodyguard in a Chicago nightclub/whorehouse to feared crime boss whose devotion to position, power and money are the only real loves of his life. And of course, as with any true love there will be those inevitable bumps and detours, ups and downs along the way. Indeed true love, like those pesky universes sometimes referred to, have this rather nasty habit of not unfolding as one might otherwise wish.
Filmed in 1958 and released by poverty row studio Allied Artists in 1959, AL CAPONE also effectively features Fay Spain, James Gregory, Martin Balsam, Nehemiah Persoff and Murvyn Vye along with a fine David Raksin (LAURA) score. A riveting black and white gem, it was economically directed by Richard Wilson and is probably the best screen presentation of the Capone story, with the charismatic Rod Steiger brilliantly capturing the diabolical drive and zealotry of a maniacal monster barely a step removed from the suicide-bombing fanatics of today.
This one is not to be missed!
Based upon the life of racketeer Alphonso Capone, AL CAPONE violently traces the hood's 1920s rise from journeyman bodyguard in a Chicago nightclub/whorehouse to feared crime boss whose devotion to position, power and money are the only real loves of his life. And of course, as with any true love there will be those inevitable bumps and detours, ups and downs along the way. Indeed true love, like those pesky universes sometimes referred to, have this rather nasty habit of not unfolding as one might otherwise wish.
Filmed in 1958 and released by poverty row studio Allied Artists in 1959, AL CAPONE also effectively features Fay Spain, James Gregory, Martin Balsam, Nehemiah Persoff and Murvyn Vye along with a fine David Raksin (LAURA) score. A riveting black and white gem, it was economically directed by Richard Wilson and is probably the best screen presentation of the Capone story, with the charismatic Rod Steiger brilliantly capturing the diabolical drive and zealotry of a maniacal monster barely a step removed from the suicide-bombing fanatics of today.
This one is not to be missed!