Al Capone (film)
| Al Capone | |
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| Directed by | Richard Wilson |
| Produced by | Leonard Ackerman John Burrows |
| Written by |
Malvin Wald Henry F. Greenberg |
| Starring | Rod Steiger |
| Narrated by | James Gregory |
| Music by | David Raksin |
| Cinematography | Lucien Ballard |
| Edited by | Walter Hannemann |
| Distributed by | Allied Artists |
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Release date
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Running time
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104 minutes |
| Box office | $2.5 million (rentals) |
Al Capone is a 1959 biographical film directed by Richard Wilson. written by Malvin Wald and Henry F. Greenberg, and released by Allied Artists. It starred Rod Steiger as Al Capone.
Steiger reportedly refused the producers' first offer to star in this film because he thought the initial screenplay inappropriately romanticized Capone and criminality. In an interview Steiger said, "I turned the picture down three times." According to TCM, he agreed to play the role only after the producers agreed to rewrite. The finished film was noted for its deglamorized portrayal of the subject.
Chicago, 1919: A young Al Capone arrives to work for mob boss Johnny Torrio. He meets Torrio's top man, "Big Jim" Colosimo, who runs business and politics in the First Ward while secretly on Torrio's payroll.
Prohibition is enacted a year later, causing Torrio and other gangsters like Dean O'Banion, George "Bugs" Moran and Earl "Hymie" Weiss to compete for profits in bootleg liquor and beer. Torrio's rivals conspire to have Colosimo and his henchmen killed.
A reform mayor is elected, so Torrio and Capone change their base of operations to Cicero, a few miles away. Capone also has O'Banion killed and makes a play for Maureen Flannery, the widow of one of Colosimo's men.
Weiss and Moran return the favor by ordering Torrio to be shot. Capone retaliates by killing Weiss and forcing merchants throughout the city to pay for "protection." A sergeant in the Chicago police, Schaefer, is promoted to captain and vows to end the bloodshed and extortion and put Capone behind bars.
With the heat on from the cops, a crooked newspaperman named Keely tries to bribe Schaefer but fails. He persuades Capone to move to Florida until things cool down. From a safe distance, Capone masterminds the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, with several of Moran's men gunned down in a Chicago garage.
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Wikipedia