Scarface (novel)

Scarface is a novel written by Armitage Trail in 1929 and published in 1930. The 1932 film Scarface was based on it. The twenty-eight year-old author died suddenly of a heart attack in 1930.

The book's storyline is heavily inspired by the real life gangster Al Capone whose nickname was also "Scarface". It concerns the rise and fall of Tony "Scarface" Camonte, who after performing a hit on mob leader Al Springola, moves in to take over the illegal Alcohol business in Chicago during the Prohibition Era. He is ultimately shot dead by his brother (who concurrently rises in the ranks of Chicago PD), who fails to recognise him due to the family believing him to have died in World War I.

Scarface (also known as Scarface: The Shame of the Nation and The Shame of a Nation) is a 1932 American Pre-Code gangster film starring Paul Muni as Antonio "Tony" Camonte. It was produced by Howard Hughes & Howard Hawks, directed by Hawks, and Richard Rosson. The story is based on Armitage Trail's 1929 novel of the same name, which is loosely based on the rise and fall of Al Capone. The film features Ann Dvorak as Camonte's sister, and also stars Karen Morley, Osgood Perkins, and Boris Karloff. The plot centers on gang warfare and police intervention when rival gangs fight over control of Chicago. A version of the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre is also depicted.

The LCCN is 30008162.