''Capone'' is a 1975 American

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

directed by Steve Carver, written by

Howard Browne Howard Browne (April 15, 1908 – October 28, 1999) was an American science fiction editor and mystery writer. He also wrote for several television series and films. Some of his work appeared over the pseudonyms John Evans, Alexander Blad ...

, and starring

Ben Gazzara Biagio Anthony Gazzara (August 28, 1930 – February 3, 2012) was an American actor and director of film, stage, and television. He received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Drama Desk Award, in addition to nominatio ...

Harry Guardino Harry Guardino (December 23, 1925 – July 17, 1995) was an American actor whose career spanned from the early 1950s to the early 1990s. Biography Guardino was born to an Italian family on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and raised in Bro ...

Susan Blakely Susan Blakely is an American actress and model. She is best known for her leading role in the 1976 ABC miniseries '' Rich Man, Poor Man'', for which she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. Blakely also ha ...

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and direc ...

, and

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

in an early film appearance. The film is a biography of the infamous

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

Plot

The story is of the rise and fall of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

mob boss Al Capone and the control he exhibited over the city during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...

, all the way through to his conviction, imprisonment, and final years. On the evening of May 6, 1918, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, two police officers intercept several men stealing fur clothing as they escape through an alleyway. Capone, then a young hoodlum, had tipped them off to the heist so that he could ambush the cops on arrival. The resulting fight ends with Capone being thrown through a glass window, leaving him with a scarred left cheek. Capone is soon released from custody without being charged due to the intercession of a senior police lieutenant. As he walks out of the station, the hoodlum is taken to see racketeers

Johnny Torrio John Donato Torrio (born Donato Torrio, ; January 20, 1882 – April 16, 1957) was an Italian born-American mobster who helped build the Chicago Outfit in the 1920s later inherited by his protégé Al Capone. Torrio proposed a National Crime Sy ...

and

Frankie Yale Francesco Ioele (; January 22, 1893 – July 1, 1928), known as Frankie Yale or Frankie Uale, was an Italian-American gangster based in Brooklyn and second employer of Al Capone. Early life Yale was born in Longobucco, Italy, on January 22, ...

. It is revealed that the fur thieves worked for Johnny and Yale, and because Capone has impressed them with his cunning and brutality, they invite him to join the Five Points Gang. A year later, on September 23, 1919, Johnny talks with his boss "Big" Jim Colosimo about Prohibition – a new law banning the sale of alcohol. Johnny is eager to invest millions into bootlegging, but Colosimo, seeing such a trade as beneath him, refuses. Johnny calls Frankie and tells him to send Capone to Chicago to employ him as an enforcer for Colosimo. Johnny introduces Capone to co-workers, including dancer and barmaid Iris Crawford. Johnny, despite his affection for Colosimo, realizes that murdering him is the only way to put his bootlegging scheme into action. The next morning, as Colosimo enters a restaurant to use the phone, Capone sneaks in and quietly shoots the boss dead in the back of the neck. On June 7, 1920, in

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 census, the city was the third-largest in Illinois, with a population of 150,362. His ...

, during a pickup of beer for bootlegger Edward "Spike" O'Donnell, mobsters led by brothers Frank and Peter Gusenberg – enforcers working for

Dion O'Banion Charles Dean O'Banion (July 8, 1892 – November 10, 1924) was an American mobster who was the main rival of Johnny Torrio and Al Capone during the brutal Chicago bootlegging wars of the 1920s. The newspapers of his day made him better known a ...

– intercept the deal, gun down the participants, and steal it for themselves. Capone correctly suspects that Banion's henchman

Hymie Weiss Earl J. "Hymie" Weiss (born Henryk Wojciechowski; January 25, 1898 – October 11, 1926), was a Polish-American mob boss who became a leader of the Prohibition-era North Side Gang and a bitter rival of Al Capone. He was known as "the only ma ...

is responsible, and Johnny responds by dividing Chicago into separate territories: O'Banion and his men will control the North Side, Spike O'Donnell will have his own territory in the South Side, the Genna brothers will deal in

Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are ...

; and Johnny's gang, the "

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, ...

", will occupy the

Loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, an ...

and part of the South Side. On September 5, 1923, as Capone and Johnny prepare to shift their base of operations to

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

, Spike O'Donnell is gunned down by O'Banion's men in a turf war. At O'Donnell's funeral, O'Banion threatens to murder the Genna brothers next. That night, Pete and Frank personally gun down several blood relatives of the Genna's. Outraged, Antonio and Angelo Genna retaliate by placing a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

on O'Banion. Corrupt Chicago deputy sheriff Joe Pryor breaks up one of Capone's parties after Capone refuses to pay him a bribe of $5,000; Capone has no choice but to pay him then. Capone then takes Iris golfing while his hitmen murder O'Banion in a flower store. Capone and Johnny later show up at his funeral, angering Weiss who suspects them of killing his friend. On the night of January 15, 1925, Johnny tells Capone that, because of all the heat Capone has brought on them by committing countless acts of violence in public, he is prepared to give Weiss most of their territory as a peace offering. Capone is furious at the idea but does not stop Johnny from leaving. At the meeting spot, Johnny is ambushed by Weiss and three gunmen, who shoot him multiple times. Johnny survives but accepts that he no longer has any stomach for a life of crime. He decides to leave America for his homeland of Italy, giving control of the Outfit to Capone. On the night of April 27, 1926, Capone and his button men ambush four of Weiss' men, plus a crooked State's Attorney on Weiss' payroll, at a Cicero inn on the mistaken assumption that Weiss is with them. Two of the men and the State's Attorney are killed. Capone then hears a newscast on the radio revealing that Weiss is still alive. Capone is brought before District Attorney Robert E. Crowe, who threatens to have Capone indicted by a grand jury for assassinating a government official. Capone replies that if he does so, his lawyers will reveal the extent to which Chicago authorities have worked with the Outfit; a humiliated Crowe drops the charges. The next morning, Capone and Iris go on a picnic, and after losing Capone's bodyguards, they have sex. On September 20, 1926, North Side gunmen carry out a drive-by shooting at a hotel where Capone is drinking. Capone is saved only due to the quick thinking of his ambitious bodyguard Frank Nitti. Identifying one of his attackers as Weiss, Capone retaliates by ordering a hit on Weiss that night; two men from a rooftop over the North Side headquarters unload their

tommy guns The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Stat ...

into Weiss and his men, killing them.

Joe Aiello Giuseppe "Joe" Aiello (; September 27, 1890 – October 23, 1930) was a Sicilian bootlegger and organized crime leader in Chicago during the Prohibition era. He was best known for his long and bloody feud with Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone. ...

, a bootlegger who refuses to deal with Capone and blames him for his brother's death, meets with

Bugs Moran George Clarence "Bugs" Moran (; Adelard Leo Cunin; August 21, 1893 – February 25, 1957) was an American Chicago Prohibition-era gangster. He was incarcerated three times before his 21st birthday. Seven members of his gang were gunned dow ...

, Weiss' successor. They pay off a waiter to poison Capone when he goes to his favorite restaurant, but the man has a change of heart and betrays them to Capone. The next morning, Aiello is killed by a car bomb planted by Nitti. On February 7, 1929, Capone decides to get rid of Moran's gang. That night, as he and Iris share a French dinner, hitmen sent by Moran shoot up the bistro, and Iris is killed. Capone is deeply heartbroken by Iris's death, and he and Nitti swear revenge. Newly elected Mayor

Anton Cermak Anton Joseph Cermak ( cs, Antonín Josef Čermák, ; May 9, 1873 – March 6, 1933) was an American politician who served as the 44th mayor of Chicago, Illinois from April 7, 1931 until his death on March 6, 1933. He was killed by an assassin, ...

and the city council, wanting to improve Chicago's image and put a stop to gang violence, insist that he end his feud with Moran at any cost even if it means losing territory and money. When Cermak threatens Capone by saying he can withdraw the political protection that keeps him from being prosecuted, Capone once again reminds the council that the vast trove of evidence he has of their corruption makes him untouchable by the law. The next morning, on February 14, 1929, Capone's men, posing as police officers conducting a raid, enter one of Moran's warehouses and force seven men, including the Gusenberg brothers, to line up against the wall before machine-gunning them to death. Nitti, believing that Capone has finally gone too far, betrays him and provides the city council with the means to have him brought to trial. On June 16, 1931, after a lengthy process, Capone is finally found guilty not of murder, bootlegging, or any other serious crimes, but of multiple counts of federal

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...

. The judge sentences Capone to serve eleven years at

Alcatraz Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pris ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. On February 2, 1938, a doctor visits Capone, whose health has started to deteriorate, and concludes that Capone has contracted

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium '' Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, a ...

. Noting that the disease has progressed too far for treatment, he warns the prison authorities that the gangster's mind will be the first thing to go. Capone starts a prison riot and is hastily forced back into his cell. At Capone's estate in Palm Island, Florida on April 5, 1946, Nitti visits Capone and his caretakers only to find that Capone is now a shell of his former self, to the point where he starts yelling at Nitti believing him to be an FBI agent. Nitti's bodyguard reminds him that people have always said Capone used to be a smart man, but Nitti – who had shown his ambition and loyalty only to watch Capone destroy everything they built – finally disregards this and expresses his true feelings about his old boss, saying that Capone was stupid and forgetful and only cared about killing people. As the two of them leave, Capone continues to wither away until he dies a year later from complications of his illness.

Cast

as Johnny "The Fox" Torrio *

as Iris Crawford *

as Frank Ralph "The Enforcer" Nitti * Frank Campanella as Vincenzo "Big Jim" Colosimo *

John Orchard John Orchard (15 November 1928 – 3 November 1995) was an English actor. He is probably best remembered for playing Australian anesthesiologist "Ugly John" Black in the first season of ''M*A*S*H''. Career Orchard guest starred as Sgt. Walte ...

as Dean "Dion" O'Banion *

Carmen Argenziano Carmen Antimo Argenziano (October 27, 1943February 10, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in over 73 movies and around 100 television movies or episodes. He was best known for playing Jacob Carter on ''Stargate SG-1''. He had recurring role ...

as Jack "Machine Gun Jack" McGurn *

George Chandler George Chandler (June 30, 1898 – June 10, 1985) was an American actor who starred in over 140 feature films, usually in smaller supporting roles, and he is perhaps best known for playing the character of Uncle Petrie Martin on the televi ...

as Robert E. Crowe *

John Davis Chandler John Davis Chandler (January 28, 1935 – February 16, 2010) was an American actor. Life Chandler was born in Hinton, West Virginia. He died at age 75 in Toluca Lake, California from cancer. Career In two films in 1961, he portrayed the gangs ...

as Earl "Hymie" Weiss *

Royal Dano Royal Edward Dano Sr. (November 16, 1922 - May 15, 1994) was an American actor. In a career spanning 46 years, he was perhaps best known for playing cowboys, villains, and Abraham Lincoln. Dano also provided the voice of the Audio-Animatronic L ...

* Peter Maloney as Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik *

Dick Miller Richard Miller (December 25, 1928 – January 30, 2019) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 180 films, including many produced by Roger Corman. He later appeared in the films of directors who began their careers with Cor ...

as Joe Pryor * Robert Phillips as George "Bugs" Moran *

Martin Kove Martin Kove () (born ) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as John Kreese, the main antagonist of ''The Karate Kid'' (1984). He reprised the role in ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986), '' The Karate Kid Part III'' (1989), and th ...

as Peter "Goosey" Gusenberg * Mario Gallo as Giuseppe "Joe" Aiello * Tony Giorgio as Antonio "Tony The Scourge" Lombardo * Johnny Martino as Tony Amatto *

Tina Scala Tina Scala (July 16, 1935 – January 10, 2022) was an Italian-born American actress, model, singer and poet. Early life The daughter of an Italian father and an Irish mother, Scala's early life was one of privilege. As Agatina Carmen Maria Scog ...

as Mrs. Torrio

Production

Development and writing

Screenwriter

had written about

a number of times previously, including "

Seven Against the Wall "Seven Against the Wall" is an episode of the American anthology series ''Playhouse 90''. It was about the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre''. Cast * Paul Lambert as Al Capone * Dennis Patrick as George 'Bugs' Moran * Frank Silvera as Nick Sorrell ...

" for ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' was an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of th ...

'' in 1958, and the film, '' The St. Valentine's Day Massacre'' (1967). The latter was directed by

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

for

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

. In the mid 70s Corman announced he would make a film about Capone for his company,

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 19 ...

. However he ended up making the movie for Fox, who he had a deal with to produce films.

Filming

Steve Carver says the film was shot so Corman could use footage from other films he had made. He said Howard Browne was a very factual writer but "not so good with dialogue" so other writers were brought in to work on the script. Carver says Gazzara was hard to work with on set. In an interview in 2020 he related how Gazzara, possibly under the influence of alcohol, set off a series of explosions and bullet hits too early: "Ben was the key in starting this off by pulling the trigger of a submachine gun. And he jumped the cue. He pulled the trigger too early. That set off a tremendous occurrence where stuntmen and cars went crazy. A lot of people could have gotten hurt." Gazzara apologized the next day. Sylvester Stallone later said "I particularly enjoyed working on ''Capone'', because it was like the cheesy, mentally challenged inbred cousin of ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caa ...

''".

Release

Home media

The film was released on DVD in the United States for the first time on March 29, 2011 through

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

and has been available in Europe for some time.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Steve Carver 1975 films 1975 crime films 1970s biographical films American crime films American biographical films Films about Al Capone Films about the American Mafia Films shot in Chicago Films directed by Steve Carver 20th Century Fox films Cultural depictions of Frank Nitti Cultural depictions of Bugs Moran Cultural depictions of Johnny Torrio Cultural depictions of Hymie Weiss Cultural depictions of Frankie Yale 1970s English-language films 1970s American films