''Lepke'' is a 1975 film starring

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

as the Jewish-American gangster Louis "Lepke" Buchalter. It is often regarded by film critics as one of Tony Curtis's most underrated movies and one of his finest performances

Cast

as Louis "Lepke" Buchalter *

Anjanette Comer Anjanette Comer (born August 7, 1939) is an American actress. Early years Born in Dawson, Texas to Rufus Franklin Comer, Jr., and Nola Dell “Sue” (Perkins) Comer, she attended Dawson High School. She gained acting experience at the Pasadena ...

as Bernice Meyer *

Michael Callan Michael Callan (born Martin Harris Calinieff; November 22, 1935 – October 10, 2022) was an American actor best known for originating the role of Riff in ''West Side Story'' on Broadway, and for his film roles for Columbia Pictures, notably ' ...

as Robert Kane *

Warren Berlinger Warren Berlinger (August 31, 1937 – December 2, 2020) was an American character actor, with Broadway runs, movie and television credits, and much work in commercials. Early life Warren Berlinger was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, o ...

as Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro *

Gianni Russo Gianni Vito Russo is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Carlo Rizzi in the 1972 film '' The Godfather''. Life and career Russo was born in Manhattan in 1943 and raised in Little Italy and Staten Island. After repri ...

as Albert "Lord High Executioner" Anastasia *

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...

as Mr. Meyer *

Vic Tayback Victor E. Tayback (January 6, 1930 – May 25, 1990) was an American actor. He is known for his role as Mel Sharples in the film '' Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' (1974) and the television series '' Alice'' (1976–1985). The latter earned him ...

Charlie "Lucky" Luciano Charles "Lucky" Luciano ( , ; born Salvatore Lucania ; November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was an Italian-born gangster who operated mainly in the United States. Luciano started his criminal career in the Five Points gang and was instrument ...

* Mary Charlotte Wilcox as Marion

Production

Menahem Golan had been a successful filmmaker in Israel and had ambitions to break into Hollywood. ''Lepke'' was to be the first of four films he intended to make there. Golan said he chose Lepke as a subject because he grew up on American gangster films of

Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Ins ...

and Cagney. "I was afraid to touch a contemporary American subject and be disgraced like

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech and American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968. Forman ...

and

Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and ''L'Eclisse'' (1962 ...

," he said in a 1974 interview. "If you go back to the old then at least you and the young people are starting on the same foot. And besides, Lepke was a Jewish gangster rather than an Italian." It was Curtis' first feature in a number of years - he had been working in TV and on the stage. Filming took place at Culver City studios. In his 2008 autobiography ''American Prince'' Curtis admitted becoming heavily addicted to cocaine during filming; this addiction would last for a decade and significantly derailed his already troubled film career. His mother died during filming.Curtis p 298

Release

The film was sold to Warner Bros for $1.75 million.

References

Notes

External links

* 1975 films 1970s crime drama films Films about Jewish-American organized crime Biographical films about gangsters Films set in the 1920s Films set in the 1930s Films set in the 1940s Cultural depictions of Louis Buchalter Cultural depictions of Albert Anastasia Cultural depictions of Lucky Luciano Films directed by Menahem Golan 1975 drama films Films produced by Menahem Golan Films produced by Yoram Globus 1970s English-language films American biographical drama films American crime drama films American gangster films American films based on actual events 1970s American films {{bio-film-stub