| Photos (See all 13 | slideshow) |
| Paul Muni | ... | Tony | |
| Ann Dvorak | ... | Cesca | |
| Karen Morley | ... | Poppy | |
| Osgood Perkins | ... | Lovo | |
| C. Henry Gordon | ... | Guarino | |
| George Raft | ... | Rinaldo | |
| Vince Barnett | ... | Angelo | |
| Boris Karloff | ... | Gaffney | |
| Purnell Pratt | ... | Publisher | |
| Tully Marshall | ... | Managing Editor | |
| Inez Palange | ... | Tony's Mother | |
| Edwin Maxwell | ... | Detective Chief | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Henry Armetta | ... | Pietro - Barber (uncredited) | |
| Gus Arnheim | ... | Orchestra Leader (uncredited) | |
| Eugenie Besserer | ... | Citizens Committee Member (uncredited) | |
| Maurice Black | ... | Jim - Headwaiter (uncredited) | |
| William Burress | ... | Judge (alternate ending) (uncredited) | |
| Gino Corrado | ... | Waiter at Columbia Cafe (uncredited) | |
| Virginia Dabney | ... | Mabel (uncredited) | |
| William B. Davidson | ... | Citizens Committee Member (uncredited) | |
| James Durkin | ... | Newspaper Man (uncredited) | |
| Eddie Fetherston | ... | Reporter (uncredited) | |
| Paul Fix | ... | Hood with Gaffney (uncredited) | |
| Francis Ford | ... | Prison Guard (alternate ending) (uncredited) | |
| Gus Arnheim and His Orchestra | ... | Paradise Club Orchestra (uncredited) | |
| Jean Harlow | ... | Blonde at Paradise Club - Cameo appearance in nightclub (uncredited) | |
| Howard Hawks | ... | Man on Bed (uncredited) | |
| Brandon Hurst | ... | Citizens Committee Member (uncredited) | |
| John Kelly | ... | One of Costillo's Hoods (uncredited) | |
| Hank Mann | ... | Stag Party Janitor (uncredited) | |
| Dennis O'Keefe | ... | Night Club Patron (uncredited) | |
| Jack Perry | ... | One of Costillo's Hoods (uncredited) | |
| Pedro Regas | ... | Tony - Bodyguard (uncredited) | |
| Warner Richmond | ... | Cesca's Dance Partner (uncredited) | |
| Constantine Romanoff | ... | Henchman (uncredited) | |
| Bert Starkey | ... | Epstein - Lawyer (uncredited) | |
| Charles Sullivan | ... | One of Costillo's Hoods (uncredited) | |
| Harry Tenbrook | ... | One of Costillo's Hoods (uncredited) | |
| Helen C. Thompson | ... | Sadie Thompson (uncredited) | |
| Nick Thompson | ... | One of Costillo's Hoods (uncredited) | |
| Ellinor Vanderveer | ... | Theatregoer (uncredited) | |
| Harry J. Vejar | ... | Big Louis Costillo (uncredited) | |
| Douglas Walton | ... | Cesca's Boyfriend (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Howard Hawks | |||
| Richard Rosson | (co-director) | ||
Writing credits | ||
| Armitage Trail | (novel "Scarface") | |
| Ben Hecht | (screen story) | |
| Seton I. Miller | (continuity) & | |
| John Lee Mahin | (continuity) & | |
| W.R. Burnett | (continuity) | |
| Seton I. Miller | (dialogue) & | |
| John Lee Mahin | (dialogue) & | |
| W.R. Burnett | (dialogue) | |
| Howard Hawks | uncredited | |
| Fred Pasley | adaptation (uncredited) | |
Produced by | |||
| Howard Hawks | .... | producer (uncredited) | |
| Howard Hughes | .... | producer (uncredited) | |
Cinematography by | |||
| Lee Garmes | |||
| L. William O'Connell | (as L.W. O'Connell) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Edward Curtiss | |||
| Lewis Milestone | (uncredited) | ||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Harry Oliver | (settings) | ||
Production Management | |||
| Charles Stallings | .... | production manager | |
Sound Department | |||
| William Snyder | .... | sound engineer | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Howard A. Anderson | .... | process photography (uncredited) | |
Stunts | |||
| Frances Miles | .... | stunt double: Ann Dvorak (uncredited) | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Charles Bohny | .... | assistant camera (uncredited) | |
| Roy Clark | .... | camera operator (uncredited) | |
| Warner Cruze | .... | assistant camera (uncredited) | |
| Eugene Kornman | .... | still photographer (uncredited) | |
| Warren Lynch | .... | camera operator (uncredited) | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Douglass Biggs | .... | editorial advisor | |
Music Department | |||
| Gus Arnheim | .... | musical director | |
| Adolph Tandler | .... | musical director | |
Other crew | |||
| W.R. Burnett | .... | continuity | |
| Howard Hughes | .... | presenter | |
| John Lee Mahin | .... | continuity | |
| Seton I. Miller | .... | continuity | |
| E.B. Derr | .... | supervisor (uncredited) | |
| Howard Hughes | .... | direction supervisor (uncredited) | |
| Lincoln Quarberg | .... | general press representative (uncredited) | |
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| The Public Enemy | The Departed | The Dark Knight | Public Enemies | Bullitt |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Crime section | IMDb USA section |
Many purists would jump at this as being the definitive "Sacrface," but so much had changed in the fifty-one years between the two movies that it is nearly impossible. Whereas the Al Pacino cult classic spanned close to three hours and included almost every imaginable cause of death, this version is a mere hour and a half, give or take a few minutes, and unlike the remake, takes place entirely in Chicago.
Made as an anti-gangster film, with a message buried under the many bodies that pile up, this is a surprisingly brutal movie for its time, and got a reputation as such. This was just before the so-called "Golden Age" of cinema, and in a time like that, chances are a movie this unapologetic wouldn't get made. But it is a masterful gangster film.
Paul Muni is Tony Camonte, a pseudo-Capone psycho who believes in doing the dirty work himself, is a sleazebag. He talks in a lisp that holds him apart from the gangsters of Cagney and Bogart as a man who, even then, seems ethnic. To boot, his "secretary" is an immigrant who is only semi-literate and can't hear people well on the phone. Boris Karloff shows up as an Irish gangster, Gaffney, who falls under Camonte's gun. Aside from an entire segment where Camonte goes seemingly from point A to point B with the same tommy gun and kills off the competition, this is a brilliant milestone in the gangster genre, and probably the best of the era. Even now, it proves what people could accomplish by mere suggestion, sparing much of the language that is in movies (and, indeed, used in real life) today.