Capone Behind Bars (1989)

After Al Capone is imprisoned, he still continues to run his empire, and plots to assassinate the mayor of Chicago.

Director:

Michael Pressman

Writer:

Tracy Keenan Wynn

Stars:

Keith Carradine, Ray Sharkey, Debrah Farentino

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keith Carradine	...	Michael Rourke
Ray Sharkey	...	Scarface
Debrah Farentino	...	Jennie
Charles Haid	...	Alex Connors
Jayne Atkinson	...	Elizabeth
Neil Giuntoli	...	Dutch Schultz (as Neil Gray Giuntoli)
Charles Hallahan
James Handy
Scott Paulin	...	Eliot Ness
Alan Rosenberg	...	Frank Nitti
Jordan Charney	...	J. Edgar Hoover
Robert Benedetti	...	Mayor Anton Cermak
Peter Noel Duhamel
Tony Amendola	...	Zangara
Christopher Carroll	...	Judge

Storyline

Al Capone's been convicted of tax evasion, but the law states that he can only be confined to a regular jail cell. And from there, he still runs his criminal empire. Michael Rourke, a government agent, who is aware of this, seeks to have him transfered to the newly open maximum security prison, Alcatraz, but nobody believes that this is necessary.

---

Plot Keywords:

scarface | revenge | fbi chief | u.s. treasury agent | organized crime | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Goofs

Several 50-star US flags are shown in the 1930s, a time when there were 48 states.

---

Alternate Versions

The HBO and DVD version contains extra footage.

---

Connections

Followed by The Return of Eliot Ness (1991)

User Reviews

Very well made movie...

This is one of those movies that not everyone knows about. I got this movie on the swap meet a couple weeks ago and wasn't very thrilled to see it, judging it by the cover, despite being a mob movie fan myself. You know how they say, "never judge a book by its cover"? Well now I say, "never judge a MOVIE by its cover"... or title and cast. To be honest I thought this was going to be another B, low budget cheesy gangster movie... the title said it all... "CAPONE". Period... My God was I wrong. To all of you mob flick junkies, this is one movie you CANNOT miss... Before I get a lot into the movie, I will say (and a lot of you might not like it) 'CAPONE' is better than some mainstream gangster movies, like 'THe UNtouchables' for example: to me the untouchables was a HUGE failure (and excuse Mr. De Palma)for a couple of reasons...it didnt stick to reality (Nitti being thrown off a roof and landing on a car?), It glorifies law enforcement, which is a MAJOR DOWNSIDE in mob movies, given the fact that most MOB film fans always root for the bad guys, and it had Kevin Costner in it. I think that the only reason why Untouchables was a hit, was due to its cast.. DeNiro, Costner, Connery, Garcia... et., al. "CAPONE" on the other hand, does a better job portraying the mob and law enforcement, with an unknown, but very talented cast. There's good acting, good cinematography.. but the sound wasnt too good, at least on the VHS version that I own. It would've been better if Capone had been a little "fatter", thats something that I always argue... he should've been an Italian olive.

Bottom line... SEE IT. A very well made movie, with excellent acting, good action scenes and set on beautiful 1930's and late 40's.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 February 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Capone in Jail

Company Credits

Production Co:

River City Productions Inc., Unity Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1