The classic gangster story of Bugsy Malone told with an all-child cast.The classic gangster story of Bugsy Malone told with an all-child cast.The classic gangster story of Bugsy Malone told with an all-child cast.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 5 wins & 11 nominations total
Florence Garland
- Blousey Brown
- (as Florrie Dugger)
Sheridan Earl Russell
- Knuckles
- (as Sheridan Russell)
Albin 'Humpty' Jenkins
- Fizzy
- (as 'Humpty' Albin Jenkins)
Jeff Stevenson
- Louis
- (as Jeffrey Stevens)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
10v-tadic
The film is unique musical parody of gangster movies, where all the roles are played by children. I first watched it shortly after its release, and was absolutely thrilled. Balanced director's work, smartly composed screenplay, great and very temporary musical score and, above all, the brilliant talent of young Jodie Foster. Not all the roles were played equally convincingly, but the kids were generally quite good. I enjoyed the film even more while writing subtitles (for home use) for it several months ago, being thus forced to listen carefully to every word spoken or sung. After 30 years, I really have nothing to add to my first impressions. "Bugsy Malone" is timeless, and should be listed among the movie classics, along with "The Wizzard of Oz" and "Oliver".
Interesting that the average age of the child actors in this film is 12. I was 12 years old when this film came out in 1976, and saw it in the theater. What fun! Well, it isn't quite as much fun as it was then (it's a kid's movie in every sense of the term), but still enjoyable to watch. Jodie Foster demonstrated a 'star quality' presence even then, and although the songs were poorly dubbed, they were good songs.
Recommended for kids of any age (sorry for the bad cliche) if you like watching something fun and different -- especially if you want to see a truly original take on the gangster theme. My younger brother has this on VHS tape, and I just plugged it into the VCR and watched it again today.
8/10
Recommended for kids of any age (sorry for the bad cliche) if you like watching something fun and different -- especially if you want to see a truly original take on the gangster theme. My younger brother has this on VHS tape, and I just plugged it into the VCR and watched it again today.
8/10
For anyone who sees this film as sinister or as a paedophiles dream GET A LIFE!!!! It was made in the 70's when we weren't politically correct and living was fun! What has happened to us that we can't see a film with children in it without thinking that it was made for an ulterior motive? Enjoy the film for what it is. I saw this film for the first time when I was about 9, loved it then and still do (I'm now 34!) It's harmless fun, something you would have loved to have been involved in had you been given the chance. All those splurge guns and pedal cars, think about it, it would have been great fun! And that's what you should remember when you watch it, it's great FUN! I have 2 children who ABSOLUTELY love this film as much as I do and I have no qualms whatsoever about letting them watch this. Just remember you were young once, watch this film, forget about everything, and recapture your youth!!!!
A lot of people have criticized this, by saying it's basically just soft paedo porn, and aimless. But they're missing the point really. If you are of the MTV generation, and did not see this movie when you were 8 like I did, it WOULD be hard for you to see the charm of it all. The whole idea of setting the child actors in a pastiche of films from the '20s and '30s was a stroke of genius, and works pretty well even though some of the acting is a bit ropey. It was a well deserved hit when released, and fortunately wasn't followed up with a sequel. Alan Parker already had some prior experience of dealing with child actors when he made Bugsy, from his days in advertising, when he directed some now legendary Beef Burger ads in the UK. In a recent TV documentary, Parker spoke of the problems he had had with the studio during filming. They had no faith in the film's success, and therefore would not pay to build certain sets. Parker had to spend some £30,000 of his own money to finance the scenes he wanted to shoot. More fool the studio.
Another poster has commented that a film such as this would not be made today. I disagree. Film studios would readily cash in on any, franchise, as they call them now. And a film such as Harry Potter, though hardly multiracial the way Bugsy Malone is, only has a few adult leads actors in it.
By the way...What number Star Trek are they up to now?
Another poster has commented that a film such as this would not be made today. I disagree. Film studios would readily cash in on any, franchise, as they call them now. And a film such as Harry Potter, though hardly multiracial the way Bugsy Malone is, only has a few adult leads actors in it.
By the way...What number Star Trek are they up to now?
Alan Parker and Paul Williams collaborated on this fun kid's musical, with a cast including Scott Baio and Jodie Foster. Most of the songs are mimed by the kids to adult voices (with the exception of Foster's My Name is Tallulah') but the story a group of gangsters who wipe out rival gangs with splurge guns is fast-paced and inventive.
This is certainly one of the best films aimed at children to come out during the 1970s, and has a lot to offer for a general audience, too. Parker of course would move on to more successful musicals aimed squarely at a mature audience (The Commitments, Evita) as well as a range of other things, but this is a well-filmed and interesting piece of work.
This is certainly one of the best films aimed at children to come out during the 1970s, and has a lot to offer for a general audience, too. Parker of course would move on to more successful musicals aimed squarely at a mature audience (The Commitments, Evita) as well as a range of other things, but this is a well-filmed and interesting piece of work.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe pedal-driven cars could achieve a maximum speed of around ten miles (16 kilometers) per hour. They were all custom-built by hand and each cost around the same amount of money as a regular road-going Mini at the time.
- GoofsWhen Blousey returns for the second time to Fat Sam's for an audition, Knuckles opens the door. He tells Blousey, "He's busy lady. Come tomorrow" in an English accent. Throughout the movie, he has an American accent.
- Alternate versionsTwo Bugsy Malone video discs are available [9/9/2013] in the U.S.: a 10/11/2005 Region 1 "import" DVD (UPC 4895033728429) distributed by Panorama Entertainment having a feature runtime of 89 minutes (1:29:44) and a 9/9/2008 "All Regions" BD (UPC 5037115290830) distributed by ITV Studios (formerly, in part, Granada Productions) with a feature runtime of 93 minutes (1:33:51 that includes running a 9 second Granada International logo clip, not on the DVD, before and after the movie, 1:33:33 + 00:18). ITV Studios was formed in 2009 by the merger of Granada Productions and Carlton International. Ironically, the DVD case cover lists a 94 minute runtime and the Blu-ray case cover lists an 89 minute runtime. The only differences between the two presentations, once the 18 seconds for the Granada International logo clip is subtracted from the BD time, is (1) after the Rank gong is struck the second time, the text "The RANK ORGANISATION presents" is superimposed over the gong in the BD version while the text "THE RANK ORGANISATION" is superimposed over the gong in the DVD version, (2) the DVD runs the movie about 4% faster than the Blu-ray disc, and (3) the DVD has 1.33:1 aspect (640 pixels x 480 pixels), letter boxed on all four sides to 1.62:1 aspect ratio (596 pixels x 367 pixels) while the BD has 1.78:1 aspect (1920 pixels x 1080 pixels). Both disc conversions appear to have used "pan and scan" cropping from the film's 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Sometimes the cropping appears similar, but other times, one may crop the height mostly from the top while the other mostly from the bottom. The feature on the Blu-ray disc runs at 24 Hz. Although the DVD runs at 60 Hz, the speed-up is similar to the 4.3% speed-up when 24 frame/second film is transferred to 50 Hz Pal format using 2:2 pulldown and may point to a 50 Hz master in its past.
- ConnectionsFeatured in What? Where? When?: 1990 Winter Series. The Second Game (1990)
- How long is Bugsy Malone?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Bagsi Malon
- Filming locations
- Huntley & Palmers Biscuit Factory, 119-129 King's Road, Reading, Berkshire, England, UK(bar scenes; Dock 17, now demolished)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £575,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,783,840
- Gross worldwide
- $2,839,373
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
