“Scarface” 1979 Reissue Trailer
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 229
I recently came across this trailer for the 1979 reissue of the 1932 Howard Hawks classic Scarface which also happens to be Ann Dvorak’s first credited roles. There are a few things about this trailer that stick out for me. First is the quality of the print, which is pristine and looks simply gorgeous. Next is that whoever produced this managed to cram damn near every violent scene from this film into two minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Finally, I love how the narrator of the trailer doesn’t quite know how to pronounce Dvorak and kind of stumbles over it.
My one gripe is the absence Boris Karloff whose scenes are sparse but delightful as a rival gangster. Otherwise, after watching this teaser, I am ready to fire up the DVD player and watch some Scarface ala Muni.
Yeah, agree with you about Karloff’s contribution to this wonderful film.
Not long ago, I bought the ‘Greatest Gangster Films, Prohibition Era” collection DVD from TCM. It included “Little Caesar”. “The Public Enemy”, “The Roaring Twenties” and “Smart Money”.
That last one was one I had never seen. It was the only screen collaboration between those Warner gangster stalwarts James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson. It was made in 1931 and was, apparently, a follow-up for Robinson after the success of “Little Caesar”.
If you’ve never seen it, it’s an anomaly to those other ones cited above and “Scarface”. There are no murders and little, if any, violence in it. And Eddie’s character, “Nick The Barber”, is played as an amiable gambler; a total departure from his “Rico Bandello” of the other film. Almost odd. And Cagney has very little to do.
Anyway, Karloff shows up very early on the proceedings, taking another — and possibly his only other — turn as a gangster. Or, perhaps, more accurately, at least as it seemed to me, as some kind of pimp. And he delivers the only actual violence in the film, which is just implied.
A real curio of a film, all in all.
I have never seen that one, though I think we may own that set. I will definitely dig it up now, if only to see Karloff playing a pimp of sorts. Thanks for the hot tip!