Capone

Director: Steve Carver

Overview

This dreadful, blood-soaked biography features Ben Gazzara trying to speak and smoke a cigar simultaneously while playing the syphilitic Capone. Most of the battle scenes are taken from other Corman gangster films, most notably the climactic gun fight from his St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/29/2011
UPC:	0826663124118
Original Release:	1975
Rating:	R
Source:	Shout Factory Theatr
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:41:00
Sales rank:	22,882

Special Features

Commentary by director Steve Carver; Original theatrical trailers & tv spots

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Ben Gazzara	Al Capone
Susan Blakely	Iris Crawford
Harry Guardino	Johnny Torrio
John Cassavetes	Frankie Yale
Sylvester Stallone	Frank Nitti
Peter Maloney	Jake Guzik
Frank Campanella	Big Jim Colosimo
John Orchard	Dion O'Banion
Mario Gallo	Aiello
Russ Marin	Stenson
George Chandler	Prosecutor,Hymie Weiss
Royal Dano	Mayor Anton Cermak
Tony Curtis	Actor
Joe De Nicola	Charles Fischetti
Carmen Argenziano	Jack McGurn
Angelo Grisanti	Angelo Genna
Dick Miller	Joe Pryor
Robert Phillips	Bugs Moran
George Milan	William H. Thompson
Martin Kove	Pete Gusenberg
Tony Giorgio	Antonio Lombardo
John Martino	Tony Amatto
Don Pulford	William Cooper
Pamela Toll	Mrs. Atkins
Don McGovern	NY Cop #1
John Finnegan	NY Police Lieutenant
Jack Ackerman	Adam Heyer
Ralph James	Judge J.H. Wilkerson
Carmen Filpi	Waiter
James Sweeney	Prison Doctor
Jack O'Leary	Pool Hall Owner
Benny Marino	Frank Gusenberg
Redmond Gleeson	NY Cop #2
Vincent Barbi	Solly
Charles Dickerson	Joe Kepka

Technical Credits

Howard Browne

Roger Corman	Producer
Howard Browne	Screenwriter

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Capone
1. New York Big Shots [9:00]
2. Chicago 1919 [7:09]
3. Dirty Work [4:12]
4. Bootlegging [3:27]
5. September 4th, 1923 [5:12]
6. War [6:09]
7. Raid [7:01]
8. Dame Named Crawford [5:46]
9. January 15th, 1925 [5:18]
10. Clyde Avenue [7:10]
11. Big Al [3:40]
12. April 27th, 1926 [3:28]
13. Flapper [6:23]
14. September 20th, 1926 [5:30]
15. February 7th, 1929 [6:55]
16. City Hall [2:38]
17. February 14th, 1926 [1:51]
18. Beginning of the End [2:30]
19. Alcatraz 1938 [1:56]
20. Palm Island 1946 [4:44]
21. End Credits [1:01]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Capone
Play Movie
Scenes
Bonus
Commentary by Director Steve Carver
Trailer 1
Trailer 2
TV Spot 1
TV Spot 2
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre Trailer

Editorial Reviews

This entry into the 1970's cycle of gangster films is entertaining -- but often for the wrong reasons. Howard Browne's script piles on characters and incidents but this density of narrative fails to disguise how derivative and familiar its "rise and fall of a mobster" storyline is. It doesn't help that the script will offend many crime buffs because it mangles the chronology of the events it presents and also creates a number of events that never occurred. Director Steve Carver's work is competent but impersonal, lending little flair or inspiration to the material. Ben Gazzara puts on an impressive display of acting pyrotechnics in the lead role but goes so far over the top that his work descends into pure camp spectacle. That said, his theatrics often prop up the weak material here so it's a trade-off. The best performances come from the supporting players: Susan Blakely is alluring as Capone's uninhibited party-girl moll, Dick Miller is amusing as a crooked cop angling for some of Capone's money and a young Sylvester Stallone delivers a nice, understated turn as Capone's right-hand man Frank Nitti. In short, Capone is a humdrum quickie that offers more camp laughs than it does gangster thrills. It is best left to genre completists.