Scareface aka Scarface: The Shame of the Nation (1932)

Over the top gangster film that has been overshadowed by its lose, but also over the top 1980's remake. Scarface is based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Armitage Trail (cool name), which in turn was inspired by the life of notorious 1920's gangster Al Capone, who famously had a rather large scar on his face, hence the title. The film follows the rise and subsequent fall of Chicago gangster Antonio "Tony" Camonte, the rise of course bears great resemblance to the rise of Al Capone, but the fall (spoiler) where "Tony" goes out in a hail of gunfire is fictional, the real "Scarface" would be failed by syphilitic dementia, cardiac arrest and stroke at the age of 48, not romantic. In the film "Tony" is played by the great Paul Muni, who unlike most other big stars of his time was not known for repeatedly playing variations on a single persona, rather Muni was a very capable character actor, who might more readily be compared to the likes of Phillip Seymour Hoffman then to John Wayne or Clark Gable. The film is capably directed by Howard Hawks (his only gangster picture) and has a supporting cast featuring such pre-code favorites as Ann Dvorak and Karen Morley. The film is arguably rawer then even the famed Cagney gangster pictures, of higher caliber dramatically, but also less fun. If you see one pre-code gangster film make it a Cagney, if you see two make the other an Edward G. Robinson, but if you see three, one should probably be Scarface. ***