GeekAesthete
GeekAesthete t1_ir1d12m wrote
Reply to TIL that the 1983 film 'Scarface' is actually a remake of a 1932 feature of the same name. Both are based on a 1929 novel. by GremlinBandit
The novel and 1932 film are overtly based on Al Capone, who was nicknamed "Scarface". They use fictional names, but everyone knew it was supposed to be Capone.
GeekAesthete t1_ir1vagh wrote
Reply to comment by JasonStrode in TIL that the 1983 film 'Scarface' is actually a remake of a 1932 feature of the same name. Both are based on a 1929 novel. by GremlinBandit
Maybe. There’s an urban legend that Capone loved the film and owned his own print of it, however he was in prison by the time it came out (having been convicted a year earlier), so it’s unlikely that he ever saw it. The film’s screenwriter has said Capone actually sent heavies to the studio to make sure the film wasn’t too similar to his own life story.
Capone is reported to have liked Edward G Robinson’s role in Little Caesar, which was more loosely inspired by Capone and came out 9 months before he went to prison, so it’s possible that the stories of him liking Scarface are conflating it with Little Caesar.