Old Mafia Movies
I think that this is one of the best 1930s mob films of all time.
sharedeffo!
As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster - Henry Hill
MovieChat Forums > The Public Enemy (1931) Discussion > Old Mafia Movies
Neo1559:
I think that this is one of the best 1930s mob films of all time.
So which is it, the best mob film of the 30's, or one of the best of all time? Even the most naive can see that they're clearly not compatible.
"It's covered ya two-bit redneck peckerwood."~Strother Martin, The Wild Bunch share
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I wish I could Edit the Posts up Above, but I'm locked out of my 4 account now.
Anyways I just felt like adding the fact that Giuliani is a Mob Boss and he nearly became President.
My Voting History.
http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=14630264
Enjoy!
And Silvo is President of Italy again, of the 3rd time now.
"It's not about Money
It's about sending a message
Everything Burns"
"...Brando did, Pacino's character does, infact murder his own brother without remorse and hit his wife who hates him so much that she has an abortion just to spite him."
This is why the violence in Part II is much more brutal than in Part I.
BTW: He did show remorse over killing his brother. Did you see the final scene?
The Mafia died out in the sixties? Your source please.
"One hand washes the other...both hands wash the face."-Sam Giancana
"After actually watching it all the way through, plus the other films, it seems odd how people seem to think the movies are about "how mafias really love their families", Brando did, Pacino's character does, infact murder his own brother without remorse and hit his wife who hates him so much that she has an abortion just to spite him."
This probably belongs on the Godfather boards, but this is why I love Part II so much. It shows the complete hypocrisy and BS of the mafia. Part II shows Vito Corleone build the family and then shows Michael Corleone destroy it. Pacino in the movies talks about being loyal to the family and all that, but he is the one that tears it apart.
SPOILER ALERT: Soylent Green is, in fact, people.
The Godfather depicts the people at the Top, while the more Brutal movies depict the people doing their Dirty work for them. The Public Enemy, Little Caesar and Scarface are all based on Al Capone, who was only a puppet of the real Dons back in New York
The era Godfather depicted was like the last era of Italian Mafia. Basically Italian mob was finished at that time, and it was just bunch burn-outs running it.You act unaware that The Godfather films are period pieces, it is Acknowledged in The first Godfather that the Golden age is passed, a number of scenes are based on the old timers reminiscing. And the Flashbacks of Part 2 are set before The Golden Age, or when it was just starting.
When Charles "Lucky" Luciano died in the early 1960s, pretty much so did the Italian mob. Luciano was Godfather of organized crime, and him and the likes of Al Capone were the real deal. They didn't sit around in their robes in the rose garden, they were off machine gunning down their opposition or whatever.
Lucky Luciano's Death was after when the Events of The Godfather parts I and II takes place, and everything in all 3 movies is based on Actual history, I suggest you read up on the history of the entanglement between the Pre Castro Cuban Government and The Mafia, hell the movie actually Waters it down.
The Italian Mafia is still a factor, but now they've gone back to staying behind the scenes like in the old days, Rudy Giuliani and Johnny Fratto are both very powerful Dons.
Hell in Italy they've completely taken over the Government, their current 3rd time Prime minister has more Mob Ties then Al Capone.
"It's not about money
It's about sending a Message
Everything Burns!" share
To GrantZilla:
I'm sorry, but your views concerning Scorsese and his films couldn't be any less accurate.
"It's covered ya two-bit redneck peckerwood."~Strother Martin, The Wild Bunch
This is not a 'Mafia' movie.
That is the entire point.
Tommy Powers and his gang are of the old Irish-German gangs that were being wiped out by the better organized Mafia in New York and Chicago. Like the hapless, doomed, Chicago North Side Gang (Dion O'Bannion, Hymie Weiss, Bugs Moran) that was St Valentine's Day massacred out of existence. Like Dutch Schultz and Legs Diamond who were no match for Lucky Luciano and the Five Families.
The audience seeing this movie in the 30's knew that "Little Caesar" and "Scarface" had a future ahead of them. "Public Enemy" didn't.
Tarasicodissa. I agree with much of what you say. Watching The Public Enemy it's obviously based on the Chicago North Siders even going so far as to replace the real life Nails Morton with Nails Nathan who dies in the same way (horse fall). If anything it's a pre-mob movie. The real life Northsiders may have been tough boyos, but they lacked the foresight and organisation of Capone, Luciano etc.
I'll have to do more research into it, but I really don't understand why the Irish gangs lost, given that the political machines and police departments were Irish strongholds. That should have given them an edge in political protection.
shareFrom the Chicago beer wars perspective I can heartily recommend the book Mr.Capone by Robert J Schoenberg, although it maybe out of print at the moment.
shareTarasicodissa:
I'll have to do more research into it, but I really don't understand why the Irish gangs lost, given that the political machines and police departments were Irish strongholds. That should have given them an edge in political protection.
The Irish mob was pushed out of contention by La Cosa Nostra for a few reasons.
1. The Irish were impetous and undisciplined in their approach to organized crime...James Cagney personified the typical Irish-American gangster in many of his films, particularly this one. The mafia was a much more regimented, well-run machine that benefitted from a great deal of self-control, in contrast to their unrestrained, loose cannon opponents from the Emerald Isle. 2. The Italian syndicates operated in tandem a great deal more than the Irish...families would join and increase the size of their operation, and they would practice sharing interests to ease hostility and create pleasant, mutual partnerships. The Irish were loosely organized and rarely united; they were content with local dominance, while the Italians were able to procure bonds that spanned statelines, sometime nation-wide. 3. The Italians measured ethnicity with a great deal more sincerity; the Irish continually looked for the best price for their servies, which were, not surprisingly, most often offered by the mafia. They were often hire themselves out as contract killers or muscle, not especially concerned with helping their "brothers." It was a source of great amusement and benefit for the mafia to witness Irishmen bumping off Irishmen. The bonds of the homeland were too strong for the Italians to even consider such tactics. 4. With regards to the political clout the Irish now enjoyed at this juncture...fugedaboutit. Most of the corrupt police/judges/senators were on the mafia's payroll. Refer to Sterling Hayden's character in The Godfather.
Of course, there was always the case of the determined, racist Irish cop vigorously hounding the Italian criminal (Little Caesar, The Untouchables), but this wasn't done out of consideration for the mob, and it didn't make much of a ripple in the longstanding war between the Irish and Italians for mob supremacy.
"It's covered ya two-bit redneck peckerwood."~Strother Martin, The Wild Bunch share
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Yes, this is the second best gangster movie of his period, if you liked you must see:
Scarface (1932)
Little Caesar (1932)
The Pietrified Forest (1936)
Fury (1937)
Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
There are also even if they're post-classics:
Key Largo (1948)
The White Heat (1949)
Russian mafia is probably the most powerful now, although La Cosa Nostra is far from dead!
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My 1 Problem with The Golden Age Gangster Films is that they didn't hire actual Italian Actors.
"It's not about money
It's about sending a Message
Everything Burns!"