MovieChat Forums > Scarface (1932) Discussion > 'M' reference?

'M' reference?

posted 19 years ago by rosadeinglaterra
9 replies | jump to latest

At the beginning when we see the killer for the first time as the shadow of his profile walks onscreen, whistling his signature tune, was that borrowed from Peter Lorre's entrance in "M" the year before?

[–] UlrikSander 18 years ago

Funny you mention it. I watched "Scarface" (1932) today and thought of the exact same thing. I have no definite answer. I've seen scenes in old movies before that ressemble these two, but my guess is the idea was probably borrowed from "M".

My top-20 movies: http://www.ymdb.com/ulrikone/l37847_ukuk.html

[–] maversaints 18 years ago

It annoys me when people say "Borrowed". they stole.

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[–] Saturnicus 18 years ago

What was Tony's song? Me and my mom can't place it.

[–] mlraymond 18 years ago

In Carlos Clarens' 1980 book Crime Movies, he has several pages on the original Scarface, and he says that what Tony whistles at certain points, as an indicator that someone is about to be murdered ,is the sextet from the opera Lucia di Lammermoor.I'm not that familiar with Italian opera, but I believe the composer was Donizetti. Clarens says that the sextet is sung by the villain of the opera, and that the lyrics translate as " What restrains me in such a moment?" I think he whistles it three times; just before shooting Big Louie, right before machine gunning Gaffney in the bowling alley, and when he has his pal Rinaldo shoot their former boss Johnny Lovo.

And when he crossed the bridge, the phantoms came to meet him

[–] jt-hix2112 15 years ago

"It annoys me when people say "Borrowed". they stole."

Okay, then every filmaker out there is a theif. And yes even films that are considered the greatest of all time have stuff in it that was "stolen" from other movies.

Haven't you ever heard the best way to compliment an artist is to imitate him?

Or haven't you ever heard of referencing another movie or paying homage to another movie?

SPOILER ALERT: Soylent Green is, in fact, people.

[–] matthew101junk 18 years ago

I was wondering the same thing, but in all likelihood it's a coincidence. Scarface was actually filmed in 1930 (see http://www.filmsite.org/scar.html), but due to censorship issues it was not released until 1932. M was not yet around when it was being made. Also, M wasn't shown in the United States until 1933. While the dates don't line up (unless someone saw M in Germany in 1931 and then dubbed whistling over the soundtrack of the still-unreleased Scarface), it's interesting that two different movies came up with such a similar idea independently of one another.

[–] noirgirl 17 years ago

He also whistles it in the hallway right before knocking on the door and shooting Guino.

[–] Ddhandarah 17 years ago

Yea, I thought the same thing, but I figured that since Scarface and M were both released around the same time of each other, given that M wouldn't have made it overseas yet, that it was just similar idea, developed independently from each other.

[–] ElCarnal 16 years ago

Definitely, the coincidence is striking. I immediately thought of 'M' when Tony started whistling for the second time.