(1959)
3
Bruce Eder
Richard Wilson's Al Capone is mostly worthwhile as a showcase for the talents of Rod Steiger and, to a lesser degree, James Gregory, Nehemiah Persoff and Fay Spain -- all of them give very strong performances in a movie that, otherwise, relies mostly on sheer energy to pull the viewer in. Certainly there's no excessive attention to period detail or historical accuracy -- Al Capone is no more an faithful telling of its subject's life than, say, Max Nosseck's Dillinger (1947) was a proper account of that malefactor's life. But none of that matters once this movie gets going -- the screenplay, co-authored by Malvin Wald (Naked City), wastes no time plunging us into Capone's life of violence and ambition, and with Steiger's manic energy and an equally lively score by David Raksin (which sometimes sneaks its way to the foreground), there's no let-up. Steiger's Capone may be far from reality, though still a ruthless killer, but he is a compellingly charismatic figure.
Al Capone on AllMovie
Al Capone (1959)
