B-Grade Capones

Andrew Ward
Aug 29, 2017 · 2 min read

To continue with my scrutiny of the way Al Capone has been portrayed on screen, I am listing the respectable performances that nevertheless do not reach the level of De Niro, Robinson, and Steiger.

Edmond O’Brien

This may be a stretch, but O’Brien’s role as Fran McCarg in Pete Kelly’s Blues (1955) conveyed some of Capone’s uncompromising intelligence and almost languid menace.

Lee J. Cobb

As Rico Angelo in Party Girl (1958), the great Lee J. Cobb conveyed some of Capone’s volatile menace and labile sentimentality. But his portrayal is wasted. The picture — a vehicle for dancer Cyd Charisse — is terrible.

Stephen Graham

Height didn’t prevent Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014) from casting the very gifted but diminutive English actor Stephen Graham as Capone. But for all his explosive swagger, he lacked Capone’s scale and magnetism. This is Capone as psychotic punk, not criminal mastermind.• Note: Steve Buscemi, whom I otherwise greatly admire, was also miscast as Nucky Thompson, who was in real life a big, back-slapping pol, and even taller than Capone himself. William Hurt would have been more convincing.

Ben Gazzara

In Capone (1975), Ben Gazzara was especially good as Capone as a young hood. His malocchio, and the sheer enjoyment he seemed to get from the role, were true-to-life. But Gazzara’s Capone aged unconvincingly and his performance fell victim to poor direction, a bad script, low production values, and his own slight build.

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