Gangster Movies: (ca. 1959) In this unusually accurate biographical film, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone’s rise in the Chicago mafia is spured by a lust for murder, extortion, and political corruption. He becomes head of Chicago’s biggest mob family, but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.

Few people today will ever know what the real Al Capone was like, though there are many excellent biographies of him available. What Rod Steiger does with the help of screen writers Wald and Greenberg, is to create a believable character, who we accept as the genuine Capone. From the moment he first saunters into a Chicago speakeasy on the eve of Prohibition to accept a job as bouncer, to the hard and dangerous life of a a convict at Alcatraz prison, he is utterly convincing. Steiger captures a vivid, larger than life portrayal of a criminal who is by turns funny, charming, brutal, truly frightening, and very aware of himself as a showman for the public. The scenes in which Capone makes self glorifying speeches about being a mere businessman and a public benefactor are quite faithful to the real Al Capone’s frequent public running commentary on the subject.

The gravelly voiced Murvyn Vye is hilarious as glum, humorless Bugs Moran, with a clever performance by Robert Gist, whose ruthless gangster Dion O’Banion plays the role of lovable Irishman to fool people into thinking he’s not really dangerous. Nehemiah Persoff is a standout in the role of Capone’s mentor Johnny Torrio, and James Gregory is good as the hardboiled police detective Schaefer who narrates the film. Martin Balsam is excellent as the corrupt reporter who acts as a go-between for Capone and legitimate society . His expression of wounded innocence when berated by the detective for being just a crook himself is marvelous.

The strongest praise, aside from that due to Steiger, goes to Fay Spain for her incredibly powerful portrayal of a gangland widow romanced by Capone. She is nothing short of electrifying in the scene in which she, half laughing, half screaming, denounces Capone for his smiling attempt to compensate her for the death of her husband by offering to pay for the funeral.

The real Al Capone died of advanced syphilis which had become neuro-syphilis. Due to the production code, the narrator attributes Al Capone’s death to an “incurable disease”.

Nehemiah Persoff, who portrays Capone’s boss, Johhny Torrio, had a recurring role on the TV series, “The Untouchables” (1959) playing, among other roles, Capone’s book keeper, Jake “Greasy Thumbs” Guzik.

Martin Balsam’s character, Mac Keeley, was based on a real-life Chicago Tribune reporter named Jake Lingle. Lingle, a “legman” who ran down gang-related stories for the paper, had close ties to Capone and other gangsters as well as the Chicago P.D., and he was well-paid by both mobsters and a police commissioner as a “go-between.” Lingle was gunned down on June 9, 1930, much as depicted in the movie, after “getting to big for his hat” as Capone put it, and demanding too much for his services (though a Capone rival likely paid for the hit). Apparently legal concerns prevented the producers of “Al Capone” from using Lingle’s name in the film. However, just a few months after “Al Capone” was released, the TV series “The Untouchables” told Lingle’s story in its third episode and used his actual name.