Scarface The Book

To many, the nickname 'Scarface' brings to mind the image of Al Pacino slumped behind a massive desk piled with mounds of cocaine, yet few are aware that the iconic 1983 Brian DePalma film is in fact a remake of a 1932 black and white film directed by Howard Hawks and produced by renowned aviation entrepreneur Howard Hughes. Fewer still are aware that the '32 film was based on a 1930 novel by Maurice Coons written under the pen name Armitage Trail.

Scarface '83 was a film of incredible popularity in a time of action-packed movies where triumphant endings were the norm, and yet it is a tragedy by the end of which everyone is dead. This phenomenon is intriguing for, while that big studios will always push for love interest and happy endings, this film, which did the opposite, has reached an incredible cult status.

The '32 film, though amusing, is quite toned down in comparison to its remake. Here the characters are Italian, not Cuban, and the illicit traffic of the day is bootlegged liquor, not cocaine. And yet the gist of the tragedy is the same: a young (foreign) Upstart who is more ambitious than his moderate boss; the boss's girl, a cold shouldered trophy dame whom the Upstart covets; the womanizing best friend, or right hand man, who is loyal to the Upstart until he falls in love with his sister; the young sister who, once a symbol of innocence for the Upstart, is now involved in the same shameless world he is; the alienated mother who is ashamed of her son and, of course, classy clothing, surprise murders, gang rivalry, law enforcement persecution and police corruption.

Now, the book, is slightly different.

Mr. Trail spent two of his years in Chicago frequenting the hang-outs of these Italian-American characters (gangsters glorified in so many movies). It does not come any closer to the source than this, and it gave me a great thrill to read the work of someone who was witness to the very history that he wrote about.

Mr. Trail tells a story measured in its violence (compared to '83) and moderate in its social commentary (compared to '32) and yet more gritty at its core. Think a film noir. It is the story of Tony Guarino (a veiled biography of Al Capone) from the days of his youth until his ultimate demise. The elements of tragedy explained earlier are there, but toned down in function of a dynamic story which is unique and exciting.

Now, while the '83 film blames cocaine heavily for the Upstart's downfall, the novel points out how following a lifestyle of crime and violence invariably leads to a tragic end because of the very people it attracts, namely, back-stabbing acquaintances who will be around only so long as they see a profit in doing so, but will betray, sell out, and flee when most needed.

In the novel, Tony Guarino, or Tony Camonte as he later renames himself, eventually tires of fighting, but realizes all too late that he has a wolf by the ears, and that as soon as he lets it go he will be chewed to pieces. Hence there is no retirement for gangsters, only a fight to the death.

Armitage Trail does not delve on descriptions, yet this has its charm too. Because he was describing the Chicago of his own time, he did not feel the need to, assuming that everyone would know, for example, what a car looked like, though for us today, we would need to Google the image of a 1920's car to specifically see what he referred to. This is not a period piece but a piece written in its period.

Now it must be said that this edition, by Blackmask.com, is an editorial joke, riddled with spelling and orthographic errors, yet legible all the same. So be prepared to see some pretty bad typos and mistakes as you read along.

The novel itself, by Armitage Trail, is incredibly exciting and fun to read.

Scarface is a must read, as even for those not interested in the genre will find it thrilling, and especially for those who find themselves enjoying HBO's Boardwalk Empire, for they go hand in hand.