In her review of the classic Howard Hawks gangster film Scarface, famed cinema critic Pauline Kael (2000, p. 1) remarks, ôThe opening sequence is a beauty.ö The opening sequence of Scarface may be cinematically beautiful but its purpose is to show the ugly side of crime, with viewers being privy to Tony CamonteÆs murder of a gangland kingpin that promotes him to organized crime boss.
The opening scene is stylistic and expressionistic and sets up symbols, theme, and tone for the rest of the film. This style encompasses two primary symbols. The first is an ôX,ö the symbol that will appear throughout the film prior to a murder occurring. The second is the ôwhistlingö of Tony Camonte, something that will also reoccur throughout the film before the gangster murders someone.
The filmÆs credits and opening challenge to the public to combat gangsters and crime are shown in front of a large black ôX.ö In the opening scene, a lamppost on 22nd Street outside a nightclub is put out. A milkman delivers his products in a horse-drawn buggy and departs to the sound of his horsesÆ clopping hooves. An all night part has taken place and the camera tracks the movements of a sleepy janitor going about his work to clean up from the eveningÆs mess. The camera continues to pan to the right where we see three men who are obviously intoxicated from the all-night-long festivities. One is the gangster boos Big Louie Costillo. Louise letÆs us know heÆs got all he wants and is on ôtop of the world,ö the highest ambition for a crime boss (Hawks, 1932).
Big Lnuie admits he has stomach troubles, even though he has lots of other things he wants from cars and houses to money and women. This is HawksÆ use of foreshadowing, since it is a harbinger of how Big Louie will die. The others leave the room and the camera trails Big Louie who goes into a phone booth. The camera moves in closer to Big Louie, but it begins to move right an...