Capone (1975 film)

Capone
Theatrical release poster by John Solie
Directed bySteve Carver
Written byHoward Browne
Produced byRoger Corman
Starring
CinematographyVilis Lapenieks
Edited byRichard C. Meyer
Music byDavid Grisman
Production
company
Santa Fe Productions
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • April 6, 1975 (1975-04-06) (United States)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$970,000
Box office$2 million

Capone is a 1975 American action crime film directed by Steve Carver and produced by Roger Corman, based on the life of notorious 20th-century gangster Al Capone. It stars Ben Gazzara in the title role, along with Harry Guardino, Susan Blakely, John Cassavetes, and Sylvester Stallone in an early film appearance.

Corman had previously directed The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967), which also had a screenplay written by Howard Browne and starred Jason Robards as Capone. Though the film was promoted as a faithful reenactment of Capone’s life, it takes many artistic liberties. Among other embellishments, the film makes no mention of Capone’s wife and daughter, while giving him a (fictional) love interest in Susan Blakely’s Iris Crawford. The film also depicts Frank Nitti (played by Stallone) eulogizing Capone in his funeral, when in fact Capone outlived Nitti by several years.

The film was released by 20th Century Fox on April 6, 1975. It received negative reviews from critics, though it was a commercial success.