This picture is an indictment of gang rule in America and of the callous indifference of the government to this constantly increasing menace to our safety and liberty.
They used to say that if you want to deliver a message, call Western Union. Movies are for entertainment, not making progress in society. That was not the case with Scarface, though not by choice. The studio received pressure to alter, edit and change the content of Scarface to turn it into a message movie. Gangsterism didn’t really suffer much in the wake of its release, but there were a lot more gangster flicks made after its box office success. Was the film successful in sending a message? Absolutely. Was it the message intended? Arguable to say the least.
“Do it first. Do it yourself. And keep doing it.”
This is Tony’s motto. Here, he expresses the same sentiment that many bankers were living by during this period of massive foreclosures on farms and small businesses.
The World is Yours
We know his motto for operation. This sign for a travel agency becomes his goal. Ultimately, the sign will become ironic.
Poppy: Kind of gaudy, isn't it?
Tony: Ain't it though?
The gaudiness is Poppy’s observation of Tony’s new look after he rises up the ladder of the gangster hierarchy. Tony is oblivious to the insulting connotation of the description, but it does represent a characteristic that sets him apart from the other mobsters. Tony really believes in the promise of that sign. He believes the entire world can be his; that he can make the jump from illegitimate gangster to respected figure.
“There’s only one thing that gives orders and gets orders and this is it.”
The “this” is the Tommy Gun. An entire sequence is devoted to the way that easy access to the Tommy Gun utterly changed the dynamic of mob rule in Chicago and no other film before or after has ever captured so perfectly the connection between underworld violence and the evolution of weaponry in such a simple and effective manner.
He's a-no good.
One of the required insertions for release of the film. Tony’s mother was given the role of informing the audience that she—as a first generation Italian immigrant—is not responsible for his becoming a gangster. America did that.
Poppy: I see you're goin' in for jewelry. It's kind of effeminate, isn't it?
Tony: Huh? Yeah. I got it in an auction. A bargain.
Another illustration of the disconnect between where Tony and wants to be while also demonstrating the extent of his desire to get to where he wants to be.
Don't blame the police. They can't stop machine guns from being run back and forth across the state lines. They can't enforce laws that don't exist.
Garston is a newspaper publisher and this is the key point of the attempt to make Scarface into a message movie. It’s not the police who must stop gangsters and mobsters. It is up to the legislature to make laws that the police can enforce. And, of course, by extension, it is up to the voters to elect.
